Zhao Dan (June 27, 1915 – October 10, 1980) was a Chinese film actor.
Career Zhao became famous working in the Mingxing Film Company in the 1930s including playing opposite Zhou Xuan in Street Angel (1937). After the Sino-Japanese War, Zhao began a creative relationship with director Zheng Junli, with films such as the 1948 anti-Kuomintang drama-comedy, Crows and Sparrows.
Zhao remained on the mainland following the Communist victory in 1949 and continued to make films throughout the 1950s and 1960s notably in biographical films playing historical figures of Nie Er, Lin Zexu (both directed by Zheng Junli) and Li Shizhen.
Zhao joined Chinese Communist Party in 1957. During the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and imprisoned for 5 years. He died of pancreatic cancer in Beijing in 1980.
Personal life Zhao was married to Ye Luxi (Rose Ye) in 1936. When he was arrested by Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang in 1939, it was rumored that he was killed. Thus Ye married the playwright Du Xuan. After the war, he was released and returned to Shanghai. He married actress Huang Zongying in 1948.
Selected filmography
As actor Year English Title Chinese Title Director Role1933Twenty-Four Hours in Shanghai上海二十四小时Shen Xiling1937Street Angel马路天使Yuan MuzhiXiao Chen1937Crossroads十字街头Shen XilingZhao1947Far Away Love遙遠的愛Chen LitingXiao Yuanxi1947Rhapsody of Happiness幸福狂想曲Chen Liting1949Crows and Sparrows烏鴉与麻雀Zheng JunliLittle Broadcast1949Women Side by Side丽人行Chen LitingZhang Yuliang1950The Life of Wu Xun武训传Sun YuWu Xun1951The Married Couple我们夫妇之间Zheng Junli1956Li Shizhen李时珍Shen FuLi Shizhen1958Lin Zexu林则徐Zheng JunliLin Zexu1959Nie Er聂耳Zheng JunliNie Er
As director Year English Title Chinese Title Notes1947The Dress Returns to Glory衣锦荣归1953Bless the Children为孩子们祝福1964An Evergreen Tree青山恋Also known as Precious Green Mountains
Further reading
External links
A Man of Many Faces Zhao Dan at the Chinese Movie Database