Gurmit Singh

Gurmit Ottawan Singh (born 24 March 1965; Punjabi: ਗੁਰਮੀਤ ਓਤ੍ਤਵਨ ਸਿੰਘ; Chinese: 葛米星; pinyin: Gémǐ Xīng) is a Singaporean actor, comedian and television personality. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1994 to 2014. In November 2014, Gurmit announced that he would leave Mediacorp at the end of his full-time television career at Mediacorp - after exactly 20 years. Gurmit shared that he planned to spend more time with his family. A former artiste of Mediacorp, he is best known for his role in Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, for which he won the Asian Television Awards prize for Best Performance by an Actor (Comedy) five times, from 1998 to 2001 and in 2003.[1] From 2004 to 2005, he won the Highly Commended prize.[2]

For the Indian racewalker, see Gurmeet Singh. For the Indian guru, see Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Gurmit Singh
Born (1965-03-24) 24 March 1965
Singapore, Malaysia
NationalitySingaporean
EducationOutram Secondary School
OccupationActor, comedian, television personality
Years active1994–present
Notable work
Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd
Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd
Spouse(s)Melissa Wong
Children3

Life

Born to a Punjabi Indian father Chainchal Singh Virk and an East Asian (Chinese–Japanese) mother,[3] Gurmit was brought up as a Sikh, but converted to Christianity in 1985.[4] Gurmit Singh studied in Outram Secondary School during his secondary school years.

Gurmit is married to Melissa, a Cantonese Chinese. He has three children, Gabrielle (Gabbi Wenyi Ayane Virk, born 1998), Elliot (born 2002) and Mikaela (born 2013).[5] Gurmit is an alumnus of National Police Cadet Corps, Singapore[6] and held the rank of Cadet Inspector.

Career

Making his debut in the variety show Live on 5 in 1994, he then became the host and lead actor of sitcom Gurmit's World. The second season of Gurmit's World, in which Gurmit portrayed his 'relatives' in a series of skits (unlike the first season where he played a wide assortment of mostly non-recurring characters), featured the first appearance of a character named Phua Chu Kang. The Singlish-based spin-off sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd in 1997 made Gurmit a popular icon in the recent years, not only in Singapore, but also in neighbouring countries (especially culturally similar Malaysia). This factor led him to be the host of Singapore Idol. In 2003, Gurmit also won the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes at the Star Awards.[7]

In 2013, Gurmit was nominated for the Best Actor prize at the 1st Golden Wau Awards, aimed at promoting Chinese-language Malaysian films, for his role in Phua Chu Kang The Movie (2010).[8]

In October 2014, the Madame Tussauds Singapore museum unveiled a wax figure of Gurmit as Phua Chu Kang.[9]

In November 2014, Gurmit announced that he would leave the entertainment industry at the end of his full-time television career at Mediacorp - after exactly 20 years. Gurmit shared that he planned to spend more time with his family and would take on artiste engagements on a more selective basis.[10]

Filmography

Film
Year Name of Film Role
2000Fire-EaterTBA
2001One Leg KickingTai Po
2005We Are FamilyPhua Chu Kang (guest appearance)
2007Just Follow LawLim Teng Zui
SumolahAkira
2010Phua Chu Kang The MoviePhua Chu Kang
2011It's a Great, Great WorldSecurity Guard
2012The Million Dollar JobAlvin
2013Taxi! Taxi!Professor Chua See Kiat
Everybody's BusinessJohn Lu
The Million Dollar Job 2: Raffles' GoldAlvin
2016Young & FabulousMr Boo

Television
Year Name of Show Role
1997–2007Phua Chu Kang Pte LtdPhua Chu Kang
1997Can I Help YouSam Perreira
1998ShiverFather
2001The HotelPhua Chu Kang (guest appearance)
2002The Amazing Race 3Phua Chu Kang (guest appearance)
2003Living with Lydia Season 3Phua Chu Kang (guest appearance)
My Sister HarmieRani Kaur's brother
Brothers 4Tony Chung
2004Living with Lydia Season 4Himself (guest appearance)
2005–2008LifelineCPT Daniel De Souza
2006ABC DJPhua Chu Kang (guest appearance)
200780's RewindLarry Goh
2008–2009CalefareAndy Lau Hong
2008–2009Cosmo and GeorgeCosmo
2009–2010Phua Chu Kang Sdn BhdPhua Chu Kang

