’80s Hong Kong action star Corey Yuen revealed to have died 2 years ago of Covid-19, news kept private at family’s request

It was just revealed that Hong Kong action star Corey Yuen died two years ago.

Jackie Chan announced the news in a Weibo post yesterday (Aug 12) commemorating the 65th anniversary of Yuan Jia Ban, a clan formed by the disciples of Chinese martial arts master Yu Jim Yuen, of which Jackie and the late Corey were members.

Towards the end of the post, the 70-year-old, whose former stage name was Yuen Lo, wrote: “At this gathering, we cherish the memory of the brothers and sisters who have left, such as our master, his wife, senior Yu So Chow, Yuen Lin, Yuen Yin, Yuen Ru, Yuen Kwai, Yuen Rong and other brothers and sisters. We also told each other to take care of ourselves to meet at the next gathering.”

Netizens were quick to notice that Corey, also known as Yuen Kwai, is in the list of people that Jackie paid tribute to.

Sina Entertainment contacted the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, where the spokesman, actor Tin Kai Man, confirmed that Corey died of Covid-19 two years ago at the age of 72. His death was kept private at his family’s request until now.

Corey debuted in Hong Kong showbiz in the 1970s after receiving training with other actors such as Jackie, Sammo Hung (original stage name Yuen Lung), Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu and Yuen Biao at the Peking Opera School, where they were called the Seven Little Fortunes or The Lucky Seven.

Throughout his career, he had acted in more than 70 films and was best known for his performances in films such as Secret Rivals 2 (1977), Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) and Hero (1997).

Corey made his Hong Kong directorial debut in the film Ninja in the Dragon’s Den (1982) and his American directorial debut in the film No Retreat, No Surrender (1986). He had reportedly worked with most of Hong Kong’s top stars, including Michelle Yeoh in Yes, Madam (1985), Stephen Chow in All of the Winner (1990) and the late Anita Mui, Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok in Saviour of the Soul (1991).

He also choreographed action films, including Jet Li’s The New Legend of Shaolin (1994) and High Risk (1995).

When Jet gained stardom in Hollywood for his performance in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), so did Corey, who was the martial arts choreographer for the movie. He continued to choreograph action sequences for six of Jet’s American films, including Romeo Must Die (2000), Kiss of the Dragon (2001), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) and The Expendables (2010).

Corey was also the action director for X-Men (2000).