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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Australian actor Gregory Charles Rivers, who became famous due to his ‘token Caucasian’ roles in TVB dramas, has died at 58.
Rivers was found unconscious and unresponsive in a village house in Tai Au Mun Village in Hong Kong, according to Hong Kong news reports.
The police confirmed his death upon arrival at the scene.
Having appeared in more than 200 soap operas and TV shows, Rivers went by the Cantonese stage name Ho Kwok Wing. He was among the most well-known Western faces in Hong Kong for his acting and his fluency in Cantonese.
Gregory Charles Rivers became a household name in Hong Kong after taking on a number of roles in local TV dramas. Photo: Edmond So
According to a report by ABC Australia in 2016, Rivers was born in 1965 in Gympie, Queensland. He was studying medicine at the University of New South Wales in the 1980’s before being introduced to Cantopop.
He decided to give up on his studies and moved to Hong Kong to start a career in entertainment.
Before he moved to Hong Kong, Rivers said he used to be a driver for Cantopop superstar Alan Tam during one of his shows in Sydney.
Just two weeks after moving to the city island, Rivers met with Tam’s bandmates who invited him to perform with them. Rivers supported Tam for two stadium shows before going on to audition for a Caucasian character in a TV show in Hong Kong.
“My acting was terrible, my Cantonese was terrible but I thought I should at least try.
“The audition was really bad but they didn’t have a second choice.
“I ended up being TVB’s token Caucasian for 20 years straight,” Rivers said.
Since his debut in 1988 through TVB’s Twilight Of A Nation, Rivers has been the go-to-guy for stereotypical Caucasian characters.
According to portal TodayOnline, Rivers was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2017 and successfully underwent surgery and remained cancer-free.
However, he was diagnosed with arrhythmia the following year and was reported to be in heavy debt after undergoing heart surgeries.
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