What if Leslie Cheung Had Married Teresa Mo?

It is well-known that Leslie Cheung (張國榮) briefly dated Teresa Mo (毛舜筠) after meeting each other in the 1970s. Personal interviews with the two stars further revealed that Leslie was very much in love with Teresa and had even proposed marriage.

Leslie and Teresa met in the late 1970s while working on a music program for Rediffusion Television (RTV). Leslie was instantly attracted to Teresa and asked her out on dates. In a Time magazine interview, Leslie revealed that he had proposed to Teresa. “It is more fitting if you define me as a bisexual as I’ve had many girlfriends in the past. I proposed to Teresa Mo when I was 22 years old.”

Thinking back, Teresa recalled uncertainties surrounding their puppy love. “I did date him, but it just felt like two young people being happy together. He was rather clingy, and hung around me all the time. I thought he was a very cute boy who was really kind to me, but I didn’t think about him all the time. Can that be considered a type of love?” Teresa admitted that while she was very happy in the relationship, she would not have married Leslie.

Leslie and Teresa’s relationship ended shortly after the proposal. The two briefly lost touch but became close friends again when they reunited for 1992’s All’s Well, Ends Well <家有囍事>. Teresa eventually married director Tony Au (區丁平) and immigrated to Canada.

Despite a failed romantic relationship, Teresa remained in Leslie’s life as friend and confidant. Leslie even introduced his partner Daffy Tong (唐鶴德) to Teresa at one point, and was delighted when Teresa approved of Daffy and gave them her blessings.

During an iCable TV program hosted by Teresa, Leslie confirmed the influence Teresa had over his life. “If you had agreed to marry me back then, my life could have changed completely.”

Source: East Week

This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. in order words….Teresa Mo turned Leslie into a gay person…if only she married him, he would still be alive..

    1. I can’t agree with u more! That’s clearly a cause-and-effect situation… Sadly, no one can change fate; perhaps, it’s meant to be the way it is…

    2. What a stupid comment. You can’t turn someone gay.

    3. It’s harsh to say that, to say that another person is responsible for changing someone’s orientation. But at the same time, from reading your comment, Sky, it appears that you might be blaming Teresa Mo for his death.. :/

      I’m sorry if I’m misread/misunderstood your comment.

    4. I don’t think Teresa turned him into a gay person… As he said, he is bi not really gay… Yea, fate is strong and sadly you cannot change it regardless of what you do.

      1. if he married her, she becomes a good wife, he won’t think about other man…he got kids, then he use his time taking care of the kids,etc…..

      2. @sky. What kind of logic is that? I have read numerous stupid comments here but yours takes the cake.

      3. @ G Glitter,

        You are full of yourself aren’t you? go back to cleaning the house….

    5. No – Leslie dated other girls prior to Daffy.

    6. It’s possible. Or you could say Leslie found himself in the position to date both guys and girls after Teresa didn’t want to marry him.

    7. Billionaire like Li Ka Shing or Stanley Ho turned me into a poor person… if only he gives me part of his fortune, I would be much better off…

      1. are you dating/sleeping with Li Ka Shing or Stanley Ho?? then maybe they would give u some $$$.

    8. In between their puppy love and his eventual death, was like decades. What a way to blame someone for unrelated matters. They could have been divorced and he jumped to his death earlier for all I know!

      1. Agree with Funn!!
        And the last part is so funny!! Hahas

      2. lol… how true.
        Well, back then I did wonder if it’ll turn out differently if Momo accepts Gor Gor’s proposal then. No one can predict the outcome because both were quite young.
        Momo mentioned she finds Gor Gor clingy, so I’d guess he may like ‘tougher’ and more dominant personalities.
        But it’s still sad that he ended his life that way. His voice is really haunting and to this day, don’t hear anyone with similar voice like him (unlike the Beyond member who passed on – there was a guy in China who sounds exactly like him).

