Editing Haing S. Ngor

{{Short description|Cambodian-born American actor (1940–1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} 
{{Infobox person
| name               = Haing S. Ngor
| image              = Haing S. Ngor, 1986.jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = Ngor in 1986
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1940|03|22}}
| birth_place        = [[Bati district|Samrong Yong]], [[French protectorate of Cambodia|Cambodia]], French Indochina
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1996|February|25|1940|March|22}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| death_cause        = Murder (gunshot wounds)
| resting_place      = [[Rose Hills Memorial Park]], [[Whittier, California]], U.S.
| birth_name         = Haing Somnang Ngor
| citizenship        = {{ubl|Cambodia (until 1986)|U.S. (from 1986)}}
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1984–1996
| spouse             = {{marriage|Chang My-Huoy||1978|reason=d}}
| relations          = [[Chan Sarun]] (brother)
}}

'''Haing Somnang Ngor''' ([[Khmer language|Khmer]]: ហាំង សំណាង ង៉ោ; March 22, 1940 – February 25, 1996) was a Cambodian-born American actor. He won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his portrayal of Cambodian-American journalist [[Dith Pran]] in the biographical drama film ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984). He was murdered in [[Los Angeles]] in 1996.

==Early life==
Haing Somnang Ngor was born on March 22, 1940, in [[Bati district|Samrong Yong]], a village in [[French protectorate of Cambodia|Cambodia]], then part of French Indochina.<ref name="Elizabeth Lu">{{cite news |last=Lu |first=Elizabeth |title=For Haing Ngor, Sorrow Marks a Return Home |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-12-vw-2247-story.html |access-date=July 12, 2024 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 12, 1989}}</ref><ref name="HN-bio">{{cite web |title=Biography |url=http://www.haingngorfoundation.org/biography.html |website=Haing S. Ngor |access-date=October 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724235340/http://www.haingngorfoundation.org/biography.html |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His mother was [[Khmer people|Khmer]], and his father was of Chinese descent.{{Sfn|Kim|Fugita|Cordova|1999}}

Ngor trained as a [[gynecologist]] and [[obstetrician]], practicing in [[Phnom Penh]] before the [[Fall of Phnom Penh|capture of the city]] by [[Pol Pot]]'s [[Khmer Rouge]] in 1975. He had to conceal his education, medical skills, and even the fact that he wore glasses to avoid the new regime's intense hostility to intellectuals and professionals. Ngor was expelled from Phnom Penh with the bulk of its two million inhabitants as part of the Khmer Rouge's idea [[Year Zero (political notion)|Year Zero]] and sent to farm rice imprisoned with his wife, Chang My-Huoy, who required a [[cesarean section]] and died with the couple's unborn child<ref name="Elizabeth Lu" /><ref name="AP">{{cite news |title='Killing Fields' Of L.A. Claim Cambodian Hero |url=https://www.deseret.com/1996/3/3/19228320/killing-fields-of-l-a-claim-cambodian-hero/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 3, 1996}}</ref> during labor in 1978{{Sfn|Kim|Fugita|Cordova|1999}} because it was impossible to perform the surgery without risking the whole family's life.{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|1987|p=332–333}}<ref name="Post-Dispatch obituary">{{cite news |title=Cambodian Actor Slain In 'Killing Fields' Of LA |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/145099725/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |date=February 27, 1996 |location=Los Angeles |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="MN">{{cite news |title=Court Revives Convictions in Murder of 'Killing Fields' Survivor |url=http://www.metnews.com/articles/2005/tanx070805.htm |work=Metropolitan News |date=2005-07-08 |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref> He survived three terms in prison, using his medical knowledge to keep himself alive by eating [[beetle]]s, [[termite]]s,{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|1987|p=454}} and [[scorpion]]s.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/the-day-haing-s-ngor-won-the-oscar|title=The day Haing S. Ngor won the Oscar|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|date=March 24, 1985|access-date=September 15, 2016}}</ref>

