In return, he played their tables and lost thousands of dollars. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. [8], After Cambodia's establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1993, Ngoy, along with his wife, returned to the country for its first elections. Theres a hustle to it, and director Alice Gu captures it in her debut documentary The Donut King.. But within weeks he was back on a plane to Vegas. I believed him a thousand times, she said. [1], When his wife visited California for the birthday of their grandchild in 1999, Ngoy began an affair with a young woman; Christy divorced him soon after and has not since returned to Cambodia. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. He was, however, invited to become a government adviser on commerce and agriculture. Cambodia was poor and under-developed after years of war. Ngoy joined the army. [2], In 1967, Ngoy was sent by his mother to study in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he met and married Suganthini Khoeun, the daughter of a high-ranking government official. "I cry. "It was a different take on a refugee story,". A bank had foreclosed on his mansion on Lake Mission Viejo. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, and the Cambodian genocide began. 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. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. Ngoy asked to visit. Ngoy attempted Gamblers Anonymous, but denied it helped with his situation, stating that when he went to meetings "I cry, everybody cry. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three . [1], In 2013, he was living in Phnom Penh working in real estate. Not many professional gamblers are bipolar women, but Cat Hulbert was one of the best - and she delighted in winning money from men. The doughnut king landed at LAX with $50 in his pocket. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. Then he opened his first independent shop in La Habra, eventually covering the rest of O.C. 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. One night, during his shift at a gas station, the scent of freshly baked goods wafted toward him. All that money paid for expensive clothes, luxury cars, fancy trips and an opulent home in Mission Viejo. Something else about Orange County that I found so beautiful and touching while we were making this film, there was a man who owned a donut shop in Seal Beach and his wife was stricken with cancer. She thought it might have been a tall tale, "But when I was in Cambodia, [Ted] lifted his shirt and I saw the puncture wounds," Gu adds. "Before I'd never gambled, but like all the compulsive gamblers in the world, first you throw in a couple of bucks, $10, $20. He also figured that as a prominent politician, he would be forced to control his gambling habit. Money, doughnuts, sleep.. "[9] In a mixed review, Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail said the film is "well worth watching" while saying there "are holes in this doughnut story. I never will be able to pay back. Ted resides in Cambodia where he splits his time between Phnom Pen and Kep, a province in Southern Cambodia that's famous for its crab fishing industry. 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. "It's impossible to explain that money had nothing to do with it. Doughnut revenue put their children through college. "I did not have time to take care of business, so business was going down. His doughnut fortune was almost gone. They saw Elvis Presley perform, and Ted played a little blackjack. Ngoy's gambling had progressed from the card tables to placing bets on sports games with Cambodian bookies. When he lost their money he would just sign over the shop to them - without telling Christy, whose signature he forged. Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted, because of the many Cambodian immigrants he'd sponsored. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Key grant funding to help O.C. Ted wrote one day. Ted Ngoy was a high school student in Phnom Penh when he first set eyes on Suganthini Khoeun, the daughter of a high-ranking government official. But it was really the immigrant story. He also apologised to many of those he hurt. Sent to the city to study, Ngoy met the beautiful Suganthini Khoeun who was the daughter of a government. And that's what he did. Over the years, Ted and Christy sponsored more than 100 families, often hosting them before setting them up with homes, loans, and doughnut shops. Eventually, her parents discovered Ngoy and threw him out. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles leaving behind his new wife and their two children. Read about our approach to external linking. Theres also the moment where Ted revisits his former home in Mission Viejo. Chet and Savy, Ted Ngoys oldest children, sit down for an interview in The Donut King.. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. The family were among the many tens of thousands of . He was raised by his mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong, and who only spoke Chinese. [6], The Donut King had its world premiere in the Documentary Feature Competition the South by Southwest film festival. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. And he has a new goal. Christy Ngoy now owns a Peruvian restaurant in Irvine. Six weeks later, Gu and her producer, Jos Nuez, were on a plane to Cambodia where they spent three days interviewing Ngoy and shooting B-roll. "[10], Whittaker said that "as Asian Americans face increasing racism, its closing message about how immigrant communitiesdefine America has only become more timely."[8]. Ngoy told Suganthini that he didnt love her. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. The first few times he and Christy visited, on early family holidays, everything went well: they watched a magic show, they saw Elvis perform. Beautiful views aren't the only thing drawing Angelenos to the region. 