Walter Ho

Walter Ho (1923 – March 27, 2020), known in Chinese as Hua Da (when he was in China) and Hsia Hua-ta (when he was in Taiwan), was an American In 1931, he traveled to China with his father to visit their ancestral home and celebrate his great-grandmother's birthday. However, as they embarked on their return trip in early 1932, heavy fighting broke out in Shanghai, trapping them in the country. His father enrolled him in a Catholic school in the Shanghai French Concession (which the Japanese dared not bomb), In 1942, he signed an eight-year contract with the Shanghai master Huang Jingbo , who taught him dozens of Peking operas. He also performed in other cities like Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou. Without a troupe, he also had no funds for costumes, but he was supported by the high-ranking general Zhang Lingfu, who introduced him to Soong Mei-ling and He Yingqin. Ho remembered Soong saying that foreign Peking opera artists must be supported, and the trio raised the money and bought costumes for him. In 1986, he performed at the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Festival in commemoration of Chiang Kai-shek's 100th birthday.

Ho never married, and he insisted he was not gay. In his later life he spent his days creating Buddhist paintings and caring for stray dogs. He was found dead in his home by his neighbor in 2020. Because he remained an American citizen, the American Institute in Taiwan arranged for his memorial service.

Repertoire In Taiwan, several of Ho's performances were filmed by the Chinese Television System. These include: Playing Xiao Yanyan in The Fourth Son Visits His Mother Playing Yang Yuhuan in The Imperial Concubine Gets Drunk Playing Hongniang in Hongniang