After the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War|fall of the Khmer Rouge]] in 1979, Ngor and his niece crawled to safety in a [[Red Cross]] [[refugee camp]]<ref name="Ebert" /> in Thailand, where he subsequently worked as a physician.<ref name="Elizabeth Lu" /> The next year, they moved to the United States,<ref name="HN-bio" />{{Sfn|Kim|Fugita|Cordova|1999}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/04/27/3-teens-are-charged-with-murder-of-killing-fields-actor-haing-ngor/|title=3 Teens Are Charged With Murder of 'Killing Fields' Actor Haing Ngor|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Richard|last=Liefer|date=April 27, 1996|access-date=July 12, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ngor, Haing S. |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9113310/Ngor,%20Haing%20S |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720152202/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9113310/Ngor,%20Haing%20S |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-20 |work=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2007-10-06 }}</ref> where they settled in [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Reid |title=The Oscar Winner Whose Death Became a True Crime Story |url=https://collider.com/oscars-haing-s-ngor-murder/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |date=September 20, 2023}}</ref> Later in his life, Ngor was unable to resume his medical practice<ref name="yellowbridge.com">{{cite news |title=Famous Chinese-Americans in Entertainment: Acting; Haing S. Ngor |url=http://www.yellowbridge.com/people/actingM.html |work=Yellow Bridge |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref> and did not remarry.<ref name="AP" />

==Career==
Despite having no previous acting experience, Ngor was cast as Cambodian-American journalist [[Dith Pran]] in the biographical drama film ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984)—for which he won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]],{{Sfn|Kim|Fugita|Cordova|1999}}<ref name="AP" /><ref name="yellowbridge.com"/><ref name="David Ng">{{cite news |last=Ng |first=David |title=Unauthorized play about Oscar-winner Haing S. Ngor causes friction |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-killing-fields-haing-ngor-20130714-story.html |access-date=July 12, 2024 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 17, 2013}}</ref> becoming the [[List of Academy Award winners and nominees of Asian descent#Best Supporting Actor|first actor of Asian descent to win the award]] and one of the only two amateur actors to win an Academy Award, following [[Harold Russell]].<ref name="HN-actor">{{cite web |title=Actor |url=http://www.haingngorfoundation.org/actor.html |website=Haing S. Ngor Foundation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724235340/http://www.haingngorfoundation.org/actor.html |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 6, 2007}}</ref> Ngor was not initially interested in the role, but interviews with the filmmakers changed his mind, as he recalled that he promised his wife to tell Cambodia's story to the world. After appearing in the film, he told ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', "I wanted to show the world how deep starvation is in Cambodia, how many people die under communist regime. My heart is satisfied. I have done something perfect."<ref>{{cite web |last=Donahue |first=Deirdre |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089843,00.html |title=Cambodian Doctor Haing Ngor Turns Actor in the Killing Fields, and Relives His Grisly Past |publisher=People.com |access-date=2013-08-05 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220832/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089843,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1987, he published his autobiography,<ref name="AP" /> ''Haing Ngor: A Cambodian Odyssey'', in which he described his life under the Khmer Rouge.{{Sfn|Kim|Fugita|Cordova|1999}}<ref name="David Ng" />

Ngor went on to appear in various other onscreen projects, most memorably in ''[[Vanishing Son]]'' (1994–1995) and the biographical war drama film ''[[Heaven & Earth (1993 film)|Heaven & Earth]]'' (1993). He also appeared in the Hong Kong action film ''[[Eastern Condors]]'' (1987).

Ngor appeared in a supporting role in the 1989 Vietnam War drama ''The Iron Triangle and'' guest-starred in a two-episode storyline on the acclaimed series ''[[China Beach]]'' (episodes "How to Stay Alive in Vietnam 1 & 2"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lemaster|first1=Donna|title=China Beach an Episode Guide|url=http://epguides.com/ChinaBeach/guide.shtml#ep034|website=epguides|date=May 14, 2005}}</ref>) as a wounded Cambodian [[prisoner of war]] who befriends Colleen McMurphy while under her care. Ngor guest-starred in an episode of ''[[Miami Vice]]'' called "[[List_of_Miami_Vice_episodes#Season_3_(1986–87)|The Savage / Duty and Honor]]".

