Barbara Yu Ling

Barbara Lee (4 November 1933/1938 – 6 April 1997),[Note 1] who used the stage name Barbara Yu Ling, was a Singapore-born actress of stage, screen, and television who was based in Britain from the 1950s.[7][8][9] One of the first Singaporean Chinese actresses to gain attention in Europe,[6] she appeared in productions of Madame Butterfly and The World of Suzie Wong.[10][11] Among the films she appeared in were The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973),[12] Ping Pong (1986),[13] and Peggy Su! (1997).[14][15]

Barbara Yu Ling
Yu Ling in 1962 during filming of
55 Days at Peking
Born
Barbara Yu Ling Lee

4 November 1933/1938
Singapore, Straits Settlements
Died6 April 1997
London Borough of Camden, UK
Other namesBarbara Lee, Barbara Lee Yuling, Yu Ling
OccupationActress
Years active1957–1997
SpouseIan Albery (divorced)

Biography

Lee was born in Singapore.[7] Her father was a schoolteacher, and her mother died young.[6][16] A protégée of Malcolm MacDonald, Britain's Commissioner-General to Southeast Asia, she worked as a teacher before moving to England in 1955 to study at London's Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art.[5][17] MacDonald introduced Lee to Dame Sybil Thorndike, who aided Lee with her performing career.[6] Her sister Dorothy Lee, who joined her in England, later became the wife and collaborator of illustrator Paul Goble.[17][18]

Lee married British theatre producer Ian Albery in 1966;[19] the couple had two sons before the marriage ended in divorce.[20][21]

She died of cancer at her home in London on 6 April 1997.[22][23]

Acting career

Lee's first major acting role was the BBC's 1957 television production of the opera Madame Butterfly as Suzuki, although the actors' singing was dubbed by professionals.[24][25]

In 1958 she toured Italy in the supporting cast of Sayonara Butterfly, a parody of Madame Butterfly written by Marcello Marchesi, Renzo Punzoni and Italo Terzoli.[26][27] She co-starred with Tsai Chin in the British production of The World of Suzie Wong that ran at London's Prince of Wales Theatre from 1959 to 1961.[28][29][Note 2]

In 1966 she had a co-starring role with Jeffrey Hunter in the Hong Kong-shot film Strange Portrait. She played a ballerina and girlfriend of the main character played by Hunter.[33] The film was never released and is now believed lost.[8] According to director Jeffrey Stone, the film was suppressed by the Hong Kong censors because of a scene in which Lee appeared partially nude.[30]

In 1973 she had her most prominent film role, as cult leader Chin Yang in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (released in the U.S. as Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride). Author Paul Meehan commented that stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were "ably assisted by the quirky portrayals of Freddie Jones and Barbara Yu Ling in supporting roles."[12]

In the 1980s she played the part of May in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation / British Broadcasting Corporation co-production Tenko, and appeared in Ping Pong (1986), the first film to be shot in London's Chinatown.[34]

In 1990 she was in the Richard Stanley's science-fiction film Hardware.[35] Her final film appearance was a supporting role in 1997's Peggy Su!, a romantic comedy about a Chinese teenager (played by Pamela Oei) and her family set in 1960s Liverpool, England.[36]

Filmography

Film

Television
  • Madame Butterfly (1957) as Suzuki[10]
  • Danger Man (1960-1968) – Series 1 (1961), Episode 22: "The Honeymooners" as Maid (as Barbara Lee)
  • The Avengers (1961-1969) – Season 3 (1963), Episode 11: "The Golden Fleece" as Mrs Kwan (as Yu Ling)
  • Danger Man – Series 3 (1965), Episode 2: "A Very Dangerous Game" as Second Hostess (as Yu Ling)
  • The Prisoner (1967-1968) – Episode 1: "Arrival" as Taxi Driver[39]
  • Jackanory (1965-1996) – Season 2 (1967), Episode 186: "The Inn of Donkeys" as Third Lady
  • Danger Man – Series 4 (1968), Episode 2: "Shinda Shima" as Hostess
  • The Troubleshooters (1965-1972) – Season 5 (1969), Episode 7: "You're Not Going to Believe This, But..." as Jenny Kwong
  • Shirley's World (1971-1972) – Episode 15: "Figuratively Speaking" as Choa Chun
  • Gangsters (1978 series) – Episode 5: "Enter the White Devil" as Rosie
  • Tenko – Series 2 (1982) Episode 5; Series 3 (1984) Episodes 5 & 8; as May

Theatre roles
  • Sayonara Butterfly (Italy, 1958–1959)[26]
  • The World of Suzie Wong (London, 1959–1961) as Typhoo[28][40][29]
  • The Professor (by Hal Porter) (London, 1965) as Katsura[41]

Radio credits

Notes
  1. While some UK sources, including death indexes, record her year of birth as 1938,[1][2] most other sources indicate a birth year of 1933.[3][4][5][6]
  2. Jeffrey Stone wrote in his memoirs that Lee had also appeared in a production of Flower Drum Song;[30][31] however, her name is not listed among the cast members of the 1960 London production,[32] suggesting he may have confused this with her role in The World of Suzie Wong.

