Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc's biological father learned martial arts to defend himself after encountering thugs, suffered from brain atrophy at the end of his life.

Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc is not the only one in his family who has tirelessly pursued art, but his family has a rich tradition of standing in the spotlight. His biological father was once a star of the opera, rising from a "provincial actor".

People's Artist Thanh Ton (1917–1997) is one of the great monuments of the Southern opera stage. He was born in Vinh Long, in a family with a three-generation tradition of performing arts. According to Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc - the son of People's Artist Thanh Ton: "My father was originally from Vinh Long, his great-grandfather was Nguyen Van Si, his grandfather was Nguyen Van Luong, his father was Nguyen Van No (boss No) were all opera artists. My father is the fourth generation of opera artists".

From a young age, Thanh Ton learned his trade in the family theater troupe – Phuoc Long Ban, where his grandfather was the troupe manager. Although it was a family theater troupe, he still had to follow a strict process: from being a servant, a guard, to a conductor, and then being assigned the role of a child actor at the age of 17.

Later, when the troupe disbanded due to the times and the audience gradually preferred reformed opera, Thanh Ton was not discouraged. He joined other troupes such as Thanh Hung Ban, then decided to pack up and go to Saigon - where he wanted to become famous on a bigger stage. Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc said: "Although I was born into a family of artists, my father thought that I could not escape the label of a provincial opera singer. He wanted me to become famous in a big city. Therefore, he decided to pack up and go to Saigon to start a career."

In Saigon, he joined the Minh To troupe of Mr. Thang - who later became Thanh Loc's maternal grandfather. Because of his admiration for Thanh Ton's talent and virtue, Mr. Thang married his second daughter, Huynh Mai, to him. He quickly became famous thanks to his decisive, bold acting style and chivalrous temperament.

Because the theater troupes of the six provinces at that time often clashed with thugs and tyrants, artist Thanh Ton learned martial arts to defend himself. "He also said that Saigon artists were very arrogant, and he was alone, so the first thing he did was carry a stick with him in case he was bullied," Thanh Loc once revealed.

Not only was he a talented artist, he was also a serious teacher. He did not hide his profession like many people at that time. He believed that the art of hát bội from generation to generation had been lost and more or less lost, and if he hid his profession, it would be lost forever. He also had high demands on his children who followed the arts. Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc recalled his father's words: "If you are an artist, you must be a good artist, not an average artist."

The righteous father "feared no one"

People's Artist Thanh Ton's personality is famous for being unyielding, assertive, and always defending the weak. "Whenever he hears that an artist is being 'affected' somewhere, even if he is sleeping, he immediately jumps up, swings a stick and runs there," according to his son. That is not just a hot temper, but the loyalty typical of an old Southern artist.

In the eyes of his colleagues and juniors, he was a straightforward and fair person. Meritorious Artist Huu Danh once recounted: "Uncle Thanh Ton often said: 'In this profession, I am not afraid of anyone, I only respect Hai Thoai (artist Huu Thoai)'" . Once, he personally took Huu Danh and his brother - artist Huu Nhi to visit an old and frail woman near Cau Quan communal house. That person was an important figure in the life of artist Huu Thoai, but neither of the two brothers knew until Thanh Ton told them.

While the woman was lying on the hospital bed, Thanh Ton called out: "Sister Hai, this is Hai Thoai's child. Without you, there would be no children." Those kind words moved everyone present. That story shows that, in addition to art, Thanh Ton is also a person who values friendship.

In his profession, he is famous for classic roles such as Chau Sang, Trieu Tu Long, Ly Ba Hue, Loi Nhuoc, Trinh Giao Kim... Not only an actor, he is also a playwright, contributing to improving the script to suit the modern audience. He once founded the Van Hac Group to perform on Saigon radio and was one of the people who laid the foundation for the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Troupe after 1975.

One of the most memorable images was the last days of his life, when he suffered from brain atrophy and had to be hospitalized. When artist Kim Thanh came to visit and said: "Master, please save me. They assigned me the role of Chau Sang and I'm afraid I can't handle it." With just one word like that, he immediately got up and went to Chau Sang's grave to pass it on. Artist Kim Thanh both received the grave and shed tears. Less than a week later, he passed away - ending the life of an artist who lived fully for the stage and his colleagues.

Later, his 6 children, Bach Lien, Bach Le, Bach Luu, Bach Ly, Bach Long, Thanh Loc, all became famous artists in the fields of drama, reformed opera, classical opera... They continued the path of "eating the family's rice" of their family lineage, becoming worthy successors to the artistic heritage left by their fathers.

About Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc, the male artist is associated with the title "stage wizard" thanks to 600 diverse roles, from positive to negative, tragedy to comedy, human to animal.

On his artistic journey, the artist left an impression on the audience through the plays Da co hoai lang, Cau dong, 12 ba ma, Ngoi nha khong co dan men, Hinh dong manh thu, Tam Cam, and the children's drama series Ngay xua ngay xua.

The artist also appeared in television series and movies such as The Scent of Coriander, The Boy of That Year, Tam Cam: The Untold Story, and Butterfly House.

The male artist shared that he was once chased and beaten by young audience members on stage when he played the witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or the story of a female audience member staying at the end of the show, waiting for Thanh Loc to come out to "scold him like a bucket of water" for his role as a mean husband in Please Cry, My Dear.

Nicknamed "Stage Wizard", Thanh Loc is considered one of the most outstanding artists in Vietnamese art today.

In May 2023, after 26 years of association, Thanh Loc left Idecaf Drama Theater because "they no longer shared the same views". After that, he founded Thien Dang Art Theater. "Thien Dang means the light of heaven, also the light of the stage. Because for artists, art is the religion and reason for living that we must wholeheartedly serve" , the male artist expressed.

On the new stage, Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc accompanies his close co-stars, who are veteran faces in the profession such as: People's Artist Kim Xuan, Meritorious Artist Huu Chau, Meritorious Artist My Duyen, artists Phi Phung, Hoang Trinh, Phuong Dung, Huy Tu, Mai Phuong, Huong Giang, Tuan Khoi, Don Nguyen, Van Trang.

In addition, the male artist also created conditions for many young actors to try their hand at Thien Dang stage.

Le Nguyen Truong Giang: The multi-talented descendant of the famous Minh To luong family Bảo Nam16:51:33 01/03/2024Born in 1989, Le Nguyen Truong Giang is a young descendant of the 6-generation family attached to the ancient luong luong Bau Thang - Minh To; his uncle was People's Representative Thanh Tong, Truong Son People's Committee; sister Tu Suong...