    9. disagreed! lots of guy date girls and found out later that they’re actually gay.

      1. Ya they dated the opposite sex and found out that they’re not attracted to the. It’s called experimenting. However, in no way are the girls those guys dated responsible for turning them into homosexuals or bisexual. It’s a realization.

    10. How would you know the outcome? He may have still surcome to the same fate if he had to live a “lie” just because society can not accept his sexual preference(s). Your comment makes no sense at all.

      1. living a “lie”…he’s bi..he can be with male or female..like i say, if Teresa married him, he won’t be gay full time lol…

  2. LoL, I just commented on Teresa and Leslie in the other article!

    Sigh, I love Leslie and Teresa individually as artists (Leslie as a singer/actor superstar and Teresa as a gifted comedian) and liked Teresa even more when I found out that she was Leslie’s first love. I can really picture them as a couple, but it’s all moot now. 🙁

    Here’s what I posted in the other article:

    As Leslie said himself in an interview with TIME magazine, he was bisexual. So he would have still been attracted to men even if he was married, but probably would not have acted on his attraction, as Leslie is very loyal in love (he doesn’t strike me as a cheater who’d hurt his loved one ie. wife with an affair). That said, if he had married Teresa Mo, I do believe that Leslie’s life would have been different and they could have been very happy together. Teresa always made Leslie laugh and vice versa. Even in their movies , you can see they sparkle together with so much chemistry and mutual affection. Leslie is simply more alive, mischievious and radiantly zany around Teresa (and she totally gets him, lol), that’s why he requested that Raymond Wong cast her as his partner in the All’s Well Ends Well movie. Teresa also strikes me as a very maternal figure, so she will definitely take good care of Leslie’s needs if she was his wife.
    And speaking of Teresa Mo, one of the most touching segments of the concert on 31st was the video that she recorded talking about how Leslie and her used to always sing Chinese Opera together for fun, and after Leslie departed, whenever she hears/sees Chinese Opera, she is reminded of Leslie. Teresa was still so emotional when talking about Leslie. You can tell that they truly had a special and deep relationship. So sad.

    1. Thanks for your info! I always wondered, “What IF Teresa did marry Leslie back then?” I am sure his life would have been really different. I feel it is so “ke xi” that they did not end up together. I guess they had yuan but no fen, so sad… I honestly hope that if there is truly a next life that they will both end up together and live happily. Teresa seems like a great person that would have made Leslie’s life really happy. I have a feeling that he will always be in Teresa’s heart.

      1. Yes, I wish that they had gotten married too . But I suppose their timing wasn’t right as they met when both were too young to handle their feelings, and from what Teresa said in this article, it seems like Leslie was still very immature and a clingy/insecure boy when he dated her and Teresa wasn’t ready yet for a serious relationship, what more a marriage proposal. Girls usually mature faster than boys, and if they had met and fallen in love 5 or 7 years later, sometime in the mid 80s, things would have been different – Leslie would have grown up more and learned to love Teresa in the way she needs to be loved, and Teresa would have definitely fallen madly in love with him (I mean who wouldn’t, it’s the handsome and charismatic Leslie Cheung after all! Haha!). Btw, if I’m not mistaken Teresa had a first failed marriage before she married Tony Au – so it’s not like she’s averse to marrying young either. It’s just that Leslie and her met when they were both realllyyyy young and she didn’t know what to make of all his romantic gestures (he was probably trying too hard to impress her, lol).

      2. Yeah , I thought the same thing as well and probably would be happily married, another golden couple….

      3. omigod, shenanigans- true love has nothing to do with yoon fun – hai zhou hai – mhai zhou mhai – that’s it – very simple – even a child could figure it out if true love crossed his/her path

      4. I looked up Teresa’s earlier husbands, and there was a businessman, and a scriptwriter. If we are scoring all three, they won’t match up to Gor gor in looks combined. Despite his looks and charm, she seems to want something different, from her choices – just an average man, someone grounded and dependable? Not the star. The sensitivity that refined his acting, but burdened his insecurity. Leslie is attracted to a strong woman, but she might not want to wear the pants. she loves and adores him as a friend, but I don’t foresee them working even if they were married. :/ in fact, perhaps worse.

