{{Family name hatnote|Cheng|lang=Chinese}}{{short description|Singaporean actor}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{infobox person | name = John Cheng Yeow Nam<br />钟耀南 | image = JohnChengAhNan.png | alt = | caption = | birth_name = John Cheng Yeow Nam/Ang Tai Mong | birth_date = 26 December 1961 | birth_place = State of Singapore | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2013|1|22|1961|12|26}} | death_place = Singapore | burial_place = Mandai Crematorium | occupation = Actor, getai singer and compére | years_active = 1998 – 2013 | spouse = Lung Yoke Ching | module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes | t = 鍾耀南 | s = 钟耀南 |poj=Cheng Iāu-lâm / Chiong Iāu-lâm | j = chung1 yiu4 nam2 | p = zhōng yào nán }} | module2 = {{infobox musical artist | embed = yes | alias = 阿南, Ah Nan, Ah Nam, Zhong Yao Nan | origin = Singapore | genre = Getai | instrument = Singing }} }}
'''John Cheng Yeow Nam''' (also credited as '''Zhong Yao Nan'''; known in entertainment circle as '''Ah Mong''', '''Ah Nan''', or '''Ah Nam'''; 26 December 1961 – 22 January 2013), also known as '''Ang Tai Mong''', was a Singaporean actor and Getai compere who made his screen debut in ''Money No Enough'' and was most notable for his criminal figure roles in various media. ''Liang Po Po: The Movie'' was one of his most notable performances of a gangster figure.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tan|first=Kenneth Paul|title=Cinema and television in Singapore : resistance in one dimension|year=2008|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=9789004166431|pages=160–|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gv0aAQAAIAAJ&q=%22John+Cheng%22|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}</ref>
==Career== Cheng's first screen appearance was in the 1998 film ''Money No Enough'', and the following year he was cast in ''Liang Po Po: The Movie''. Cheng was best known for portraying thuggish, brutal types prone to violence, as a homage to his alleged past career as a loan shark. ''I Not Stupid'' was a noticeable first reversal of this stereotypical role – he was cast in a minor role as a police officer tasked with rescuing hostages. Other stereotype role reversals included a minor role as a friend of the three men in ''That One No Enough'' (also his first on-screen appearance without his beard), his portrayal of an effeminate hairdresser in 2005's ''I Do, I Do'', and his last film role as a medium in the 2013 film ''Judgement Day''.
Cheng was more active in the getai scene as a compere, along with other part-time actors like Lin Ruping, Liu Lingling and Wang Lei.
==Personal life== In a 1996 interview, Ah Nan opened up on his past as a hooligan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS5plQfShdU|title=Ah Nan's Criminal Past – Interview (1996)|website=YouTube|date=9 August 2007 }}</ref> As one of five children with two parents working to support the family, Ah Nan was neglected and turned to smoking, violence and acts of gangsterism, under the influence of friends. He later joined a loan-shark syndicate and became a runner. Ah Nan worked several menial jobs before entering showbiz in 1987.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|last=Chong|first=Chee Kin|date=6 August 2006|title=Popular getai compere Ah Nan arrested by CNB|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/straitstimes20060806-1|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> He received his secondary education in Chai Chee Secondary School.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/chengyeownam|title=钟耀南|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref>
Ah Nan was arrested on suspicions of supplying ecstasy in 2006. He admitted consuming the drugs but not supplying them. He was jailed at the drug rehabilitation center for a year and on home probation for six months after his release.<ref>{{Cite web |title=He gets busted for Ecstasy after hosting getai in 2006 |url=https://www.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20100907-236037.html |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=www.asiaone.com}}</ref>
Ah Nan courted controversy when he shouted at journalists during Jack Neo's 2010 press conference on the latter's extramarital affairs.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=22 January 2013 |title=Getai veteran Ah Nan has died, apparently from a heart attack |newspaper=straitstimes.com |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/getai-veteran-ah-nan-has-died-apparently-heart-attack-20130122 |accessdate=22 January 2013}}</ref> Netizens were divided over his behaviour, with some rapping him for passing off Neo's affair as a norm.
Ah Nan married to Lung Yoke Ching twice and had three daughters.<ref name="auto"/>
==Death== In the early hours of 22 January 2013, Cheng collapsed backstage followed by a performance at defunct Club Cleopatra, in Parklane Shopping Mall. He died shortly thereafter aged 51, apparently from a heart attack on the next day.<ref name=":0" />
Reports later emerged that Cheng had an unhealthy habit of guzzling 10 bottles of Coca-Cola daily, to sustain energy levels for his hectic working hours.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=温 |first1=伟中 |last2=黄 |first2=志发 |last3=王 |first3=英敏 |last4=梁 |first4=淑晶 |date=22 January 2013 |title= |script-title=zh:每天灌10可乐 阿南累死 |url=http://showbiz.omy.sg/Showbiz/E-News/Mei-Tian-Guan-10Ke-Le-A-Nan-Lei-Si-130320 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2013 |access-date= |website= |language=zh |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128175404/http://showbiz.omy.sg/Showbiz/E-News/Mei-Tian-Guan-10Ke-Le-A-Nan-Lei-Si-130320}}</ref> He was also suffering from high blood pressure, liver failure and high cholesterol levels, and was taking medication for these conditions. Before his death, he last acted as a Taoist Medium in 2013 film ''Judgement Day''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=S'poreans pay last respects to veteran getai actor 'Ah Nan' |url=http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/singapore-showbiz/singapore-singer-actor-john-cheng-passes-away-044337801.html |website=sg.entertainment.yahoo.com|date=22 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://static.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/1559500/ah_nan_joked_about_his.html Ah Nan joked about his heart problems during performance at Esplanade] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125030322/http://static.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/1559500/ah_nan_joked_about_his.html|date=25 January 2013}}</ref>
==Filmography== * ''Money No Enough'' (1998) * ''Hitman in the City'' (1998) * ''Liang Po Po: The Movie'' (1999) * ''The Mirror'' (1999) * ''That One No Enough'' (1999) * ''Return of the Condor Heroes'' (2001) * ''I Not Stupid'' (2002) * ''Homerun'' (2003) * ''The Best Bet'' (2004) * ''I Do, I Do'' (2005) * ''Folks Jump Over The Wall'' (2008) * ''Pulau Hantu'' (2008) * ''Missing You'' (2008) * ''Money No Enough 2'' (2008) * ''Where Got Ghost?'' (2009) * ''The Ghosts Must Be Crazy'' (2011) * ''Petaling Street Warriors'' (2011) * ''It's a Great, Great World'' (2011) * ''Dance Dance Dragon'' (2012) * ''The Wedding Diary'' (2012) * ''The Wedding Diary 2'' (2013) * ''Judgement Day'' (2013)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0155579|name=John Cheng}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT9SAnVduJI&list=LPgNHTamlB8mE&index=1&feature=plcp Cheng hosting a getai in 2008] *[https://www.facebook.com/chengyeownam?fref=ts Cheng's Facebook account]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, You Nam}} Category:1961 births Category:2013 deaths Category:20th-century Singaporean male actors Category:Singaporean people of Hokkien descent