Zhao Dan

Zhao Dan was a actor popular in the golden age of .

Biography

Born as Zhao Feng'ao in Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, Zhao first became famous working in the Mingxing Film Company in the 1930s including playing opposite Zhou Xuan in '''' . After the , Zhao began a creative relationship with director Zheng Junli, with films such as the 1948 anti-Kuomintang drama-comedy, ''Crows and Sparrows''.

Zhao remained on the mainland following the victory in 1949 and continued to make films throughout the 1950s and 1960s notably in biographical films playing historical figures of Nie Er, Lin Zexu and Li Shizhen.

He joined Communist Party of China in 1957. During Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and imprisoned for 5 years. He died of pancreas cancer in Beijing in 1980.

He was married to Ye Luqian in 1936. When he was arrested by Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang in 1939, it was rumored he had been dead. Thus Ye was married to playwright Du Xuan. After the war, he was released and returned to Shanghai. He later was married to Huang Zongying.

Selected filmography

As actor

As director