      5. Well, I’d take Teresa’s words with a grain of salt. She could be holding back from revealing what she truly feels for Leslie since she’s already married now. She couldn’t possibly admit that Leslie was the love of her life and she regretted not marrying him, right? That would be rather cruel to her husband and family.

        But you made some good points. Perhaps Leslie’s sensitive and perfectionist personality would have driven any woman up the wall, and like you said, most women prefer not to wear the pants in the relationship. From his interviews, I feel that Leslie is someone who very needy of attention and insecure (very typical personality of artistic types) and it would take a very patient partner (whether it’s a man OR woman) to live with him. Having said that, I don’t think Leslie is incapable of taking care his family. I’d imagine he’d be quite a great father, he’d be a doting and wonderful dad to his kids but not spoil them rotten. It’s a pity he never became a dad, because Leslie has so much love to give.

        In that interview clip that Pandamao shared, Leslie told Maggie Cheung that if he was to get married, he would choose to marry her. What do you guys make of that? Do you think Leslie and Maggie Cheung could have made it as a couple? Maggie is a very independent type of woman, not as family oriented as Teresa Mo. Don’t know if a relationship can work out based on mutual admiration (Leslie seems to admire Maggie for her talents mostly).

      6. I agree with Felicity that we should take her words with a grain of salt. Of course when you agree to love and be with someone you have to accomodate them and they do the same for you, which is how you complement each other. I am sure his perfectionist personality would not be too bad versus lots of other bad traits that people may possess. It would have been great if he did become a father. I am sure he would have been a great dad and his kids would have loved him as well. It is a big pity that he never became one.

        I always felt that he had something for Maggie Cheung and I honestly would have loved it if they did become a couple in real life. I think he did say that Maggie was one of the most significant women in his life. They were so sweet in The Fallen Family too. I think there may have been a good chance that they could have had a happy family together. But at the very least they were good friends until the end.

      7. HeTieShou: That’s true. It would be naive to think that a relationship will be smooth sailing all the way. Everybody has their own idiosyncrasies and bad habits. A real long term relationship takes a lot of commitment and effort on both parties to complement and accept each others flaw, if the love is there and they make each other happy, then it is worth it. Like Leslie said in this interview with Maggie and Tony (about what they look for in friends), they have to “click” first. It’s not about looks, or status or money. It’s the same thing with love. There must be a special spark or chemistry (or whatever you want to call it) there between two people and a genuine connection for it to work. I think that Leslie and Teresa do have that special something, or else they wouldn’t have reconnected and became such close friends even years after breaking up. Though of course, it’s easier and less complicated to stay as friends than lovers.

        Wow, did Leslie really say that Maggie Cheung is one of the most significant women in his life?! I only know that Leslie declared that his mother and Daffy Tong were two of the most important people in his life at one of his concerts, don’t know who is the other person most importan t to him. I thought it might be Anita Mui as she’s really close to Leslie, he dotes on Anita and protects her like his own little sister. (Well, I think he’d be careful not to name someone who is already married/attached like Teresa Mo lest it causes jealousy or misunderstanding in her relationship with her husband.) But it would be bold to name Maggie Cheung (and surely that would set off the HK gossipers tongue wagging?)…

        Anyway, I agree with you that Leslie and Maggie Cheung would make such a beautiful couple. I saw an episode of Fallen Family recently myself recently, and wow, they do make an absolutely breathtaking gorgeous pair! If these two had gotten together, they’d surely be the hottest and most talented couple in Asia. Movie aside, Brangelina! LOL.

