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THE MASKED MARVEL

Meet Ken Jeong — trained doctor, Hangover legend and The Masked Singer’s star judge

HE is the doctor-turned-actor who happily admits a tiny todger made his name.

Now Ken Jeong, best known for the Hangover movies, has unexpectedly become the saviour of ITV.

 Ken Jeong has quickly become the standout star of ITV's new hit show The Masked Singer
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Ken Jeong has quickly become the standout star of ITV's new hit show The Masked SingerCredit: ITV

New talent show The Masked Singer, of which Ken is the undoubted star, has given the channel its best launch-night figures since 2013.

On Saturday it walloped BBC One rival The Greatest Dancer, netting 6.5million viewers — more than double the 3.2million who tuned in for Cheryl Tweedy’s dance contest.

As fellow Masked Singer ­panellist Jonathan Ross pointed out, Simon Cowell will be “kicking himself” he didn’t think of the surreal guessing game first.

The bonkers format, hosted by Joel Dommett, sees celebs ­perform while wearing elaborate and crazy costumes and masks, ranging from a futuristic ­chameleon to a rainbow-coloured unicorn.

 The show sees celebrities ­perform in crazy costumes while the judges and the audience try to guess who's beneath the mask
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The show sees celebrities ­perform in crazy costumes while the judges and the audience try to guess who's beneath the maskCredit: ITV

But it is 50-year-old Ken, who made the US version a smash hit, who is the big draw.

ITV were so keen to sign him up, producer Daniel Nettleton flew to the US to seal the deal.

Ken has already proved he understands British humour with a tongue-in-cheek gag about our “native kangaroos” and by ­randomly insisting one performer must be Murder, She Wrote sleuth Angela Lansbury.

Despite his obvious appeal, viewers could be forgiven for wondering not just who is behind the masks but who this flamboyant American is.

 It has quickly become a hit, drawing in an impressive 6.5million viewers
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It has quickly become a hit, drawing in an impressive 6.5million viewersCredit: ITV

For Ken, who was born in Detroit and raised in North ­Carolina, the show is just the latest chapter in an already bizarre life.

He said: “To come to the UK and do this show is beyond a dream come true.”

Born to South Korean ­immigrant parents, Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong described ­himself as a fairly serious child, a “popular nerd”.

At 16, he showed a completely different side at a mock beauty pageant at high school, in which he appeared in Speedos and performed Lionel Richie’s Three Times A Lady.

The hilarious skit earned him a standing ovation, and gave Ken a taste for comedy acting.

 The talent show also boasts an impressive judging panel made up of Ken, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross
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The talent show also boasts an impressive judging panel made up of Ken, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan RossCredit: ITV

It was not the path his intellectual father — now a retired economics professor — had planned, so he made a deal with Ken.

D.K. Jeong said: “I promised him that if he got into medical school, I would give him the opportunity to develop his hobby and go anywhere in the world to (do so).”

And so Ken went to university then medical school in North Carolina, all the while performing in student shows.

During a medical residency in New Orleans, he entered — and won — a stand-up ­competition called the Big Easy Laff-Off.

 But it is Ken, who made his name as Leslie Chow in the hit Hangover trilogy, that fans are obsessed with
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But it is Ken, who made his name as Leslie Chow in the hit Hangover trilogy, that fans are obsessed with

Encouraged by the judges, he decided to move to Los Angeles so he could perform at improvisation nights.

For a while, Ken did stand-up and improv for just £20 a night, while working at a hospital by day.

He said: “The ultimate compliment to me from a patient was, ‘I could never imagine a guy like you could do comedy’. ”

He got a foot in the door in Hollywood when he answered director Judd Apatow’s call for an actor with medical experience for a small part in 2007 comedy Knocked Up.

 Ken made the role his own, even coming up with idea to spring from the car boot wearing only socks - which would become a famous scene
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Ken made the role his own, even coming up with idea to spring from the car boot wearing only socks - which would become a famous sceneCredit: Alamy

It gave Ken the confidence to quit his day job and focus on gigs. And then came The ­Hangover.

The character of camp gangster Leslie Chow did not have a name at first and was written as a 60-year-old man.

Having nothing to lose, Ken’s ad-libbed audition went down a storm. According to director Todd ­Phillips: “Ken just lost his mind.”

Indeed, it was Ken’s idea to spring from the car boot wearing nothing but a pair of socks in one famous scene.

 Having only starred in one movie as a doctor, he wanted to ensure he wouldn't be typecast, so he set out 'to do something shocking'
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Having only starred in one movie as a doctor, he wanted to ensure he wouldn't be typecast, so he set out 'to do something shocking'Credit: YouTube

He said: “I’d only done one movie before and I didn’t want to be typecast as a doctor. I wanted to do something shocking.

