Condolences poured in yesterday following the death of veteran comedienne Lydia Shum Tin-ha, whose trademark laugh charmed millions in Hong Kong and Chinese communities around the globe during a career spanning almost 50 years.
Shum, best known as 'Fei Fei', or Fatty, because of her ample girth about which she often joked, had been suffering from cancer. She died at Queen Mary Hospital at 8.38am, aged 62.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said Hong Kong people 'grew up with her laughter' and she represented the Hong Kong spirit.
Veteran television producer Robert Chua, who helped launch Shum's career on the long-running TVB entertainment show, Enjoy Yourself Tonight, said he was devastated.
Shum's only daughter, Joyce Cheng Yan-yee, 20, arrived at the hospital yesterday afternoon wearing sunglasses and a mask. She refused to answer questions from journalists who mobbed her on arrival. The Hospital Authority declined to comment on the cause of death, saying it was at the family's request.
Shum was diagnosed with cancer of the liver and gall bladder in 2006. Last October she collapsed at home and was sent to hospital semi-conscious. She was admitted again the following month. Discharged again, she returned to hospital just before the Lunar New Year when she developed complications, and had been there since.
Enjoy Yourself Tonight creator Chua, who had known Shum for 40 years, said her daughter told him she had passed away peacefully. He said he had invited the comedienne to be one of the show's hosts - helping establish her as a mainstay of TVB's cast - because he wanted someone who 'appeared like anyone's family'. 'She was such a lovely lady,' he said.