Lam Pou-chuen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
|
|
|---|---|
Tōru Furuya (left) and Lam (right) at Ani-Com Hong Kong in July 2006
|
|
| Born | 10 October 1951 Portuguese Macau
|
| Died | 2 January 2015 (aged 63) Nethersole Hospital, Tai Po, Hong Kong
|
| Other names | Francis Lam |
| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1971-2015 |
| Known for | Voice of Doraemon in Hong Kong version |
| Children | Safina Lam |
Lam Pou-chuen was a famous Hong Kong voice actor. He was born on October 10, 1951, in Portuguese Macau. He passed away on January 2, 2015, in Hong Kong. Lam was most famous for being the voice of the popular robot cat, Doraemon. He voiced this character for over 30 years in the Hong Kong version of the anime series. He also provided the Cantonese voice for the well-known actor Sammo Hung in many of his movies.
Contents
Lam's Early Life and Career
Lam Pou-chuen was born in Macau. When he was a teenager, he moved to Hong Kong. His first job was working as an office boy at a bank.
Becoming a Voice Actor
Lam was very impressed by the voice acting in the movie Tarzan. This inspired him to try voice acting himself. In 1971, he applied to be a voice actor at TVB, a big television station in Hong Kong. This was the start of his long and successful career.
Lam's Famous Roles
Lam Pou-chuen voiced many characters during his career. His most famous role was Doraemon.
Voicing Doraemon
Lam started voicing Doraemon in 1981. This was when the very first episode of Doraemon was shown on TVB. He continued to be the voice of Doraemon for decades. There was only a short time in 1992 when he worked for another TV station, Asia Television. During this time, someone else briefly voiced Doraemon.
What made Hong Kong's Doraemon special was Lam's continuous involvement. In Japan, the original Doraemon series changed its voice cast in 2005. However, Lam and other Hong Kong voice actors kept their roles. They continued to voice the characters when TVB started showing the new 2005 series. Just like in Japan, Lam's Doraemon voice was instantly recognizable in Hong Kong. He even appeared on TV shows and in commercials as Doraemon.
Other Important Voices
Besides Doraemon, Lam voiced many other popular characters in cartoons. These included Garfield and Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam. He also voiced Genzo Wakabayashi in Captain Tsubasa. Other roles included Hiei in Yu Yu Hakusho and Squirtle in Pokémon.
Outside of cartoons, Lam also voiced real-life actors. He was the Cantonese voice for the famous actor George Clooney in many of his movies. One of his favorite roles was voicing the character Heshen. Heshen was a powerful official in the 2001 Chinese TV series The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan.
Lam's Passing
Lam Pou-chuen passed away on January 2, 2015, in Hong Kong. He was 63 years old. He was found unconscious at home and later confirmed to have passed away at Nethersole Hospital. He had been living with diabetes.
His very last work was voicing Doraemon in the 3D movie Stand by Me Doraemon. This movie was released in Hong Kong after his passing.
