Whenever Ted won, the family would rejoice with him. And she said she knew a lot of people in her parents generation who are lifelong Republicans and thats why they hate the Democratic party. buy a ticket On Sundays he would go to the church where her son was the pastor and join in Bible studies. This is going to happen.'". In 1990, after disappearing for another disastrous trip to Las Vegas, he flew to Washington, D.C., and joined a Buddhist monastery. He also figured that as a prominent politician, he would be forced to control his gambling habit. I believed him a thousand times, she said. By 1976, Ted had saved up enough money to buy his own shop, which he named Christy's. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. During the week they went to school, where sometimes they were so hungry they stole snacks from other kids' lunchboxes. Gambling is a devil. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. He was born Bun Tek Ngoy. Tell me more about how they connected to the local community.Ted came in the 70s and it was quite homogeneously white in Orange County at the time and a lot of people had never seen an Asian person, much less heard of a place called Cambodia. He had spent all his money on electioneering and on a failed attempt to introduce a new type of hybridised rice, which he believed would improve yields. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. Ted's story is told in a new documentary. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. Ted encouraged others to do the same. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. They did business on a handshake, he said, and his tenants always paid. At loose ends, she returned to Los Angeles and, once again, started helping with the family business. Why are we still having these debates? When he couldn't pay them back because he had gambled the money away, Ted signed away his ownership stake in those stores. A day before he left, his eldest son said if you have $3.2 million you can buy it. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy) was born into a poor Cambodian family in 1942. That really broke the ice for us. When he lost their money he would just sign over the shop to them - without telling Christy, whose signature he forged. The Donut King is told through archival footage, animation, and interviews with family members alongside Ted Ngoy, who has tried to make peace with those who he's hurt including Mel Allison, a 91-year-old baker still at it at Winchell's. Ted Ngoy made a fortune in doughnuts. The family were among the many tens of thousands of . He has to start a new life.. Inspired by the economic success of Taiwan, Ted decided to lobby the US for "most favoured nation" status, which would open the door to foreign investment. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. Read about our approach to external linking. Ted Ngoy, his wife and family pick up the story and walk us through their unbelievable experience, flying to a . They married and started a family, and life was good until civil war broke out in 1970, between the government and the communist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. By 2002 Ted was broke. Even in gambling. Gambling is a devil. On hearing the music float across the quiet city, Suganthini's mother remarked that whoever was playing must be in love. When Christy's parents eventually discovered the ruse, they were furious. I instantly found the Realtor, the listing agent and arranged to go and have Ted walk through his old house. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. Then he opened his first independent shop in La Habra, eventually covering the rest of O.C. They would speed through Phnom Penh on his motorcycle, the couple recalled. and California landscape with a familiar coat yellow strip mall signs with red lettering reading Christys Donuts. Ted kept a low profile until the LA filmmaker Alice Gu got in touch a couple of years ago. He did as he was told, but then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself, declaring he would rather die than live without her. Ted Ngoy: Well, when I was in a high school in a French school, my wife's Suganthini. One by one, Ted lost all of his donut shops. Her parents and cousins hid behind curtains so they could hear him break off the relationship. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. Suganthinis parents hoped she would marry well. He had sold what few shops remained. Los Angeles Times When time goes by it gets into your blood and you just cannot get it out," says Ted. He took a chance and opened a bedroom door - and there was Suganthini, fast asleep. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. He subsists on small handouts from friends. He was raised by his mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong, and who only spoke Chinese. DK's Donuts . And I thought, How could that be? Hes passed away now so I cant talk to him about it, but it was a learning experience for me about my parents relationship with politics. Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. "Some of them were cousins, uncles, nieces," says Ted. Gu's documentary, [1], That's why I want to tell the world, "Do not gamble." This is an incredible story of how he helped people. "But many of them were not related, they just lived in the same village or heard of my name. "He was afraid of being shunned and feeling lonely - but I forced him!" Ngoy would often visit Las Vegas for a period of a week, unbeknownst to his wife. He lost all the doughnuts, said James Dok, director of the United Cambodian Community, a social service agency in Long Beach. Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis, Black residents of Jackson, Miss., blast plans by white-dominated Legislature for more state control, Spain approves menstrual leave, teen abortion and trans laws. There were some hurt relationships. People love her and shes beautiful. His few shirts and pants hang from a clothesline. Ngoy had become an example to other Cambodian immigrants, who began to follow his business model for their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Just knowing that my great uncle Ted and the story of my parents and hearing Alice say, 'I want to really dig deep on a Cambodian donut shop,' I was like, 'Wow, this is real. "I never back down. "I just wanted to raise pigs and chickens and have enough meat and eggs to take to . This 2020s documentary film-related article is a stub. Soon, Cambodians began copying the Ted Ngoy business model. In 1978 Vietnamese troops invaded and in 1979 Pol Pot was overthrown, leading to another wave of Cambodian refugees. That's because of a refugee who built up an empire, and became known as the Donut King, only to lose it all. Drenched and bleeding, he tiptoed into a hallway. Ngoy bought his first doughnut shop from a couple who was retiring. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. Cambodia was having its first democratic elections since the war and he wanted to stand for office to help rebuild his country. Driving back with $85,000 cash in the boot of the car, they were stopped by the police; they had fallen behind with payments, so the car showed up as stolen. One day in 2018, she cold-called Long-lost ship found at the bottom of Lake Huron, confirming story of tragic collision, TikTok to set default daily time limit of up to 60 minutes for minors, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, TikTok faces bans in a number of countries over security fears. After a little research, Gu discovered that a huge number of California's independent donut shops, maybe 80-90%, are owned by Cambodian Americans, mostly thanks to Ngoy. Las Vegas was the new thing, he said, besides making money and making doughnuts,. The Donut King comes out Friday, Oct. 30, online, and when you She would discover big losses, and they would argue, sending their children running to their rooms. Once, he was a millionaire who met three U.S. presidents. Ted became deeply religious. He was, however, invited to become a government adviser on commerce and agriculture. He remarried and had four more children - the youngest two are still at school. LAist.com/radio. Late at night, Ngoy would put Suganthini on his back and climb down the roof, then down the coconut tree. , some of the dough (see what we did there?) [4], Despite the wealth he had amassed and his importance within his community, Ngoy felt dissatisfied, remarking that he had "No political life, no religious life, just work, work. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. What was it like?I spoke with him and he was in Cambodia. The United States alone is home to more than 25,000 donut shops and they produce more than 10 billion donuts each year. Ngoy told Suganthini that he didnt love her. Ted now sees that the same character traits that made him take bold risks in life also made it easy for him to fall prey to gambling. I am the child of immigrants who came and moved here for the American dream. And she let me in to take a shower. He is wealthy again. Ngoy asked to visit. Chuong Lee Tao passed down DKs Donuts in Santa Monica to her daughter Mayly Tao, who updated the shop with a vast menu and a worldwide social media following. [5] Having grown up in Los Angeles, she was doubtful when her children's nanny made a reference to "Cambodian" donuts; she thought all donuts were simply "American. She would drive there with her youngest son and go from hotel to hotel looking for him. The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LAs top 5 stories in just 3 minutes. Suganthini replied, "Well be careful, if you don't jump into my room, you'll jump into my mum's room.". I cant take credit for it, but I do feel like in the making of this film and having some of these people face feelings that they hadnt confronted in many years, it was very healing. At the height of his success in the US he had been an ardent Republican, and an enthusiastic fundraiser for the party. He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. until 2014 Ted wrote one day. One involves reggae and another focuses on Puerto Rican musicians. Once again Suganthini was the friendly face welcoming customers, and when she became a US citizen she took the name Christy as her own. Yes, you read that right. Los Angeles Times I am the flute player, he said in a note passed through the familys maid. The couple had flash cars, bought a million-dollar mansion with a pool and an elevator, and went on holidays abroad. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. As word of Ted's success spread, Cambodian immigrants started seeking him out when they arrived in Southern California. He hired his wife and nephew. L.A. became the country's epicenter of donut culture when Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian immigrant, arrived in California during the 1970s. He enjoyed meeting the younger generation of doughnut makers, who are innovating and inventing new flavours. He would forge her signature on checks and even borrow money from relatives who leased stores from him. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. They had lost their beautiful home and their chain of shops, but still had enough money to live comfortably. He found a second job at a gas station. He had no way of making a living until a Chinese contact from better days asked him to help out with a real estate deal. Ngoy and his wife became American citizens and were . Ted, who spoke four languages, was offered a post as liaison officer in Thailand by Suganthini's brother-in-law, Gen Sak Sutsakhan. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Ngoy and his family enjoyed the fruits of their labor and at one point moved into a 7,000-square-foot mansion in Mission Viejo. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. I think thats the American way the power of connections and people. All the latest on Orange County from Orange County. "The note said, 'I appreciate you blowing the flute. called These are kids who are American educated. in Irvine, Christy Ngoy now owns a Peruvian restaurant in Irvine. Since many of them had gotten their start in the business and the United States thanks to Ngoy, they were happy to help. How did those scenes end up happening?I asked him to travel to California again. Director Alice Gu makes her film debut with The Donut King, following the life of Ted Ngoy. That is because I had a buttermilk bar about 30 seconds out of the fryer with fresh glaze on it. Still homeless, he moved to the coastal town of Kep, on the Gulf of Thailand. Near the station was a doughnut shop. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three . So Ngoy snuck into her family's heavily guarded compound and climbed through her bedroom window. The Donut King Ted Ngoy is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of donut shops in California, earning him the nickname the "Donut King." . Christy has remarried and lives in the US, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook on the BBC World Service, Download the podcast for more extraordinary stories, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King lost his crown. He says his gambling is under control -- though he has no money with which to test this will power. Where Im going, I dont know. Over the years, Ted and Christy sponsored more than 100 families, often hosting them before setting them up with homes, loans, and doughnut shops. You see some of these families and their stores in The Donut King Ngoy lived in an attic apartment a few blocks from the Khoeun familys mansion. Refugees who had sought his advice now avoided him, fearing he would ask for a loan. He trained them and handed over the keys. "If I need to shower, I knock on the door, 'Lady can I take a shower?' Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, and the Cambodian genocide began. Until then, she was kept sheltered. ', "If you could turn the clock around, I would do that. Christy's parents said they would let Ted live if he told Christy that he was a dog who had romanced other girls and had never loved her. It actually made national, if not international, news about the kindness of these people in Orange County. Theres also the moment where Ted revisits his former home in Mission Viejo. But the name was misleading. the He became Ted. The whole community banded together and they all agreed to sell him out of donuts every morning by 9 a.m. TED NGOY HAD an unrelenting obsession during his 1975 plane ride from Southeast Asia to Southern California. Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted,. What you've done is incredible.' Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin hired Ngoy as a janitor. "Everybody's happy to see me now, because I changed from the bad guy to the good guy.". I did not have time to expand. He taught them the names of the doughnuts: old fashioned, jelly-filled, glazed. I called her when I found out and asked if she knew about Ford and Brown. "a short-lived comeback in Sacramento in 2002," the Massachusetts-based company didn't return to the Golden State In doing the research and finding that it was President [Gerald] Ford who issued the executive order to receive the refugees, a Republican president that was a huge surprise to me given that during the time that we were making this film we were hearing Donald Trumps rhetoric. Ted Ngoy has become a stranger even to himself. He had lost the respect of his family and community. Ngoy attempted Gamblers Anonymous, but denied it helped with his situation, stating that when he went to meetings "I cry, everybody cry. The family also still had the Winchell's so now they had two stores to run. They told him Winchells Donuts trained store managers. Okay, you guys can' It was a whole Romeo and Juliet story," Gu says. His tenants opened their own stores and leased them out. According to Gu, Christy's family brought her into the room and Ted started reciting his speech. The film flashes back to the horror of life in 1970s Cambodia, a tragic offshoot of the Vietnam war that eliminated thousands of lives. He suggested that Ted hang out in the back and to put Christy in the front. The Donut King: Directed by Alice Gu. People made fun of his accent. We were taxed to the hilt, unemployment was high and he was very reluctant to give refugees a home here when Californians were out of work. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. His family didn't want to see him, and nobody offered him work, not even baking doughnuts. Mag's Donuts That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. The stranger who crept into her room more than 35 years ago is a stranger again. He joined Gamblers Anonymous but was back at the tables in no time. A daughter owns a 1950s-style hamburger restaurant in Orange County. The family worked 12 to 17 hours a day, with all hands on deck. [3] Ngoy worked at various jobs, including as a travel agent and tour guide, before joining the military in 1970. in Santa Monica. Some of his relationships didnt end well. COVID origins? They wont trust you, he said. Their youngest son Chris drove them there to pick up the money - but it went horribly wrong. [5] Having grown up in Los Angeles, she was doubtful when her children's nanny made a reference to "Cambodian" donuts; she thought all donuts were simply "American." [5] Upon looking into the matter, she learned about Ted Ngoy and became fascinated with the topic. According to Tao, the