The following month, US President Gerald Ford insisted the US should welcome 130,000 refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, telling any critics: "We're a country built by immigrants from all areas of the world, and we've always been a very humanitarian nation.". They arranged a meeting for the couple at a relatives house, where Ngoy was expected to formally end their romance. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Key grant funding to help O.C. Maybe Its Time To Raise Backyard Chickens, Catch A Wave In The Booming South Bay Food Scene: Here Are 11 New Restaurants To Try, Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving? The ubiquity and low overhead of these Cambodian mom-and-pop donut shops helped drive Dunkin' Donuts out of California in the late '90s. Ngoy forged her signature on checks. He wrapped the note around a stone, and threw it down. 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. Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin hired Ngoy as a janitor. Casino operators gave Ngoy free rooms, food, airfare and front-row seats to prize fights. Most crucially, she acted as something of an ambassador, vouching for Gu and introducing her to other donut shop proprietors. I am the child of immigrants who came and moved here for the American dream. Okay, you guys can' It was a whole Romeo and Juliet story," Gu says. It also reminds us that several U.S. presidents welcomed a flood of refugees with open arms. I have to go to school.". Twice he joined a Buddhist monastery. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. Sent to the city to study, Ngoy met the beautiful Suganthini Khoeun who was the daughter of a government. Im Chinese American. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. Your Guide To Everything Boozy You Can Order, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. [8] However, the film's directorAlice Gupersuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. I cry. He slept under the bed and hid when the maids came to clean. "It made me homesick," says Ted. When time goes by it gets into your blood and you just cannot get it out," says Ted. Ted was dismayed. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. The son of a peddler had no chance with such a girl, no right even to think of loving her. Some of his relationships didnt end well. The Donut King diretcor Alice Gu talks about what led her to make a film about Ted Ngoy, her first intro to the phenomenon of Cambodian donut shops and how she got a Wu-Tang song in the score. Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. He had $50,000 riding on many Sundays. He had hidden a dagger and he took it out and stabbed himself three times. One involves reggae and another focuses on Puerto Rican musicians. The details that aren't in the movie are even crazier. "You can't find any prettier woman besides her.". A cinematographer who has worked on commercials and movies with Rory Kennedy, Werner Herzog and Stacy Peralta, she stumbled onto the subject after her nanny brought her some "Cambodian donuts. Tell us about your wife. "I spent about $100,000 of my own money, my time, my everything," he says. Aside from what The families who followed Ngoys lead learned to run businesses and picked up English. In the end, filming the documentary was a healing experience for Ted. Ted was a poor boy from a poor family while Christy was the daughter of a high-ranking official. I ended up not sharing that donut. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. "Ted, again, is Mr. Nine Lives. It was on the market. "Everybody's happy to see me now, because I changed from the bad guy to the good guy.". In 1985, he and Suganthini became U.S. citizens. One of them being my interview with Michael Krondl, the food historian. Theres so much competition. Ngoy believes he is suffering Gods punishment for having betrayed the blood vow he made as a young man under the moonlight in Phnom Penh. Theres also the moment where Ted revisits his former home in Mission Viejo. Then, he lost it all. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? The entire family Christy and the three kids worked alongside him. One by one, Ted lost all of his donut shops. [5] She reached out to Ngoy and other Cambodian families who ran donut shops, and within six weeks began principal photography. . A new documentary chronicles the fascinating saga of Ted Ngoy, "The Donut King," who made a fortune and then lost it all to a gambling addiction. He suggested that Ted hang out in the back and to put Christy in the front. One of Ngoy's first jobs in the US was as a service station attendant. All the boys at his school were in love with her, and as a poor half-Chinese boy from a village near the Thai border he had no chance. On one of his Las Vegas trips, Ngoy took up gambling. In the early 1970s, Cambodia was in the midst of a brutal civil war that displaced two million people, more than a quarter of the country's population. His gesture went unreciprocated for days. Devastated that he had broken their pact, she filed for divorce. Ted and Suganthini sold everything they had and arrived in California on one of the first refugee flights, with their three children, an adopted nephew and two nieces. In return, he played their tables and lost thousands of dollars. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Suganthini smuggled him food at night, and after many days she said she loved him too. I go to borrow. He began placing bets with Cambodian bookies on football and basketball games. "I achieved my American dream," Ted says. When you first reached out to Ted, it was a cold call. Refugees who had sought his advice now avoided him, fearing he would ask for a loan. "It's a devil, it's a monster. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. After cry, go back gambling.. They would speed through Phnom Penh on his motorcycle, the couple recalled. At the weekend the oldest children, Chet and Savy, then nine and eight, helped out by pouring coffee, packing doughnuts and folding boxes. A woman from his church lets him sleep in the screened porch outside her mobile home, which he has fashioned into a makeshift bedroom. Those are the sounds of a man in love, her mother said. Every time I met them I said, 'Sorry son, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy. Boozy Dole Whips. When he lost he would lash out, smashing doors, breaking furniture and frightening the children. until 2014 This is my own speculation, but it seemed like he had come to some peace with his dad and childhood. He is wealthy again. 