Biography
Heung is widely suspected of ties to one of Hong Kong's largest and most powerful organized crime groups, the Sun Yee On Triad. Heung's father, Heung Chin, founded the Sun Yee On in 1919. Charles is the tenth of the Sun Yee On 's thirteen children.
Heung Chin's eldest son, Heung Wah-Yim, was convicted in 1988 of being the triad's boss, although his conviction in Hong Kong was overturned on a technicality. The Senate Subcommittee on Investigations also identified him as the triad's leader in a 1992 report on Asian organized crime.
In the 1970s, Charles subsequently married Betty Ting, the actress, who is remembered today primarily because of the "mysterious" death of Bruce Lee in her apartment. The marriage, however did not last, and Charles later married Tiffany Chen, in the early 1980s.
Charles is the older brother of Jimmy Heung, who later became his partner in the formation of Win's Entertainment, Ltd.. The partnership between the two ended in 1992 as Charles felt that Jimmy's style of negotiating business too closely resembled that of a triad member.
Heung became a producer and a presenter for films, but he had also gotten fame from acting, with his best known role being as Lung Wu, the God of Gamblers' bodyguard in ''God of Gamblers'' and its sequel, ''God of Gamblers Returns''. Some other films included the ''God of Gamblers'' spin-offs, ''God of Gamblers II'', and ''God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai'', including other films such as ''Arrest the Restless'', ''The Prince of Temple Street'' and ''Casino Raiders'', which was co-directed by his brother, Jimmy.
In 1992, Heung formed China Star Entertainment Group and became the studio's chairman and CEO, with his wife, Tiffany Chen, serving as vice chairman and administrative producer.
Heung, as a presenter, has highlighted a majority of Hong Kong's biggest cinematic icons, including Jet Li, Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, Cecilia Cheung, Simon Yam, Lau Ching-Wan, Gigi Leung, Charlene Choi, and Louis Koo. This includes some of HK's biggest filmmakers, such as Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai, Wong Jing, Herman Yau and . Actress Cherrie Ying even caught the attention of Heung's wife, Tiffany Chen, after making her film debut with ''Fulltime Killer''.
In 1999, alongside Johnnie To, Heung established One Hundred Years of Film Co. Ltd., one of the few companies dedicated to developing a huge library of content for China Star. Heung's initial plan was to make 100 films within three years.
Heung plans to continuing producing and presenting films, now aiming for big-budgeted projects. Following the partnership split between himself and Jimmy, Heung closed down the Win's Entertainment Ltd. studio in 2000, and continued to produce and distribute films under China Star, which is now one of the most powerful film companies in Hong Kong.
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