Yuen Siu-tien, a seasoned veteran of the Peking Opera, had already made a name for himself in numerous black-and-white costume dramas before his son, Yuen Woo-ping, gave him a breakthrough role in the iconic film "Snake in Eagle's Shadow", which catapulted Jackie Chan's career to new heights.
Following the success of "Snake in Eagle's Shadow", Yuen Siu-tien went on to star alongside Chan and Jeong-lee Hwang, the main villain of "Snake in Eagle's Shadow", in the sequel "Drunken Master". These two films further solidified his reputation, and during the production of one film, he was forced to change hotels every night to avoid producers with questionable connections.
Tragically, Yuen Siu-tien passed away during the filming of Sammo Hung's "The Magnificent Butcher", leaving his scenes to be re-filmed. Interestingly, this film was also directed by his son, who would later go on to direct his last completed film, "The Buddhist Fist".