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 Ngoy had served in the Cambodian army as a major fighting communists that were trying to take over that country's government in the 1970s. When there was an overrun of pink doughnut boxes Ted bought them cut-price, and the pink boxes became his trademark. "[5] Upon looking into the matter, she learned about Ted Ngoy and became fascinated with the topic. So I decided to change.". What you've done is incredible.' Ngoy lived in an attic apartment a few blocks from the Khoeun familys mansion. Mag's Donuts He and his family barely escaped and were among. And he saw an opportunity. Ted liked Cadillacs; Christy preferred Mercedes-Benz convertibles. Eager to learn the business, Ngoy approached the shop owners. I just do it.. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. I believed him a thousand times, she said. The world moves so quickly now, but I do believe that it is still real and it is still possible. Still penniless, after nearly four years of exile, Ted flew back to Cambodia. Ngoy bought his first doughnut. I did not have time to expand. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. There were some hurt relationships. Two days after Gu's out-of-the-blue call to DK's Donuts, she was talking to Ngoy in Cambodia. I think there's nothing wrong for them to lie to the embassy because everybody needs a chance to survive. It's so amazing, so touching.' That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. "I'd want [people] to know about not only the journey of the donut itself but the story of the people behind it, the people making the donuts," Tao says. Most importantly, the trip allowed him to mend relations with Christy, who has now remarried, and with their grown-up children. He had sold what few shops remained. We had an instant connection and it felt like we were meant to be doing this story together. ", Alice Gu's documentary, 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 (produced by Maryam Maruf), Ted Ngoy's autobiography is called The Donut King: the rags to riches story of a poor immigrant that changed the world. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Christy and Ted bought a $1-million, three-story, 7,000-square-foot house with palm trees and a three-car garage on Lake Mission Viejo in Orange County. Also, significantly for Ngoy, other Cambodian refugees and their children donuts. The United States alone is home to more than 25,000 donut shops and they produce more than 10 billion donuts each year. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, they knew they couldn't go home. The Cambodians worked hard and because the whole family pitched in, they did not have to pay out any wages. Within a decade, he had become a multimillionaire with a lakeside mansion . Faced with such determination, her family allowed the young lovers to be together. "Cambodian people owe them a lot.". This documentary tells Ted Ngoy's story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. I'm no good. and California landscape with a familiar coat yellow strip mall signs with red lettering reading Christys Donuts. When Christy's parents eventually discovered the ruse, they were furious. Ted Ngoy, his wife and family pick up the story and walk us through their unbelievable experience, flying to a . Then he flew to a monastery in the Thai countryside. The film details how Ngoy fled Cambodia with his family during the Vietnam War and later went on to build a donut shop empire, only to lose it all because of a gambling addiction. She would forgive him when he promised to stop, and he would -- for a while. And then we started communicating, bringing back and forth the messages," Ted says. "When Alice called me, she described something that I have always wanted to tell but never thought that it would get picked up anywhere," Tao says. He was very surprised that anybody would find him and want to tell his stories. Besides, he reasoned, as a politician he would not be able to gamble. I ate the whole thing. Volcanic tiki drinks. Ted remembers hiding from her behind the slot machines. Heres a list, Greek transportation minister resigns over train collision as death toll keeps rising, Ohios senators to unveil rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment, After months of pounding, Ukrainian official says military may pull back from Bakhmut, Elizabeth Holmes cites her new baby as a reason she should avoid prison for Theranos scam. "We were happy - until the gambling came to wreck my life. You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. Ngoy showed them baking and bookkeeping. It was love at first bite. In Cambodia, Ngoy formed the Free Development Republican Party. "[8] Giving it three-out-of-four stars, Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com called the The Donut King "a heartwarming albeit scattered documentary from director Alice Gu," and praised the film for "its balance of poppy visuals and detailed history. He took two additional jobs, working almost 24 hours per day. He was fortunate to escape with his wife, two kids and some relatives, arriving in California where he and his family were housed in a. Whenever Ted won, the family would rejoice with him. 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. He says he hid in her room for 45 days until he was discovered. Ngoy's gambling had progressed from the card tables to placing bets on sports games with Cambodian bookies. It was small amounts first but he was soon blowing bigger figures and he couldn't seem to stop. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. Then when dinner is ready, she knocks on the door and I open the door to have dinner.". This 2020s documentary film-related article is a stub. 