In ''[[My Life (film)|My Life]]'' (1993), Ngor portrayed Mr. Ho, a [[Faith healing|spiritual healer]] who provides guidance for Bob Jones ([[Michael Keaton]]) and his wife Gail ([[Nicole Kidman]]) after Bob is diagnosed with terminal cancer, months before the birth of the couple's first child.

==Humanitarian work==
Ngor and his close friend [[Jack Ong]] established the Dr. Haing S. Ngor Foundation to assist in raising funds for Cambodian aid.<ref name="David Ng" /> As part of his humanitarian efforts, Ngor built an [[elementary school]] and operated a small [[sawmill]] that provided jobs and an income for local families.<ref name="HN-bio" />

==Personal life==
Ngor became a [[naturalized U.S. citizen]] in 1986. He was a Buddhist.<ref name="Post-Dispatch obituary" />

== Death and legacy ==
On February 25, 1996, Ngor was shot and killed outside his home in [[Chinatown, Los Angeles]].<ref name="David Ng" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Noble |first=Kenneth B. |date=27 February 1996 |title=Cambodian Physician Who Won an Oscar for 'Killing Fields' Is Slain |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/27/us/cambodian-physician-who-won-an-oscar-for-killing-fields-is-slain.html |access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref> Three alleged members of the "Oriental Lazy Boyz" [[street gang]], who had prior arrests for snatching purses and jewelry, were charged with the murder. They were trialed together in the [[Superior Court of Los Angeles County]], though their cases were heard by three separate juries.<ref name="MN"/> Prosecutors argued that they killed Ngor because, after handing over his gold [[Rolex]] watch willingly, he refused to give them a locket that contained a photo of his late wife, My-Huoy. Defense attorneys suggested the murder was a politically motivated killing carried out by sympathizers of the Khmer Rouge. [[Kang Kek Iew]], a former Khmer Rouge official on trial in Cambodia, claimed in November 2009 that Ngor was murdered on Pol Pot's orders, but U.S. investigators did not find him credible.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">My-Thuan Tran, [http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-ngor-murder21-2010jan21/4 Revisiting Haing Ngor's murder: 'Killing Fields' theory won't die] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204100429/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-ngor-murder21-2010jan21/4 |date=2010-12-04 }}, ''Los Angeles Times'', January 21, 2010</ref>

Some criticized the theory that Ngor was killed in a bungled robbery, pointing to $2,900 in cash that had been left behind and that the thieves had not rifled his pockets. Why the thieves would have demanded his locket is not known; Ngor typically wore the locket next to his skin under his clothing, so it would not have been easily visible. {{as of|2003}}, the locket had not been recovered.{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|2003|p=515}}

All of the defendants were found guilty on April 16, 1998, the same day Pol Pot's death was confirmed in Cambodia.<ref>Daniel Yi, Greg Krikorian, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-17-me-40165-story.html Three Men Convicted of Killing Ngor], ''Los Angeles Times'', April 17, 1998</ref> Tak Sun Tan was sentenced to 56 years to life; Indra Lim to 26 years to life; and Jason Chan to life sentence without parole. In 2004, the [[U.S. District Court for the Central District of California]] granted Tak Sun Tan's ''[[habeas corpus]]'' petition, finding that prosecutors had manipulated the jury's sympathy by presenting false evidence. This decision was reversed, and the conviction was ultimately upheld by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] in July 2005.

Many Cambodians claimed they had a stake in his estate, with one woman claiming he had married her after coming to the United States. Most of Ngor's Cambodian assets went to his younger brother, [[Chan Sarun]], while his American assets were used up in legal fees staving off claims to his estate.{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|2003|p=512–513}} He was buried at [[Rose Hills Memorial Park]], [[Whittier, California]].

