Sawong "Lor Tok" Supsamruay's 105th Birthday, Google Doodle Celebrating Today

Sawong "Lor Tok" Supsamruay's 105th Birthday- (Thai: Tok wheel, real name Sawong Supsamruay Thai: Sapuang Sap, April 1, 1914 – April 29, 2002) was a Thai comedian and actor. He was named a Thailand National Artist for performing arts in 1995. With an acting career that stretched from the 1930s into the 1980s, Lor Tok had roles in more than 1,000 films, among them Ngern, Ngern, Ngern (Money, Money, Money, 1983 version), for which he received an award for best actor at the Thailand National Film Association Awards.

Sawong: Biography,Early Life

Born Sawong Supsamruay (Sawangsap Samui) in Ban Suan Klong, Bangkok Yai, Lor Tok was the third of five children of an orchardist. As a boy, he climbed coconut trees and learned to play traditional Thai musical instruments.

He attended Wat Nuan Noradit School until Mattayom 3 (the equivalent of ninth grade) and then went to work on the family orchard. After floods wiped out the orchard, Lor Tok worked on a river pier, helping to moor ferry boats. Other occupations included boatman on the Pasi Charoen canal, a trishaw driver in Nakhon Ratchasima and professional boxer. He is said to have often walked from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok on foot, a journey that took three days. He also served in the Royal Thai Army.

Sawong "Lor Tok": Comedy and Film Career

Lor Tok joined a comedy troupe and began performing with another popular comedian of the day, Jok Dokchan. He was acclaimed for his stage performance in the comic play, Klai Glua Kin Dang (Near Good Salt, Eat Bad Salt). Due to this role, a senior actor gave him his stage name.

His film debut was in 1933 in Wan Chakayan. Other films were Panan, Yod Phi, Hong Fah, Phra Apaimanee and Roy Khan.

Among his more famous roles were the 1985 remake of the musical comedy Ngern, Ngern, Ngern (Money money), for which he won best actor at the Thailand National Film Association Awards. He portrayed an unscrupulous moneylender whose son falls in love with a debtor and ends up taking sides against his father. He had also had a smaller role in the original 1965 film. Lor Tok won a Tuktathong ("Golden Doll") award for his role as a Chinese merchant in Go Hub.[2] He played the lead role in the 007 spoof, James Band and was the title character in the comedy horror, Dracula Tok. In the early 1980s, he acted in the acclaimed Luang ta duology, in which he portrayed a wise Buddhist monk.

He established his own production company in 1969 called Tok Boom Parpayon. Among the films he directed was Luk Kuey, which starred Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. He was popular on television in the 1980s, appearing in the shows "Nateethong" and "Traduduang"

Personal Life: Sawong "Lor Tok"

Lor Tok was described as short and dark skinned, with black hair and often sported a pencil moustache. His good humor won him an admirer in Somjit, a statuesque actress, model and beauty contest winner. They married and had three children.

At the end of his life Lor Tok suffered from emphysema due to smoking. On April 28, he was admitted to Sotharavej Hospital in Chachoengsao after collapsing while rehearsing for a khon masked dance performance, and he died at the hospital the next day.

Shortly after his death, a cartoon series based on his Dracula Tok character was developed.

Google Doodle Celebrating Today, Sawong "Lor Tok" Supsamruay's 105th Birthday

Rising from humble beginnings to become one of Thailand’s most acclaimed comedic actors, Sawong Supsamruay—known to audiences as Lor Tok—appeared in more than 1000 films, and stars in today’s Doodle.

Born in Bangkok on this day in 1914, Supsamruay worked on his family’s orchard as a boy until it was destroyed by a flood. He later made a living tending riverboats, driving a bicycle rickshaw, and boxing professionally. After joining a comedy troupe, he got his first chance to act on screen in the 1933 fim Wan Chakayan, officially kicking off a 50+ year acting career.

Supsamruay’s portrayal of a poor man named Lor Tok who forgets his roots after striking it rich in the popular film Klai Kuer Kin Kuer resonated so much with audiences that the name stuck throughout the rest of his career. Unlike this character, Supsamruay stayed true to himself no matter how successful he became, bringing a self-deprecating charm to his roles as the amusing sidekick to various leading men during the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.

Although best known for his comedies, Lor Tok took on dramatic roles as well, winning a Thai National Film Association award for his performance as a moneylender in Money, Money, Money. Beyond acting, Lor Tok started his own production company, where he both directed and starred in films. In 1995 he was named a National Artist of Thailand in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the performing arts.

The actor’s larger-than-life legacy was introduced to a younger Thai generation through the animated Dracula Tok Show, which caricatured the beloved comedian. Today, fans can also visit the Lor Tok Museum, opened by his widow in the simple wooden house they shared together.

Happy 105th Birthday, Lor Tok!