        Yeah, I also think that Leslie did have an obvious attraction for Maggie, but she’s harder to read than him. They do have some things in common. Maggie had a similar background as Leslie (both studied in boarding school in England), and both came from not very happy homes. Since Maggie has a western upbringing and broader outlook and is a very talented actress herself, she might be able to understand Leslie’s unpredictable artistic outburts and mood swings. Or would they clash even more as both are very stubborn people? Who knows. Like you, I am contented to know that they were good friends and they filmed many classic movies together like Stand Behind the Yellow Line, Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time.

  3. I really wish that he would have married TM and probably would be happily married. But then again he probably won’t be Leslie cheung that we know today. O well..

    1. I also wished that she married Leslie too. Maybe the timing was not right since she of course had good feelings towards him and vice versa. I think he would have been a different Leslie but he is still the Leslie that everyone loves and probably happier too?? That is something we will all just wonder….

      1. Yeah, when you’re 22 and you just entered the entertainment business then your first prerogative isn’t to get married. Leslie loved her very much but the timing just wasn’t right.

      2. From what she said it didn’t even seem more about timing. They seemed incompatible in outlook. She did find him clingy as this article said. The fact that they were young and ended early without much hate could let them become good friends.

  4. wait…isn’t the proposal just a rumor??? If it’s true then…damn…I wish she married Leslie D: It would have been a lot different.

  5. Love watching them both in All well end’s well. Probably the best couple story in the movie.

    1. I find they were the most hilarious couple in that movie! Really memorable!

    1. pandamao, thanks for the link. Sigh, so many artists’ close friendships destroyed by tabloids, rumors and gossips. Good for those who managed to regain their friendships in the later years to become good friends again.

    2. Thanks for sharing this link, pandamao! Very insightful and enjoyable chat with Leslie, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Kar Fai. Who would have thought that Leslie would die merely 6 years after this interview in 1997. 🙁

      Big Tony recorded a video segment for Leslie’s concert on the 31st too. He still looked really devastated when talking about Gor Gor. Gor Gor really broke all his friends hearts with his tragic suicide. Sometimes I don’t understand how someone who’s so adored by many people and has many good and true friends, can still not get the right help for himself when he has depression. Did his friends not think his condition was serious enough to reach out to him or was Leslie too good an actor, that they never guessed how troubled he truly was?

      1. I know his close friends were upset with themselves for not doing something about it … i would be.

        He had such an optimistic view in life. Did you watch the part about the parasite incident in Buenos Aires? Geez, I thought he would cherish life a little more 🙁

      2. I imagine a lot of them are probably wracked with guilt, many of them thinking, “what if”….what if they had spent a little more time with Leslie, showing their concern for him, or said something. What if…..Anita Mui was especially shattered about his death…she had no idea that Leslie had depression although they often kept in touch and Leslie even performed at her concert with her. Depression really is a silent killer.

        Yes, I saw the part where Leslie recounted his close shave with death in Buenos Aires. From this interview, I gleaned that Leslie doesn’t really get along with Wong Kar Wai because he sounds gruffy when talking about him. Leslie said that each time he acted in a WKW film, he always has a brush with some calamity/danger. In Days of Being Wild, when they filmed in the Philippines, he was running on the rooftops of some old buildings with loose tiles. In Ashes of Time, while they filmed in the desert in China, Leslie was bitten by a scorpion – luckily it was only a baby scorpion or he could have died from its venom! Then there’s the Buenos Aires food poisoning incident which left Leslie weak and helpless about how to treat it. Good thing Tony Leung cared enough for Leslie to ask his doctor back in HK for help. I don’t see WKW caring much for Leslie. He didn’t even attend any memorial events or said anything much about Leslie since he died.

  6. Wow did not know they was a couple !, love both of them.

  7. I would not go so far to say that if Leslie had married Teresa, he would be alive today. That has too much implications and may hurt others as a result. It’s 10 years too late to consider the what-ifs.

