Chan Shen was a Taiwanese actor born in Taichung, Taiwan. He worked exclusively for the Shaw Brothers. He started out in 1971 and, given his look and solid acting chops, quickly established himself in sinister henchman and gangster-type roles.

Besides being menacing or repellent, Chan Shen was also at ease in comedy, which allowed him to play the comic foil for the hero to make fun of in many movies.

Very little is known of his history and private life, except that he was reportedly Taiwanese born and that he was briefly wed to Shaw Brothers' starlet Shirley Yu, which lasted only minutes as they got into a big argument while registering to be married and Shirley Yu tore up the marriage certificate as soon as they walked out of city hall.

Sadly, Chen Shen died prematurely at only 44 in 1984. He had been so prolific that about half a dozen movies in which he appeared were released after his passing.

(Source: HKCM) Edit Biography