Artist Hung Minh, 86 years old, lives in a rented house and does not go to the Nursing Center because of one person.

During a recent visit to artist Hung Minh, Nhat Cuong expressed his joy that he was still alert and active. Artist Hung Minh, despite his old age and poor health, is still optimistic and cheerful. He is currently living with his wife, artist Hoa Lan.

According to the disclosure of artist Hung Minh's wife, he and his wife are renting a house in Go Vap district (HCMC) with a rent of 5 million VND/month. "Knowing that we are old artists, the landlord is very sympathetic, giving us money every month when we have money, otherwise just leaving it there. We moved here about 10 months ago because we had to return the old house because the owner sold the house due to difficulties during the pandemic," she said.

Over 80 years old, artist Hung Minh is occasionally invited to perform and act in films. Despite his limited memory, he still works hard in his career. Although he is no longer as active and famous as he was in his heyday, the male artist said he is proud that he is still loved by a large audience.

"I have been singing for 67 years now. The audience has been the one who has supported me from the beginning until now. That was from the time I first started singing until I became famous, playing both positive and negative roles. Today, I am old, no longer singing... but I am still loved by the audience and my juniors and seniors. I am really happy," artist Hung Minh confided.

In his old age, artist Hung Minh and his wife have a hard time paying for their house. However, they feel grateful for the silent support of many artists. In particular, Mrs. Lan confided that Hoang Son is an artist who has been with them for many years. Since his early days in the profession, Hoang Son was often mistaken for artist Hung Minh's son because he looked very similar to him. From that fate, the two became close and bonded in their careers. Up to now, although he no longer acts in films with his senior, the actor still often visits when he has the chance.

Previously, in early 2022, artist Phi Phung and the Ngu Long Du Ky group also visited the couple. Artist Hoa Lan once confided about their income: "Every month, my husband receives 2.6 million from the Theater Association, plus 380,000 VND from the Elderly Association. The rest, we try to work hard and save. As for my husband's medical expenses, insurance covers them, but only supports to a certain extent." Their children also help them, but due to the pandemic, the work is difficult, so they can only share a part.

Initially, Mac Can, Hung Minh and Huynh Thanh Tra were proposed to go to Thi Nghe Nursing Home, but at the last minute, the male Meritorious Artist refused because he did not want to be away from his wife. When completing the procedures for the 7 artists from District 8 Nursing Home to Thi Nghe Nursing Home, the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association considered and examined the circumstances of 3 other artists who wished to go, including Mac Can, Hung Minh and Huynh Thanh Tra.

As a result, the Association announced that only two artists, Mac Can and Huynh Thanh Tra, would live at the Thi Nghe Nursing Home because artist Hung Minh refused. Sharing with VietNamNet reporters, Meritorious Artist Hung Minh decided not to live at the nursing home with his colleagues because he did not want to be away from his wife. "If I go there, will she live outside? Thinking about her, I would probably be sick enough to die. I explained this to Ms. Thanh Thuy and Ms. Trinh Kim Chi," he said. Hung Minh and Hoa Lan have been living together for 24 years. Only old couples understand the feeling of being 'familiar' with each other.

In the middle of the night, Hung Minh complained of sore legs and hunger, and his grandmother would wake up to massage his feet and cook him porridge. Even though there was someone on duty at Thi Nghe Nursing Home to provide medical care, he knew he wouldn't dare ring the bell for fear of disturbing others.

In recent days, Meritorious Artist Hung Minh's health has been stable. In mid-2023, he suffered from a bacterial fever and was hospitalized in a coma for 9 days. After regaining consciousness, he left the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, to receive treatment at District 11 Hospital for another 28 days.

Despite escaping the death penalty, he is still weak and recovering slowly due to underlying diseases such as cardiovascular disease, prostate disease, high blood pressure, knee osteoarthritis, varicose veins, lumbar spine spurs and post-Covid-19 complications. In addition, he is confused, sometimes remembering and sometimes forgetting. Hung Minh is grateful for the fact that his colleagues and audiences regularly send him money, supplements and food.

Although she is 30 years younger than Hung Minh, Hoa Lan knows that she is entering the final stages of her life, so she does not dare to neglect her health. Her biggest worry is that if she dies early, there will be no one left to take care of her husband.

Artists currently wish for nothing more than a healthy couple and successful children. "Every day, I can go on stage to sing for the audience or greet and chat with the neighbors, and if I'm healthy, I can go to the temple. That's enough," Hoa Lan said.

As one of the famous artists of the reformed art of the 1960s, Meritorious Artist Hung Minh conquered many audiences with many types of romantic roles, clown roles, especially unique roles.

In 1959, Meritorious Artist Hung Minh was awarded the Thanh Tam Gold Medal. This is one of the prestigious awards that all contemporary Cai Luong artists dream of. At this time, he was known for many impressive roles. Meritorious Artist Hung Minh's path to art was not without thorns. From a poor boy with a miserable childhood, he went to Saigon to start a career with nothing. The difficulties shaped his success. Not limiting his roles to a certain framework, Meritorious Artist Hung Minh always sought to study the psychology of each character, finding his own unique acting style.

Quach Tuan Du went to Quy Binh's grave to talk about Quy Binh's secret, mentioning comedian Chi Tai. JLO10:07:42 20/03/2025Standing at Chi Tai's grave, singer Quach Tuan Du burst into tears remembering the passing of the late Meritorious Artist Quy Binh. He said: "Really, I just live like this and don't know when I will die. Every now and then, I suddenly realize this."