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. Her brother-in-law, Sutsakhan Sak, was chief of police and would become, briefly, the countrys president. Cambodia was poor and under-developed after years of war. Ngoy would make a habit of returning monthly to watch performers such as Tom Jones, Diana Ross, and Wayne Newton and indulging in the incentives pit bosses of major casinos offered all the while spending even larger sums at the card tables. Suganthini was terrified, but she let the stranger stay. From the wall, he leaped onto the roof and crawled through an open window. Was there any tension or awkwardness when he visited California again?He came to visit California, I think, with a little bit of trepidation. Her parents wanted nothing to do with him. (Elina Shatkin/LAist). Ngoy asked to visit. Huge numbers of Cambodian refugees were arriving in California. You just have to see the opportunity and go for it. Those are the wise words of Ted Ngoy. "After cry, go back gambling," he told one interviewer. In The Donut King, we learn that a teenage Ted won over his wife, Christy (ne Suganthini), by spending 45 straight days laying under her bed. Working all hours, Ted and Christy knew very little about what was happening back home in Cambodia, but what they heard was bad. The Donut King: Directed by Alice Gu. At 35, Ngoy had already climbed out of poverty and into privilege once. One of the tricks he learned was to bake doughnuts in small batches throughout the day to keep them fresh - and because the smell of baking was the best form of advertising. All the latest on Orange County from Orange County. Their fairy tale romance is so distant, she said, its as if it happened to someone else. "I never back down. Ted did a lot of the baking at night, with his youngest son, Chris, collecting a light dusting of flour as he slept beside him in the kitchen. And it was actually a donut that I refused at first from Mayly Tao, the Donut Princess. But I still win. When the couple recovered, her parents finally allowed them to marry. When people know about the bad reputation, people are not going to vote for me. No days off. "He was a little uneasy," Gu says. But it was really the immigrant story. 2023 BBC. When they were released, the cash was gone. He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. Theres this portion in the film that goes into Ted and his ex-wife Christys experiences in Orange County during the 70s. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Suspected shooter in attacks on Jewish men was on FBIs radar, LAPD chief says, Caregiver accused in Manhattan Beach child sexual abuse case believed to be in Philippines, Prosecution presents closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Intel agencies say theres no sign adversaries were behind Havana syndrome, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Its really bad up here. Stranded residents in San Bernardino Mountains brace for more snow, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. Where Im going, I dont know. Interviews can sometimes feel like a therapy session. Under the Khmer Rouge leadership of Pol Pot people were forced to work on communal farms, and those with money or education were tortured and killed. One day in 2018, she cold-called DK's Donuts He had lost the respect of his family and community. If you walk into a doughnut shop in California, the chances are it's owned by a Cambodian family. To Christy, this was the final betrayal. Ted encouraged others to do the same. . Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. They made a blood pact, promising to be forever faithful. He is nicknamed the "Donut King." He is nicknamed the "Donut King." Hes friends with Dana Rohrabacher. "This story sheds light on refugees in a positive way, about what happens when they're given an opportunity," she says. Despite the villa's armed security guards and guard dogs, one rainy night Ted climbed up a coconut tree and over the barbed wire and made his way in through a bathroom window. And she was heavily chaperoned. At the peak of his success, Ted owned something like 65 donut stores many of them named Christy's and was bringing in about $100,000 per month. He wrote a note, telling her that he lived in the building opposite and was the flute player. This tastes like any other glazed donut,'" Gu says. The Ngoys helped hundreds of refugees find housing and apply for Social Security cards. Until then, she was kept sheltered. Ted's story is told in a new documentary. "I had true love for her.". They barely talked to him. He dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. A bank had foreclosed on his mansion on Lake Mission Viejo. Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted, because of the many Cambodian immigrants he'd sponsored. [11], Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:19, "Rise and fall of Cambodian refugee 'Donut King' charted in award-winning film", "A TASTE OF CAMBODIA: A Real Horatio Alger Story: Refugee Built Empire on Doughnuts", "VOICES FROM THE FIRST GENERATION: The Ngoy Family", "Asians Looking to Broaden Horizons: Immigrants Prosper but Hope to Venture Outside the 'Business Ghetto', "The Donut King who went full circle - from rags to riches, twice", "The story of the man they called the doughnut king", "Review: A Shakespearean SoCal tragedy, 'The Donut King' charts the rise and fall of Ted Ngoy", "Lessons from the Donut King & Science Fiction's Golden Age", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ted_Ngoy&oldid=1140980965, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:19. He lobbied his contacts in the Republican inner circle, including Senator John McCain, and MFN status was granted permanently in 1996. Buddha cannot help me.. The film flashes back to the horror of life in 1970s Cambodia, a tragic offshoot of the Vietnam war that eliminated thousands of lives. Ted and Christy are divorced. After a civil war broke out and Phnom Penh fell to the communist Khmer. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. One night under a full moon, they knelt and prayed. In saffron robes and shaved head, the doughnut king spent a month meditating. BC Donuts One night, he. Bun Tek Ngoy touched down at Camp Pendleton on a military plane in May of 1975 with his wife and three young children. He began to disappear off to Las Vegas for days, losing $5,000, $7,000 a game, and neglecting his family and his doughnut empire. He borrowed money from relatives who had leased his doughnut shops. Chuong Lee, who has run DK's Donuts since 1988, is officially retired although she occasionally helps out at the shop. The donut business isnt easy. Ngoy tried Gamblers Anonymous. In order to be allowed to leave the camp and find work, they needed an American sponsor, who would find them a job and somewhere to live. Gambling is a devil. This is an incredible story of how he helped people. goes to your local theater. I say, Ted, who are you? I really dont know.. The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. I called her when I found out and asked if she knew about Ford and Brown. They wont trust you, he said. "Ultimately, this is a story of a guy who came to the country with nothing, and with some hustle, and dreams, and a little luck, really made quite a charmed life for himself.". He was, however, invited to become a government adviser on commerce and agriculture.
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