    1. It is true that none of us are 100% sure that Leslie would still be alive today or not. However, for some really odd reason, I have a strong feeling that he would be and would have had a happy family with Teresa along with kids and all… I only wish that IF there is a next life that they would end up together and be happy… At least we can imagine it and I have a good feeling that Teresa will always have Leslie in her heart.

    2. Or they could have been divorced earlier and he jumps to his death much earlier than he actually did.

      1. Wow, Funn you sound very negative and do not like Teresa or something. It is true that no one knows the outcome so at least think if it more happily.

      2. How hopeful can I sound when he did jump to his death 10 years ago?

  8. At one point of time I was really angry at Theresa Mo. I felt she should be thankful to have the love from Leslie Cheung! I often felt that there are so many beautiful women that would be eagerly waiting to date someone like Leslie Cheung. How could she turned down someone like Leslie Cheung? I didnt understand why Leslie Cheung fell for Theresa Mo as I dont find her attractive, pretty. Years later, I found she’s someone unpretentious, anyone would be comfortable being with her. Maybe he needed this. Sometimes, it’s not all about looks, it takes chemistry that’s why some pretty women dont have as many suitors and vice versa. Sigh, all this could be destiny, they were not destined to be together that’s all I could say.

    1. I don’t know why people base it on looks so much??? There is always way more to a person than just looks. That’s what my mom said too. She thought that Leslie can do a lot better, but I told her maybe it was her character and personality that he liked. It is not just looks. I think it is chemistry, connection and many other things not looks. Maybe looks are only important when you first see a person and have not interacted with them yet. But once you do, looks then become secondary. Yea, they had yuan but no fen which is sad.. You can’t fight fate and destiny…

      1. One thing I noticed about Leslie is that he is attracted to and admires women with strong and distinct characters – Brigitte Lin, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung and Carina Lau – Leslie is close friends with all of them. I don’t think Leslie falls in love with merely shallow pretty women with no personalities. Teresa Mo has lots of spunkiness and a colorful personality, I believe Leslie always appreciated that part of Momo, and her genuine warmth.

      2. I actually admire men that go for much than just looks. He was good looking himself, but was not shallow which is a great thing. I have seen men that are bad looking but yet want pretty women. How will that be possible, unless they had money.

    2. really? I never thought he was so great especially when he moaned that Monica song which gives me the shivers.

      Anyway, I think Momo debuted in a time when the makeup in Hong Kong was really bad in opposition to the lush airbrush look that was being applied in Japan – in 80s Hong Kong – the prettiest starlets had black Nike strips for eyebrows and dark brown contouring makeup on the sides of their perfectly fine noses. I remember Momo’s countouring being particularly crazy. As far as I can remember, only the Happy Ghost girls and Cherie Chung were allowed to look more natural in their maquillage – everyone else had a giant bouffant fringe and lopsided hair and perms and giant shoulder pads (but really small waists) – it was really a crazy time.

      So even if Momo was/is prettier than Leslie, would it make a difference. I think Momo has more of a naturally entertaining personality – she is really zany and outgoing naturally in a distinct Cantonese way.

  9. bisexual? being with daffy was a wrong move then, rumours.. leslie felt suicidal cos daffy bumped leslie for another guy friend, leslie was also aging, somehow felt depressed and couldn’t bounce back.. suicide is not good.. will lead to hell

    1. That has nothing to do with Leslie’s decision to end his life, he had a chronic illness that he couldn’t accept so he choose the path he did to end his misery. No one knows what happens after one passes cause none lived to tell obviously, I believe those that had a good heart will be somewhere more calm and positive, that’s where Leslie is.

      1. It is true that no one knows what truly happens after you pass away. People base it on too much religious theories that may or may not be true. I remmeber recently seeing a series that had a part about what happens after you die and one said that IF you commit suicide then you end up elsewhere versus if you die naturally. But then again, they are all just theories and no one know the truth. However, one thing I do believe is that if you have a good heart and did many good deeds then you will more likely end up somewhere pleasant versus someone who was selfish and did many bad things in their lives.

