CATDOLL: Lam Po-chuen, the voice actor of the Hong Kong version of Doraemon, passed away at the age of 63

According to Hong Kong media, Mr. Lam Po-chuen, a senior male voice actor of TVB who grew up with many Hong Kong people and also voiced "Doraemon", passed away suddenly this morning at the age of 63. Deputy Director of TVB External Affairs Zeng Xingming has confirmed the news and is working with relevant departments to deal with the incident and his family. According to preliminary information, Lam suddenly fainted at home this morning.

Lam Po-chuen has been in the dubbing industry for over 40 years and has played thousands of roles.

Lin Baoquan joined the dubbing team of TVB in 1971, and moved to ATV in 1992, but returned to TVB in 1994. He has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people for his dubbing of "Doraemon" (now called Doraemon) for many years. He has dubbed thousands of characters, including the familiar ninja spirit "Playful Cat", Captain Tsubasa "Lin Yuansan", Dragon Ball "Tien Shinhan", Saint Seiya "Shiryu", IQ Doctor "Kurito Sensei", "Dae Jang Geum" Jiang Dejiu and "Tokyo Love Story" Nagaoharaji. In recent years, he has dubbed "Jiraiya" in the Naruto the Movie.

However, Lam Po-chuen's ambition since childhood was not to be a dubbing artist, but a pilot. He recalled that when he was young, he liked to watch TVB dubbing dramas, such as "Tai Shan". "At that time, I didn't know how to dub at all, and TVB didn't publish recruitment advertisements. I wrote a letter to apply for the job, and then TVB hired me. I officially entered the industry in 1971." As for what conditions are required to be a dubbing artist, Lam Po-chuen said frankly: "You have to have talent, mainly quick reaction, accurate pronunciation, and clear speech; you can also rely on acquired efforts, no need to recite urgent commands, just read more newspapers to improve your speech."

In an interview in 2006, Lam Po-chuen said that he was already earning over 1,000 yuan a month when he first entered the industry, which was higher than artists who graduated from artist training classes. He said: "Back then, we were paid per episode. If there were five people dubbing an episode, we would get five shares. Of course, the one who dubbed the protagonist would get more in proportion. If there were ten people dubbing an episode, we would get less." The 1980s was the golden age for voice actors, because in addition to TV series, they often had the opportunity to dub movies to make extra money.

Being a behind-the-scenes hero, the development space is certainly not as big as that of an actor, but Lin Baoquan believes that the life span of a voice actor is much longer than that of an actor: "You don't have to look bad when doing dubbing. You can still do it when you are 60 years old." Never say goodbye, but it's a pity...

Doraemon 3D is expected to be his last work

It is understood that he also dubbed the character Doraemon in the latest Doraemon movie "STAND BY ME: Doraemon 3D" which was released in Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year this year. His dubbing work has been basically completed. It is believed that the dubbing of this movie may very well be his posthumous work.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the birth of "Father of Doraemon" Fujiko F. Fujio, Japan specially produced the first "Doraemon" movie created with CG special effects, "STAND BY ME: Doraemon 3D". The film was released in Japan last year and grossed more than 980 million yen (about 75 million Hong Kong dollars) in the first three days of its release, beating the Hollywood blockbuster "Transformers: Age of Extinction" which opened on the same day.

In the Cantonese trailer for "STAND BY ME: Doraemon 3D", "Doraemon" has a line: "This time I really say goodbye to everyone." Unexpectedly, Lin Baoquan passed away today, and this line actually came true, which really made many netizens feel very sad.

Nobita is gone, Doraemon is gone too

Goodbye, Doraemon! Goodbye, Nobita !

Lam Po-chuen, a veteran dubbing artist of TVB, has brought the character of Ding Dang (now called Doraemon) to life with his voice for many years; another veteran dubbing artist of TVB, Lo Su-kuen, started dubbing Nobita in 1992, but passed away in 2006 due to colon cancer, and the voice of Nobita has been lost since then. For many Hong Kong people who grew up with Ding Dang and Nobita, it is like losing two childhood friends.

In July 2006, Lu Sujuan passed away due to cancer. For her long-time comrade-in-arms, "Ding Dang" Lin Baoquan, it is not only the classic voice of Lu Sujuan, but also her strong will and spirit in fighting cancer that will always remain in his mind. At that time, he was interviewed by this newspaper and thought of his old friend. He once said: "We all work in TVB and often dub movies together. For example, in "Police Story", he dubbed Hu Huizhong and I dubbed Sammo Hung. This circle is not very large. We often come into contact at work and have a good relationship. He dubbed old, middle-aged and young roles very well. Personally, I appreciate him dubbing Siqin Gaowa in "The Mansion Gate" the most. He is really thoughtful."

Lin Baoquan was very impressed by Lu Sujuan's meticulous work attitude and ever-changing dubbing skills. What was even more respectable was Lu Sujuan's indomitable spirit and fighting spirit.

Lin Baoquan said: "Two years ago, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer and started chemotherapy. After the third treatment, he said it was very hard and he didn't want to do it anymore, but he insisted on doing it. Later, the cancer cells spread to his liver, lymph nodes and lungs, but he didn't give up. Ti Lung's wife Tao Minming's brother is a qigong master and he has been doing qigong with him all the way. At the end of February this year, his condition worsened, but he still insisted on helping the company to subtitle three "Doraemon" movies that will be broadcast on Easter."

Nobita is gone, Doraemon is gone too, maybe, they will meet again in heaven.