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. 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. He hosted Dan Quayle and Pete Wilson at his house. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. He had met Richard Nixon, the former president, and Presidents Reagan and George HW Bush. Los Angeles Times Mag's Donuts A week later, Suganthini wrote back, and the two began a secret correspondence. Despite his success, he said, he felt unhappy and isolated. The donut business isnt easy. Doughnuts offered an escape from years of welfare dependency. Gab Chabrn reflects on growing up in L.A. in a Latino home that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead. From the wall, he leaped onto the roof and crawled through an open window. He moved from church to church, until an elderly Cambodian woman allowed him to live on the covered porch of her mobile home. Then when dinner is ready, she knocks on the door and I open the door to have dinner.". I told them I'm very sorry 1,000 times. , some of the dough (see what we did there?) Each morning, he walked with the monks, begging for food from peasants, crying as the rocky roads tore at his bare feet. While he was recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life. Tao did everything in her power to help Gu. He was a fraud, he said. Also Jerry Brown, who weve seen in California as our beacon of hope and morality, in 1975 was actually the opposite. Ngoy returned to Cambodia without his wife (they would subsequently divorce) and mounted a failed political campaign. 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. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. "[7] In a positive review, Richard Whittaker with The Austin Chronicle said that "Gu does stellar work compiling and constructing Ngoys life story through interviews and archive and contemporary footage," and added "the animation sequences by Chapeau Studios and 1881 Animation that make the perfect drizzle of icing. Ngoy and his wife became American citizens and were . Those are the sounds of a man in love, her mother said. Twice he joined a Buddhist monastery. But the situation at home was increasingly dangerous and on his last trip, in April 1975, the capital fell. 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 height of his success in the US he had been an ardent Republican, and an enthusiastic fundraiser for the party. To Christy, this was the final betrayal. Eventually he and Christy were left with just one doughnut shop, which they decided to sell. He said that we didnt have room for these refugees here. He wrapped the note around a stone, and threw it down. What new information did you learn in the making of the film?There was a lot that was new to me. He credits his Christian faith with finally curing his gambling addiction, although he confesses he liked to bet on football games until last year. Oklahoma-style smash burgers and Georgian dumplings make for some excellent cheap bites in Glendale, Husband and wife Felix Agyei and Hazel Rojas combine food from their heritages, creating a marriage of West African and Filipino cooking. Most importantly, the trip allowed him to mend relations with Christy, who has now remarried, and with their grown-up children. When time goes by it gets into your blood and you just cannot get it out," says Ted. He hired his wife and nephew. Streaming now on PBS. the [8], After a particularly devastating gambling loss in 1990, Ngoy flew to Washington, D.C. and joined a Buddhist monastery where he spent a month meditating. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about . Everybody went to the gold mine, Ngoy said. Over the years, he led thousands of his countrymen into the business. Yes, you read that right. Theres so much competition. He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. It was on the market. Ted became their first South East Asian trainee. An immigrant story with a (glazed) twist, The Donut King follows the journey of Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy, who arrived in California in the 1970s and, through a mixture of diligence and. Why would anybody be interested in my story?' More and more relatives came forward for sponsorship. Even in gambling. Distraught, she took an overdose of sleeping pills and fell into a coma. Suganthinis parents hoped she would marry well. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. "It made me homesick," says Ted. "[1], Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand. L.A. became the country's epicenter of donut culture when Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian immigrant, arrived in California during the 1970s. Ted remembers hiding from her behind the slot machines. He suggested that Ted hang out in the back and to put Christy in the front. At the weekend the oldest children, Chet and Savy, then nine and eight, helped out by pouring coffee, packing doughnuts and folding boxes. He would forge her signature on checks and even borrow money from relatives who leased stores from him. The two had met as teenage classmates in Phnom Penh. 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. Never surrender. Here's Why It's Especially Dangerous To Hike SoCal Mountains Right Now, How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA. They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. Ngoy lived in an attic apartment a few blocks from the Khoeun familys mansion. His shift at a gas station, the trip allowed him to live on the covered of. In an attic apartment a few blocks from the wall surrounding her home Information, grant! Recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life vacation home in Mission Viejo King - Uncle... 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