"Team leader" Van Toan touched people with his image at the age of U90

Recently, People's Artist Xuan Bac shared a photo of meeting artist Van Toan at artist Huu Do's funeral.

He and the veteran artist had many memories when participating in the program Gala Cuoi on VTV at one time. Among them, the role of the head of the residential group by artist Van Toan is still remembered by many people.

People's Artist Xuan Bac and veteran artist Van Toan in a recent reunion (Photo: Facebook character).

In the post, People's Artist Xuan Bac shared that at the funeral that day, he met artist Van Toan and greeted him but "didn't hear him say anything" and didn't react. Immediately, he went up to him and asked: "Dad, I greeted you but didn't hear you say anything."

Artist Van Toan then knew and called out People's Artist Xuan Bac's name. He also said that he had been "hard of hearing" for a long time. The veteran artist also exclaimed: "All my friends are gone". In addition, he also told People's Artist Xuan Bac to take care of his health. It was only a short meeting but the audience still felt warmed by their artistic friendship.

Accordingly, artist Van Toan is one of the veteran actors of Vietnamese cinema. He is a contemporary of artists such as Pham Bang, Trinh Thinh, Tran Hanh...

Van Toan is a very versatile artist, he can compose music, stage direct, and sing reformed opera... When he was young, he also worked as a worker and played soccer for the The Cong team.

However, he later decided to take the entrance exam to the National Theater School (now the Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema) and became one of the first drama students of the country's arts.

After graduating, Van Toan worked at the Vietnam Drama Theater. He was loved by the audience through his works: Erostat, Vietnamese Homeland, Birds Building Wells in the Sky, The Le Son-in-Law...

In 2000, artist Van Toan retired. After retirement, he continued to work in the arts, participating in comedy skits and television dramas. In particular, the male artist left a deep impression on the audience through the role of the "neighborhood leader" in the skit Addict with Xuan Bac's participation.

In a recent interview, he told Dan Tri reporter that in his old age, he has become "hard of hearing", and anyone who wants to talk can send a text message via phone.

"When I first got sick, my children and grandchildren took me to get treatment, but the doctor said it was an old age disease, and hearing loss was due to health issues. I took medicine but it didn't help.

"Well, God still gives me health, but my hearing is limited, so I have to overcome it. My daughter bought me two sets of hearing aids, but I still can't hear. I consider deafness an old age disease and accept living with it," he said.

Van Toan said that in the morning, he spends time chanting sutras, reciting Buddha's name, then eating breakfast and cleaning the house. After that, he picks up the phone, texts friends and visits relatives.

He confided that every time he went out, neighbors still asked him questions, but he had to say loudly: I'm deaf, write down everything on paper, so acquaintances who had questions could write down on paper to communicate with him.

The male artist gave birth to three children, two girls and a boy. After retiring, artist Van Toan lived with his second son's family. Every day, his children went to work, his grandchildren went to school, and he was alone.

His children have all grown up, have their own families and have given him beautiful grandchildren. The success of his children and grandchildren is also a consolation for the artist who has experienced many hardships in life.

In his old age, artist Van Toan suffered from hearing loss but remained optimistic with his children and grandchildren (Photo: Ngoc Mai).

"Luckily, my children are all grown up and filial, they care about their father very much. I have been an artist all my life, living simply and having no money to give to my children, but when they grow up, they understand and do not blame their father. What I leave to my children is diligence, hard work and filial piety to their parents and ancestors...", artist Van Toan confided.

Asked if he was sad that he had been an actor all his life but did not have the title of Meritorious Artist or People's Artist? The artist in his 90s said: "I am not sad, I am an artist of the people, having a title or not is not important. I have devoted myself to art and being recognized by the audience, that is a great reward."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/bac-to-truong-van-toan-gay-xuc-dong-voi-hinh-anh-o-tuoi-u90-20240823100633797.htm