References
  1. "England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007". Retrieved 11 February 2018 – via Ancestry.com.
  2. "Yu Ling in Odd Man". The Stage and Television Today. 1 August 1963. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive. 26-year-old, Singapore born Yu Ling... (registration required)
  3. "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960". Retrieved 17 February 2018 – via Ancestry.com.
  4. "Mrs Barbara Yu Ling Albery". Company Check. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Date Of Birth: Nov 1933
  5. "Singapore's Barbara dances in London". The Straits Times. 7 September 1955. p. 2 – via NewspapersSG.
  6. "Barbara's big film role surprise for father". The Straits Times. 20 September 1958. p. 9 – via NewspapersSG.
  7. "Miss Lee (protege of MacD) back for a visit". The Straits Times. 18 January 1966. p. 20 – via NewspapersSG.
  8. Paul Green (29 April 2014). Jeffrey Hunter: The Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances. McFarland. pp. 119–120. ISBN 9781476614410.
  9. J. P. Wearing (30 October 2014). The London Stage 1890-1959: Accumulated Indexes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1388. ISBN 9780810893214.
  10. Helga Bertz-Dostal (1971). Oper im Fernsehen: grundlagenforschung im Rahmen des forschungsprogramms des Instituts fr Theaterwissenschaft an der Universitt̃ Wien. Hrsg. mit fr̲derung der Gesellschaft fr Musiktheater, Volume 2. Neumann GmbH. p. 831.
  11. Plays and Players, Volume 7 Hansom Books, 1959 – Theater From inside the book
  12. Meehan, Paul (2014). The Vampire in Science Fiction Film and Literature. McFarland. pp. 146–148. ISBN 9780786474875.
  13. Thomas, Kevin (21 August 1987). "Movie Review: Clash Of Cultures In Whimsical 'Ping Pong'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017.
  14. Frame by Frame Three edited by Audrey T. McCluskey Page 565 Alphabetical listing of films Peggy Su! (1997)
  15. Dangerman Website Familiar Faces – Barbara Yu Ling
  16. Sanger, Clyde (1995). Malcolm MacDonald: Bringing an End to Empire. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 319. ISBN 9780773513037. barbara lee.
  17. Chan, Melvin (30 April 1960). "Dad off to see 'Suzie Wong' daughter". Singapore Free Press. p. 7 – via NewspapersSG.
  18. Durkin, Peter J. (1 May 2017). "Paul Goble, Storyteller". Whispering Wind – via TheFreeLibrary.com.
  19. "England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005". Retrieved 15 February 2018 – via Ancestry.com.
  20. Who's Who 1995 (127th ed.). London: A&C Black. 1995. ISBN 0713639954.
  21. "Albery, Ian Bronson, (born 21 Sept. 1936), theatre producer, manager and consultant, West End, London; Theatre Design Consultant, Nimax Theatres Ltd, since 2007". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u5159. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  22. "Personal Column: Deaths". The Times. London. 9 April 1997. p. 22.
  23. Death certificate: Barbara Yu Ling Albery. Camden, London. Register A43A, Entry 128. General Register Office, 1997.
  24. Baxter, Ronald (28 July 1957). "I will make good (said Barbara) - and she has". The Straits Times. p. 9 – via NewspapersSG.
  25. "Ambassador's Wife as Stage Adviser". The Times. London. 4 July 1957. p. 18.
  26. Lackersteen, Doug (1 November 1959). "Big role in 'Suzy Wong' for Barbara". The Straits Times. p. 13 – via NewspapersSG.
  27. "Sayonara Butterfly (1959)". Teatro del Novecento (in Italian). 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018.
  28. "The World of Suzie Wong by Paul Osborn". Cadbury Research Library Special Collections. University of Birmingham. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  29. "The World of Suzie Wong" (PDF). Prince of Wales Theatre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018 – via David Webb Virtual Archive.
  30. Stone, Jeffrey (2010). Whatever Happened to Prince Charming?. pp. 195–199. ISBN 9781450546331.
  31. Marshall Cavendish Secrets of a Rainbow Goddess
  32. "'Flower Drum Song' by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields". Cadbury Research Library. University of Birmingham. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  33. Yeoh, Olivia (1 February 1966). "Her career is all important". The Straits Times. p. 8 – via NewspaperSG.
  34. Arnot, Chris (25 August 2015). "Malcolm Craddock obituary". The Guardian.
  35. The Fright Site Hardware
  36. "Peggy Su! (1998)". BFI ScreenOnline. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  37. Baxter, Ronald (27 January 1957). "Barbara gets a part in the 'Yangtse Incident'". The Straits Times. p. 9 – via NewspapersSG.
  38. "Oriental opulence (fashion)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  39. "'Prisoner' of TV". Sunday Star Bulletin & Advertiser: TV Aloha. Honolulu. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel By J. P. Wearing Page 677 59.249 The World of Suzie Wong
  41. "East and West in Fascinating Conflict". The Stage and Television Today. 2 September 1965. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required)
  42. Arnold-Foster, Val (13 December 1991). "Snails and Stereotypes". The Guardian. London. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
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