  10. Clearly he loved her more than she ever loved him. But I suspect even if they married, it will turn to bitterness due to the uneven love and he will have realised he is at best bisexual and that can’t be good for the relationship. She had the guts to end the relationship there and then. She seems more decisive than he was.

    Truth is all these are speculations, all the what ifs which is pretty useless now.

    1. I have seen may relationships where it starts out with one loving the other one a lot more. However over time it changes and the one that used to get loved more ended up giving more love. In most relationships, one always likes the other one a bit more. But of course it is true that if the gap is too big then there will be problems. I would take her words with a grain of salt because she is now married and all so has to be careful about what she says regarding an ex.

  11. Just wonder. Wikipedia says that Teresa married three times? Her now husband is the third.Is that true?

  12. They would have had very very beautiful children for sure!

  13. Sigh..

    I just wished Leslie had confide in her his problems before he made that fateful move.

  14. Getting married too young is a whole set of problems especially when a couple is under the media’s eyes and starting out on their own careers. Leslie’s tour schedules and Teresa’s filming schedule alone would be cause for many clashes. Can’t play the what-if game here.

    Also Leslie won’t be able to always deny his sexual orientation be it gay or bi.

  15. I would kill someone who was gay/bi/whatever and still pursued me! Your indecision should not be other people’s burden!

  16. Momo has a very irate type of Cantonese speaking – haha – any minute she could veer off into hysteria of mirth or rage – you never know what will happen next.

    1. I agree, Momo is a ball of energy. She’s very high spirited and never boring. I love her boisterous laughter. Momo would have been a great influence on Leslie as she’s such a cheerful and optimistic person.

  17. hh, no way – someone who enjoys expounding in Cantonese is not going to kill themselves – there are still many topics to expound upon in the unforeseeable future – REALLY – there is no way hearing him on Sa Zair Ming’s show that Leslie could convince anyone that he is suicidal. They are all lying. Also, the Maggie Cheung on that couch could never French Poodle perm her hair and date underage Germans.

    1. haha he behaves and responds like a shrewd middle aged man

  18. Watching the interview, you can see that both Teresa and Leslie viewed this past relationship as a sweet but fleeting point in their lives. They were young, and they didnt really know what marriage was all about. Even though Leslie claims his life probably would have been different, there’s no point in dwelling on that.
    I have to be the cynical one here. There’s a reason the relationship never got anywhere to begin with. Can you really see those two personalities stay in a happy long marriage together? Sometimes it’s a case of being closest as friends rather than lovers, and this is Leslie and Teresa’s only possible outcome. In Teresa’s interview, she even says back when we were “所爲” / so-called dating. She barely even acknowledges the extent of their relationship, so is there a need for any maybes? There was never even a chance to begin with!

  19. At least they had a wonderful relationship when they dated. Too bad, it didn’t worked out.

    How did the depression came along? Does it have to do with Daffy??

    I wish his family and friends would of been there by his side 24/7. Depression ppl has a dangerous mind. All they wanna do is to end the pain. Leslie had committed suicide before, that’s a big keys to monitor him all all time. And where was Daffy at that time.

    It is what it is. RIP Leslie!!!

    1. Depression may not be fleeting or short-term – emotions may come in waves. It may be impossible to watch 24/7. The feelings of sadness may not constantly be so intense as to need to “end the pain”.

  20. For the past 10 years, I always thought–or at least suspected–that Gor Gor was actually gay but identified as bi to maintain his fans base. I even thought he used the proposal to Teresa Mo to show he was bi. I didn’t know why I thought so, maybe because he seemed to be very enjoying when getting f*cked by Tony Leung in Happy Together. Gor Gor’s bisexuality and celebrity status remind me of Montgomery Clift and James Dean, both were bisexual actors who were from my grandmother’s era. After Theresa Mo admitted that Gor Gor did propose to her, I felt I was so stupid. I should have known earlier he was in fact really bi.