After the release of ''The Killing Fields'', Ngor had told a ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter, "If I die from now on, OK! This film will go on for a hundred years."{{Sfn|Suryadinata|2018}}

Dith Pran, whom Ngor portrayed in ''The Killing Fields'', said of Ngor's death, "He is like a twin with me. He is like a co-messenger and right now I am alone."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9602/haing_ngor/|publisher=CNN|author=Jim Hill|date=February 27, 1996|title=Actor Haing Ngor found gunned down outside L.A. home|access-date=2007-09-06}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1984
| ''{{sortname|The|Killing Fields|The Killing Fields (film)}}''
| [[Dith Pran]]
| {{unbulleted list|Credited as Dr. Haing S. Ngor|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]]|[[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]]|[[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor]]|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]}}
|-
| 1986
| ''The Kinmen Bombs''
| James Wu
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1987
| ''[[In Love and War (1987 film)|In Love and War]]''
| Major Bui
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Eastern Condors]]''
| Yeung Lung
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1989
| ''[[The Iron Triangle (film)|The Iron Triangle]]''
| Colonel Tuong, NVA
|
|-
| ''Vietnam War Story: The Last Days''
| Major Huyen
| (segment "The Last Outpost")
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1990
| ''[[Vietnam, Texas]]''
| Wong
|
|-
| ''[[Last Flight Out]]''
| Pham Van Minh
| TV movie
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Ambition (1991 film)|Ambition]]''
| Tatay
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1993
| ''[[My Life (film)|My Life]]''
| Mr. Ho
|
|-
| ''[[Heaven & Earth (1993 film)|Heaven & Earth]]''
| Papa
|
|-
| rowspan=6 | 1994
| ''[[Vanishing Son]]''
| The General
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Fortunes of War (film)|Fortunes of War]]''
| Khoy Thuon
|
|-
| ''[[Vanishing Son|Vanishing Son II]]''
| The General
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Vanishing Son|Vanishing Son III]]''
| The General
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Vanishing Son|Vanishing Son IV]]''
| The General
| TV movie
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Dragon Gate|nolink=1}}''
| Sensei
|
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Hit Me (film)|Hit Me]]''
| Billy Tungpet
| Posthumous release, (final film role)
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Miami Vice]]''
| Nguyen Van Trahn
| Episode: "The Savage / Duty and Honor"
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Highway To Heaven]]''
| Truong Vann Diep
| Episode: "Choices"
|-
| 1989
| ''[[China Beach]]''
| Seak Yin
| Episodes: "How to Stay Alive in Vietnam (Parts 1 & 2)"
|-
|1992
|''[[The Commish]]''
|Nhu Hao Duong
|Episode: "Charlie Don't Surf"
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Cited sources===
*{{cite book |last1=Ngor |first1=Haing |last2=Warner |first2=Roger |title=Haing Ngor: A Cambodian odyssey |date=1987 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing Company]] |location=New York City |isbn=0-02-589330-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambodianodyssey00ngor/ |access-date=July 12, 2024}}
*{{cite book|title=Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary|last1=Kim|first1=Hyung-chan|last2=Fugita|first2=Stephen|last3=Cordova|first3=Dorothy C.L.|chapter=Haing Ngor|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|pages=264–265|year=1999|isbn=0-313-28902-6|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/distinguishedasi00kimh/page/264}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ngor |first1=Haing |last2=Warner |first2=Roger |title=Survival in the Killing Fields |date=2003 |publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers]] |isbn=0-7867-1315-1}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9QEBAAAQBAJ&q=%22This+film+will+go+on+for+a+hundred+years.%22&pg=PA785|title=Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II|first=Leo|last=Suryadinata|date=19 November 2018|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789814345217|via=Google Books}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|628955}}
*{{Find a Grave|5681}}
*[https://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800022326&cf=biog&intl=us Yahoo! Biography]

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Haing S. Ngor
| list =
{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActor 1981-2000}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor 1980-1999}}
{{Bafta Award for Most Promising Newcomer}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestSuppActorMotionPicture 1981-2000}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngor, Haing S.}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:1996 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American Buddhists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century autobiographers]]
[[Category:20th-century Cambodian male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century physicians]]
[[Category:Activists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American activists of Asian descent]]
[[Category:American actors of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:American human rights activists]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners]]
[[Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park]]
[[Category:Cambodian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Cambodian genocide survivors]]
[[Category:Cambodian gynaecologists]]
[[Category:Cambodian male film actors]]
[[Category:Cambodian people of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Cambodian physicians]]
[[Category:Cambodian refugees]]
[[Category:Murdered actors]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in California]]
[[Category:Male actors from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People from Takéo province]]
[[Category:People murdered in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Writers from Los Angeles]]