Variety
Year Name of Show Role Notes
1994Live on FiveHost
Gurmit's WorldHost and lead actor
1995Family Fun Show
Toa Payoh Roadshow
TCS 1st Anniversary
1996'Gotcha! Host
Courtesy Show1996–1997
TCS 2nd Anniversary
Singapore National Day ParadeHost1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018
1997A National Day SpecialHost
Anti-Smoking Show
Terry Fox Run
A Nation Connects
Anti-Drug Show1997–1999
Disney Fest
1998Tonight With GurmitHost1998–2000
Courtesy Campaign 20th Anniversary
Asian Television Awards Show
SingTel Hello Concert
High on Life
Swing Singapore Party
President Star's Charity1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006
1999MediaCorp All Star Charity
Millennium Swing
20012MM
National Crime Prevention Show
2002Miss Singapore/Universe 2002
The Amazing Race 3Phua Chu KangGuest appearance
Health Matters
2003Gurmit's Small Talk
2004, 2006, 2009Singapore IdolHost
2005Our Makan Places: Lost & FoundHost2005–present
A Blessed ChristmasPhua Chu Kang
Sky Symphony Countdown 2006Host
2006Coffee Talk & Hawker Woks Season 3Guest appearance
Countdown 2007 at VivoCityHost
2007Countdown 2008 at VivoCityHost
2008Don't Forget the Lyrics! (Singapore) (English version)Host
Countdown 2009 at Marina BayHost
2009New City Beat 城人新杂志Co-hosted with Bryan Wong, Kym Ng and Adrian Pang
2016Don't Forget to RememberHost

Others
Year Name of Show Role
1998Beauty World: The MusicalTBA
2000My Lonely TartsTBA
2005Phua Chu Kang - The MusicalPhua Chu Kang

Accolades
Star Awards – Acting Awards
YearCeremonyAccoladeRepresentative WorkResults
200210th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 10
200311th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 10
200412th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20
200513th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 10
200614th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 10
200715th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 10
200810th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20
200911th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20
201012th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20
201113th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20
201319th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Male ArtistesN/ATop 20

Discography

Albums
  • Sing Singapore 2002 : One (We Are One) (2002) duet with Tay Ping Hui
  • One Leg Kicking Original Soundtrack: 'Calling': "Into The House" (2001)
  • "Moments" Gurmit's debut album (2015)
  • Gurmit Goes Local (1995) comedy album

Compilations
  • A Happy Journey Starts Like That! (2009)
  • The PCK Sar-vivor Rap (2003)
  • Love, No Boundaries: "Into the House" (2001) [album single]

References
  1. Fong, Kai (19 March 2012). "I'm not the funnyman people think I am: Gurmit Singh". Yahoo. Yahoo Singapore. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  2. "Winners - Asian Television Awards". Asian Television Awards. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  3. Mak Mun San (5 September 2006). "The real Gurmit Singh". The Star. Malaysia.
  4. "A peak into Singapore's sitcom hero and Malaysia's too". Korean Press. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
  5. "Gurmit Singh's family enjoys new member". AsiaOne. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  6. "campsite of npcc alumni: Gurmit Singh". NPCC Alumni. Singapore: National Police Cadet Corps Alumni Association. 24 January 2007.
  7. Fong, Kai (19 March 2012). "I'm not the funnyman people think I am: Gurmit Singh". Yahoo. Yahoo Singapore. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  8. Ma, Kevin. "Golden Wau nominations favour Aniu, Chiu, Teh". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. Singh, Bryna (26 October 2014). "Readers vote: Which Madame Tussauds Singapore wax figure looks most like the real McCoy?". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  10. Seah, May (28 November 2014). "Gurmit quits his day job". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.