Former Taiwanese Mandopop superstar Liu Wen-cheng (???) passed away at 69 last year in the U.S., the late singer's agent Xia Yu-shun (???) confirmed Wednesday in a press statement.
Liu passed away from a heart attack last year at the age of 69, just before his 70th birthday on Nov. 12, Xia said.
Xia recounted how he met up with Liu in Las Vegas in October last year, but only learned of his passing from veteran singer Jenny Tseng (??) in December.
Liu's death was later confirmed by his brother-in-law, with his sister handling the late singer's affairs.
Born in 1952, Liu's first foray into entertainment was in 1961 when he entered a singing competition as a young child.
He took to the screen for the first time in 1963 when he acted in a children's television program.
At age 23, Liu released his first album, "Promise (??)," in 1975 which catapulted him to superstardom in record time.
He acted on the big screen for the first time the same year in the romantic movie "The Story of Four Girls (????)," which solidified his status as prince charming to Taiwanese teens from the mid-70s to mid-80s. He went on to star in 21 more romantic films.
In addition to winning multiple accolades during the decade, Liu also hosted television programs which received record viewership numbers.
Liu moved to the U.S. from 1984 to 1986 after stepping out of the limelight for the first time.
He returned to Taiwan in 1986 to form his own record label where he mentored a number of stars who remain popular today.
Liu fully retired from the entertainment industry in 1991 and lived in the U.S, where, according to Xia, he happily spent the rest of his life dabbling in real estate and keeping in contact with only a handful of friends in the Taiwanese entertainment industry.
Xia revealed that Liu became adept at evading the paparazzi and even commented that he was reclusive for the sake of his fans, so his image as prince charming would be how they remembered him.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel