Renowned Chinese actor dies at 94

 BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Chen Qiang, a veteran actor who is perhaps best known for the villains¹ he portrayed² early in his career, has passed away at the age of 94.

Chen, a native of Ningjin in north China's Hebei province, died at a hospital in Beijing Tuesday night.

The award-winning actor starred in more than 40 movies over the course of several decades, including "The Red Detachment of Women," "The White-Haired Girl" and other revolution-era classics.

He largely portrayed darker characters, such as greedy landlords, in the films he worked on before the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Chen claimed in some interviews that his vivid performances nearly had him killed when he was still a stage performer. A stage performance of "The White-Haired Girl" resulted in a newly-recruited soldier pulling a gun on Chen during the act. Fortunately, the rifle was taken away from the soldier before he could fire.

Chen turned to comedy in his old age. He worked with his son Chen Peisi, also a well-known comedian³, on a number of movies in the 1980s and 1990s.

1 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。