Veteran Comedian Nam Bo-won Passes Away from Pneumonia at Age 84
“I am a clown~ with rouge on my cheeks~ dressed up stylishly~ look at me and smile (omitted) Heading into bare ground and selling laughter, I am a clown~ I am a delivery man of laughter~” These are the lyrics of the song ‘Pierrot’ sung by veteran comedian Nam Bo-won (real name Kim Deok-yong). The lyrics are filled with poignant sorrows as if reflecting his life exactly.
Nam Bo-won is the godfather of one-man shows in Korea. In the 1960s and 70s, he moved across the country, making many people laugh and cry with his vocal imitations. He mimicked famous people and all kinds of animals, as well as sounds like ship horns, machine guns, fighter jets, and trains with astonishing accuracy. With a sly face, he also delivered humorous monologues full of wit, captivating people’s minds completely.
Now, he remains a memory in the hearts of many. The Korea Broadcasting Comedians Association announced that Nam Bo-won, who was hospitalized and receiving treatment at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, passed away around 3:40 p.m. on the 21st. He was 84 years old. According to the association, Nam Bo-won had health issues since the beginning of the year. After repeated treatments and discharges, he ultimately died of pneumonia.
The late comedian debuted on the comedy stage by winning first place in the ‘Star Birth Comedy’ contest hosted by the Korean Film Association in 1963. He was active as a leading figure in Korean comedy, performing both in theaters and on television. His specialty was the one-man show. He captivated audiences instantly with his vocal imitations that perfectly copied sounds he heard once and his warm Pyeongan-do dialect.
In 2018, he appeared on KBS 1TV’s ‘Morning Yard’ and joked, “I do about 100 vocal imitations.” When Kim Hak-rae, who was beside him, said, “They just pop out even if you barely touch them,” he immediately demonstrated sounds of a saxophone, ship horn, and seagulls. He also imitated the voice of the Japanese Emperor’s surrender he heard at a stream when he was 10 years old and the voice of Louis Armstrong, proving himself a ‘living witness of history.’
With his outstanding talent, he was even invited by the late President Park Chung-hee. Last month, on OBS’s ‘Unique Entertainment News,’ he revealed, “I was once invited by President Park. He asked me to do an impression of him, so after doing it, I received Makgeolli and attended a party.”
His incredible vocal imitations were not completed by innate talent alone. When asked if he could imitate any sound he heard during his lifetime, he emphasized, “You have to study continuously.” In this regard, Um Yong-su, president of the Korean Comedians Association, said, “It is a talent that cannot be passed down.”
The late comedian was called a ‘two-headed chariot’ along with comedian Baek Nam-bong, who passed away earlier in July 2010. They appeared as a duo on television shows and gained great popularity. In an interview during his lifetime, he recalled, “If we tried hard, we could get it right, but there were many times we didn’t. On stage, we acted close, but off stage, we often fought. Even we found it funny.” When Baek Nam-bong passed away, he stayed by the funeral for three days, lamenting, “It doesn’t make sense that a younger guy left first. Let’s meet again in heaven and do a ‘two-man show.’”
As a comedian, he considered the most rewarding performance to be the ‘two-man show’ in Pyongyang, which he always did with Baek Nam-bong. In 1985, he visited as part of the inter-Korean artists exchange delegation and confessed that he often struggled with tears. He was born in Suncheon, Pyeongan Province, North Korea. Raised as the only son of a wealthy family, he fled south during the 1.4 Retreat when the communist regime took over. The performance near his hometown, which he visited after 35 years, was inevitably emotional. He recalled about his parents, “They suffered a lot during the Busan evacuation. They passed away harboring regrets for not being able to support me.”
Despite suffering from a cold throughout last year, he pushed himself to appear at events whenever his condition improved slightly. He showed a strong will for comedy, claiming himself an eternal active performer. He never forgot to give advice to juniors whenever he met them. He said, “These days, comedy seems to be done by improvisation, which is unfortunate. If you don’t have your own personal skills, you won’t have a place to stand later.” Regarding the trend of television shows focusing on younger audiences, he expressed disappointment, saying, “Producers seem too young and unaware, but our country now needs programs that entertain adults as well. It’s a longevity era, but television neglects the older generation too much.”
He was highly praised for consistently bringing laughter to ordinary people through his activities and received awards such as the Arts and Culture Award in the Entertainment category from the Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations (1996), the Grand Prize and Hwagwan Cultural Medal at the Korea Entertainment Arts Awards (2007), the Korea New Creator Grand Prize in the Happy Society Making category (2015), and the Silver Cultural Medal at the 7th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards (2016). The funeral parlor is Room 9 at Samsung Seoul Hospital’s funeral hall in Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu. From the next day, it will be moved to Room 19. The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on the 23rd. The cremation will be at noon, and the burial site is the family cemetery at Namhansanseong.
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