One of the famous and famous generations of comedians before Hoai Linh, Truong Giang, and Tran Thanh is artist Tung Lam. His real name is Lam Nguon Pham, born on March 1, 1934. The male artist is known as one of the “Seven Comedy Emperors” of the Southern comedy stage. Comedian Tung Lam He is loved by many audiences and is called the “comedy genius” because of his charm on stage.
Comedian Tung Lam is loved by the audience and is one of the “Seven Emperors”.
Childhood, Tung Lam Follow your friends to sing and make money. In 1948, he won first prize in the contest to select child singers.
There is an anecdote that at that time he sang under the name Van Tam. However, his friends kept teasing him that Tam was short, which made him… cranky.
Then a friend said that the driver behind Tam Dwarf was Tung Lam. Feeling happy, he took the stage name Tung Lam.
Around the 1950s, the trio Lam Phuong – Van Hung – Tung Lam often sang together in radio broadcasts. They left their mark with musical works such as Songs of Harvest Days, O Me Ly, Thien Thai, Music Under the Moon…
Then this trio disbanded. Tung Lam chose to sing songs mixed with humor. At that time, people called him “Little Monster” Tung Lam.
He also voiced many movies. Then there was the time to work as an impresario, ranked among the “three great impresarios” along with Chau Ky and Duy Ngoc.
Around the 1960s, he also founded the Tung Lam Tap Luc group to perform many types of performances. He also trained singers with many famous names such as Trang Thanh Lan, Trang My Dung, Trang Kim Yen, Phuong Mai, Kim Tuyen…
He also organizes a weekly tickle music festival at Quoc Thanh theater. His sense of humor was also noticed on the big screen at that time with many roles that caused laughter. The most prominent is the movie Saigon Four Monsters.
It can be said that thanks to his versatility, at his peak, Tung Lam had an “incredible” salary, and there was no time to count the money he earned. When the show ended, he put the money in the closet, counted it once at the end of the month to deposit it in the bank, and buy gold and diamonds to store in milk cans. Fame helps him have a prosperous life, but it is also a barrier, testing the artist’s arrogance. It was the entertainment that didn’t know when to stop that caused the male artist to lose everything.
He said: “There is no time to count the money collected from the programs. Just fill the cupboard and then count it once at the end of the month, deposit it in the bank. For the rest, my wife buys gold and diamonds and stores them in milk cans. But where to keep them?” are wooden cabinets called gau-man-re – in French, garde manger, also known as cupboards, so that no one will notice. Yet my money is gone because I got caught up in gambling and debt. That’s why I was in the mood to write the song “Xap Gray Obstacle” to advise those who love playing cards to stay away from dangerous pleasures.
Because it’s easy to find, it’s wasteful. Play cards all night. Luxurious restaurants, new cars are exchanged, some years I exchange 3 cars. That’s it, “Ban Tap Luc” is forest money and sea silver, but I erased it with my red and black blood.
In his heyday, artist Tung Lam had money and fame, but because of gambling problems, he “went away with his money” and fell into heavy debt. Although he is passionate about his profession, old age does not allow artist Tung Lam to continue working. He once had a stroke due to high blood pressure, but luckily he was treated promptly. This made him increasingly weak and unable to work.
When old age came, artist Tung Lam’s health did not allow him to continue his hard work. There were times when he quietly entered the auditorium of the Cong Nhan Theater and sat backstage to watch young actors perform.
In the last years of his life, “monster” Tung Lam was old and weak, and had difficulty walking. He was hard of hearing and confused. The male artist is fortunate to have his wife who is 20 years younger take care of him and is always by his side. He couldn’t afford to perform, so he had no income, depending on the money his son sent him every month and what his colleagues and students sent him.
Since around 2005, he suffered four strokes, so his health was poor and he rarely participated in art programs. In 2023, artist Tung Lam passed away at the age of 89. His passing made many friends and audiences mourn.
* The article title has been edited