Patrick Teoh

Patrick Teoh
Photo of Patrick Teoh, taken on 10 October 2008
Born	Teoh Kah Yong (Chinese: 张家扬) (1947-10-16) 16 October 1947 (age 69) Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Residence	Ampang, Malaysia
Nationality	Malaysian
Height	5'4"
Weight	145 lb (66 kg)
Website	Blog

Patrick Teoh (born 16 October 1947) is an actor and radio personality in Malaysia. A career in radio, TV, stage and movies spanning more than three decades has earned Patrick the nickname of "Voice of Malaysia", bestowed by his fans and the Malaysian mass media.

Patrick Teoh was born in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. He attended St. Michael's Institution up until Form 5.

Patrick's father took him and his mother to the movies everyday for the 9.15 p.m. screening. From this routine of watching a movie a day, Patrick learned to speak English by watching actors such as John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Henry Fonda and James Stewart. The habit of going to the cinema everyday stayed with Patrick until he was 24 years old. His personal record was watching six movies in a single day.

After high school, Patrick remained in Ipoh and became a salesman for life insurance and encyclopaedias for a few years. Finally his father told him to 'get a job'. In 1966, he was having dinner at home when Rediffusion, a cable radio station announced that they had vacancies for radio announcers. Patrick applied for the position, attended the interview and got the job soon after. He was 19 years old.

In 1966, Patrick joined Rediffusion as an "English Programme Announcer Grade 3", earning a salary of RM$150 a month. For the first three months, he was not allowed to enter the studio. Instead, he wrote scripts and picked out songs for 'Lunch Time Melodies'. At the end of the three months, he was allowed to work in the studio during non-peak hours, where his primary duty was to press buttons to air pre-recorded programmes. After six months, he was allowed to go on air, reading from pre-approved scripts. Within two years, Patrick was promoted to Assistant Programme Manager and a year after that, he was the Programme Manager for Rediffusion. A memorable moment of his tenure in the English Programme Department of Rediffusion was when Patrick was told by his then Department Supervisor that he would never amount to much in the industry because of his physical handicap (Patrick contracted polio when he was 7 years old). Patrick eventually replaced the man as English Programme Supervisor.

A few years later, Patrick was made the Divisional Manager for 'Sound and Film Services', a division set up by Rediffusion to tap into the burgeoning advertising industry. Due to a nationwide demand for Patrick's voice talent, the division did well and in less than 9 months, it was in the black.