    Now whenever I see Gor Gor, I think of Duncan James from Blue, Frank Ocean, and that old guy who is the music executive for Kelly Clarkson.

    To answer the article’s question, who knew what would happen if Leslie Cheung had married Teresa Mo? Maybe they would be happily living together. Maybe, like Funn Lim said, they would have been divorced earlier and he jumped to his death much earlier than he actually did. Or maybe, they got married and then Teresa Mo got dumped by Gor Gor because of other man, like how Adele’s bi bf dumped her for another man, but then again, I think even a straight man will dump her. Who knows what would happen?

    1. Beside the artistes you named, Freddy Mercury also makes me think of Gor Gor. Freddy had a sweet relationship with his girlfriend before he met and had a love affair with a record executive. I think Freddy was more gay than bi, and maybe Gor Gor was too. Also, both are very flamboyant, charismatic and talented singers.

      1. Felicity, Freddie Mercury was definitely gay. But he left all his money or most of it to his girlfriend who was more friend than girlfriend.

        I personally feel Leslie Cheung is nowhere near Freddie Mercury as a performer. Freddie Mercury was mercurial so to speak. Also died to young but he didn’t give up on life. He died of AIDs, and fought till the end.

      2. Felicity, actually the artistes that I mentioned remind me of Gor Gor only in terms of acting. If you meant singing, then maybe Freddy Mercury comes to mind. But in terms of overall package–look, singing, acting, style, character–then without a doubt it is Elvis Presley (he was straight, though).

      3. @Funn Lim: Freddie Mercury had an apt name, huh? “Mercurial”, he was. lol

        Well, speaking as a Leslie Cheung fan, I think both are very talented and fascinating performers in their own unique ways. Personally, I think Freddie had one of the best singing voice of all time. His rich and powerful voice filled the whole Wembley Stadium effortlessly during Queen concerts, and until today, no one else can project his voice quite like Freddie even though many attempt to imitate his style.

        As for Leslie, I love the lower timbre of his voice, the raspiness, and the way he caresses the lyrics of his songs so intimately, and make the words come alive (if you know what I mean, lol). It’s the vulnerability of Leslie’s emotions when singing that is very precious to me, and feels like he is singing for me personally…(btw, I think Michael Jackson also had a similar vulnerability in his singing voice that pulled at your heartstrings). Leslie understood his songs very well, and he was a consummate performer.

        Both Freddie Mercury and Leslie Cheung are superstars who were very influential and beloved in their own time. Mercury is to modern pop/rock when Leslie is to Cantopop. Both are irreplaceable and are sorely missed.

        @Adele: I agree with you that Montgomery Clift and James Dean share similar qualities with Leslie in terms of acting – very raw and sensitive, instinctive performers. It’s very sad what happened to M.Clift….he was so handsome and such a natural talent..I loved his friendship with Elizabeth Taylor..however, he was never the same man after that terrible car accident disfigured his beautiful face.

      4. Typo, uggh….it should read “Mercury is to modern pop/rock what Leslie is to Cantopop.”

        Also, I want to add that Freddie Mercury succumbed to AIDs unfortunately while Leslie Cheung succumbed to depression. I disagree that Leslie “gave up” on his life, as Depression is a serious illness and he should not be blamed for not thinking straight because of his illness. Anyone in really great pain would only think of ending the pain right there and then. It’s not like Leslie just gave up on his life easily, he battled with depression and insomnia over a long period of time and was seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication, to no avail. It really wore him down and in a moment of weakness (or courage, depends how you see it – you have to admit that it takes a lot of guts to jump from 24 stories high – Leslie died on his own terms, even though it was devastating to all who loved him and I wished from the bottom of my heart that he had made a different decision). Have some compassion and try not to judge him too harshly for his actions, because this was not the normal Leslie…his illness had taken over his thinking process.

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