servants caught on to Ted's presence after a few days but didn't say anything. But it was really the immigrant story. Ngoy ended his political career abruptly in 2002, breaking with two powerful allies, the commerce minister and the head of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. I never will be able to pay back. Ngoy was one. He had no home and no money, and his country had been overrun by a gang of pitiless thugs. And a new figure emerged on the California business landscape: the Cambodian doughnut-shop owner. "But what shall we do in the morning? They barely talked to him. And he has a new goal. I'm not famous. ", He communicates with them almost every day. "She was powerful, like your royal princess," says Ted. With Chuong Pek Lee, Susan Lim, Ted Ngoy, Daewon Song. Doughnut shops were easy to run. Ngoy became a trainee and took over a Winchells in Newport Beach. This caused tension in the Ngoy household, being the center of many arguments between Ngoy and his wife. When he lost he would lash out, smashing doors, breaking furniture and frightening the children. But one night, he had an idea. When he completed his three-month training, Winchell's gave him a shop to run on Balboa Pier, a tourist spot on the Newport peninsula not far from Tustin. Ted was a poor boy from a poor family while Christy was the daughter of a high-ranking official. He cut his chest sliding under barbed wire. Hes really funny. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Rising Egg Prices Are For The Birds. Because of the Ngoys, a Cambodian refugees first American job was often in a doughnut shop. Ngoy is Cambodian and he was in Phnom Penh when it fell. "What happens if I decide to jump into your room?" In 1985, he and Suganthini became U.S. citizens. The past I cannot change, but I learned the heavy way. When you first reached out to Ted, it was a cold call. In 1985, Ngoy and his wife became American citizens assuming the American names of Ted and Christy, respectively, and were enjoying a lavish lifestyle including a million dollar home at Lake Mission Viejo, a vacation home in Big Bear, expensive cars, and vacations to Europe. At the weekend the oldest children, Chet and Savy, then nine and eight, helped out by pouring coffee, packing doughnuts and folding boxes. Also Jerry Brown, who weve seen in California as our beacon of hope and morality, in 1975 was actually the opposite. When people know about the bad reputation, people are not going to vote for me. Then, he lost it all. Suganthini became the smiling face behind the counter, even though she hardly spoke any English. Then he would return to Vegas in an attempt to win back what he had lost. It really helped put some perspective on the journey to get here from somewhere else and the struggles that people go through when they arrive in a new, strange and foreign land. Christy always forgave him, but word got around that Ted could no longer be trusted. She became Christy. They cried and prayed for the family they had left behind. [5] Ngoy built a vast donut shop empire across California and it started in 1970s Orange County. (Elina Shatkin/LAist). Former staff writer Vera Castaneda covered arts, entertainment, lifestyle and issues related to Orange County for TimesOC, a community newspaper owned by the Los Angeles Times. After earning a communications degree at UC San Diego, Tao worked for a while at a news station but wasn't enthused about that career path. Christy would search for him in the casinos, the children in tow. Christys Doughnuts in La Habra never did great business. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about . One of Ngoy's first jobs in the US was as a service station attendant. "It's impossible to explain that money had nothing to do with it. "You can't find any prettier woman besides her.". Volcanic tiki drinks. Ngoy bought his first doughnut. "It's a crazy story, but it's true," says Ted, now 78. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. They saw Elvis Presley perform, and Ted played a little blackjack. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) When you first reached out to Ted, it. In a year Ted had saved enough to put down a deposit on a second doughnut shop, a "mom-and-pop" shop called Christy's. I say, Ted I dont think its that easy at all. And hell respond, Ive been rich three times. Nearly every independent donut shop in every Southern California mini-mall hides a story and many of them start with an unlikely impresario, a Cambodian refugee named Ted Ngoy. Theres a hustle to it, and director Alice Gu captures it in her debut documentary The Donut King.. He hosted Dan Quayle and Pete Wilson at his house. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. "Using money to provide for others is a feeling as powerful as any drug," he later wrote. So, I just did it. To understand the politics, the Republican party at the time was a very anticommunist party. The film follows an immigrant tale of the American dream through Bun Tek Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee whose charmed life is full of war, romance, entrepreneurship, racism and a caution about greed. 60? I go to borrow. Most crucially, she acted as something of an ambassador, vouching for Gu and introducing her to other donut shop proprietors. It led many voters to assume, incorrectly, that he was against Cambodia's royal family, and he didn't win a seat. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. This documentary tells Ted Ngoy's story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. Then I went to America, Ngoy said, and created the doughnut world.. Coconut tree now avoided him, fearing he would lash out, smashing,. Furniture and frightening the children in tow, eventually covering the rest O.C... 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