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Veteran local comedian Xiao Tian Cai, better known as Ya Fong or Ah Pui (fatty) of the famous comedy act "Wang Sa and Ya Fong" -- the local Laurel and Hardy of the '60s -- died yesterday morning of a heart attack. His long-time partner Wang Sa talks to TEO YUN YUN
Comedian Ya FongON stage, Ya Fong had the fastest reflexes in town. Off it, he had the loudest snores.
His "buddy" comedian Wang Sa told The New Paper yesterday that the two of them would travel to various places with their cross-talk routine -- but it was not easy to sleep in the same room as Ya Fong.
Said Wang Sa: "He would snore very loudly and it became very irritating.
"One night, I switched on a tape-recorder and taped his snores. I played him the tape the next day."
Straight-faced, Ya Fong retorted: "But you snore too."
Yesterday, when he heard that his stage-mate of over 30 years had passed away, 71-year-old Wang Sa spoke of the sad and funny moments they had shared together.
Those were the days : Barely a week ago,
Ya Fong (right) had told his pal Wang Sa to go
vegetarian for his health.He recalled that when they first paired up in the early '60s, he barely weighed 45 kg -- and Ya Fong, who was shorter weighed nearly twice as much.
They hit it off immediately.
"He was one of the smartest persons I've known. His reflexes were very fast," said Wang Sa.
"Our repartee was like playing football, the chemistry almost perfect.
"And we knew each other so well that I could read his mind and tell what he was going to say before he even uttered it."
But the 63-year-old Ya Fong fooled him completely when they last spoke over the phone, barely a week back.
It was Ya Fong who advised him to turn vegetarian, saying it was "good for the body".
"I also asked him how his heart was," recalled Wang Sa.
"He said he was fine."
Wang Sa heard the news just after lunch yesterday.
"It all happened so suddenly I can't believe it.
"I never thought he would be the one to go first -- he's only 63 this year, I'm 71," he said.
Wang Sa added nostalgically: "I certainly miss those days together when we were still young and led wandering lives.
"I guess now the charity performance we were supposed to do this November for the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebrations and Old Folks' Week is not possible."
'Collapsed suddenly'
VETERAN comedian Ya Fong died following a heart attack while playing with the 11-year-old son of his girlfriend yesterday.
Ya Fong was at his well-known chicken and duck rice stall at Tai Seng Eating House, opposite Lavender MRT station, when he collapsed at 8 am.
Ya Fong, at his chicken rice stallMr Ee, the owner of the coffee shop, told The New Paper: "He suddenly had difficulty breathing and turned very pale. He slumped into his chair and passed out."
His frightened girlfriend, who manages the stall, yelled for help.
Added Mr Moh, owner of the adjoining Yong Tau Fu stall: "Someone ran to get a doctor while another tried to give him a glass of lukewarm water. But he was unconscious and the water just spilled back onto him."
An ambulance and a doctor arrived within half an hour. The doctor tried to revive him with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
He was pronounced dead by doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital hospital.
Ya Fong had made it big on the local comedy scene in the '60s along with his partner Wang Sa. They were the Jack Neo and Moses Lim of those days.
They met in the '60s on "Xin Sheng Ge Tai" or live theatre and never looked back.
They performed in theatres as well as on national TV programmes. The two also recorded some songs in dialect, which sold very well.
First published in The New Paper, Sept 2, 1995
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