“If I was going to be typecast as anything, I wanted to be typecast as a crazy guy.”

And the father of two is more than happy to joke about his own, ahem, shortcomings in the lunchbox department.

He once said: “The smaller the penis, the larger the box office.”

 However he later fronted his own sitcom series, Dr Ken, based on his life as a doctor
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However he later fronted his own sitcom series, Dr Ken, based on his life as a doctor

He also claimed his wife ribbed him by telling him it would be the “feelgood movie of the ­summer — because every guy will go home feeling good about themselves”.

But behind the hilarity of the first of three Hangover movies, Ken was suffering heartache.

His Vietnamese- American wife Tran Ho — also a doctor — had breast cancer and was recovering from chemotherapy.

She was given a 23 per cent chance of survival and the couple’s twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey, were just a year old.

Secrecy is key to hit

THE Masked Singer started in South Korea, where it is called King Of Mask Singer.

While the ITV version ­features celebrities in elaborate costumes, in Korea they still hide behind paper masks.

It launched in the US last ­January and became the most-viewed “unscripted debut” on a network for seven years.

Big names including Donny Osmond, Kelly Osbourne and Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams have all been unveiled on the US version.

Ken’s co-judges in the States are singers Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke plus TV host Jenny McCarthy.

The format has also spread to Australia and across Europe.

UK show boss Derek McLean said: “We wanted to have a similar look to the American version.

“ITV was really sensible on that front, giving us the budget where we could pursue the production and talent we wanted.”

The series is recorded in front of an audience, but secrecy is paramount. To reduce the chance of leaks, the crowd is reduced to just a select few when each celeb is unmasked.

As to the famous names, executive producer Daniel Nettleton added: “The public will be shocked by some of the stars taking part in this show.”

Ken said: “It was the worst time of my life. I’d quit my job, my wife had cancer and we had twin girls. I thought, ‘What did I do?’”

On set, only Todd Phillips and Ken’s co-star Bradley Cooper knew what was going on at home.

Bradley would drive Ken from the set in Las Vegas to Los Angeles so he could visit Tran, who is now free of cancer.

The character of Chow was in part formed from what Ken was going through. He said: “I was just getting a lot of stuff off my plate.

 At the time of filming the Hanogver Ken's wife Tran Ho was battling cancer
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At the time of filming the Hanogver Ken's wife Tran Ho was battling cancerCredit: Getty
 She is now cancer free and the couple have two daughters together, Alexa and Zooey
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She is now cancer free and the couple have two daughters together, Alexa and ZooeyCredit: Getty

“I was venting at the rage of my wife having cancer. In a way, Chow is like an ­exorcism of those demons.”

It was Tran who encouraged him to go for the Hangover role, which turned out to be Ken’s big break.

And he involved her in the film by dropping in secret “Easter eggs” in the form of Vietnamese jokes, despite the character being Chinese.

Ken said: “It’s the weirdest love letter to my wife ever.”

 Ken went on to appear in Crazy Rich Asians and Avengers: Endgame before becoming a guest judge on America’s Got Talent
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Ken went on to appear in Crazy Rich Asians and Avengers: Endgame before becoming a guest judge on America’s Got TalentCredit: Rex Features

Since the runaway success of the gross-out trilogy, he has starred in American TV series Community, the film Crazy Rich Asians and had a cameo in Avengers: Endgame.

He has been a voice actor on Despicable Me 2 and Penguins Of Madagascar, and a guest judge on America’s Got Talent.

He has also fronted his own sitcom series, Dr Ken, based on his life as a doctor, and which featured his 12-year-old daughter Zooey as his TV son’s stalker girlfriend.

In 2016 he said: “I get to work in Hollywood on my own project. If I can still make it home by 8pm to put the kids in bed then wow, I am having my cake and eating it too.

 He then launched a comedy special on Netflix before landing a job on the US version of The Masked Singer
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He then launched a comedy special on Netflix before landing a job on the US version of The Masked SingerCredit: Getty

“Then I get to hang out with my wife for the rest of the night. That is my dream.”

Dr Ken was cancelled after two series but Ken’s career hasn’t ­suffered. Last year, he launched his first comedy special on Netflix, called You Complete Me, Ho.

And last January, he landed the judging job on the US version of The Masked Singer, which pulled in 11million viewers.

After a gap of ten years, Ken has returned to stand-up too, making his UK debut last summer.

 And he has returned to stand-up too as he made his UK debut last summer
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And he has returned to stand-up too as he made his UK debut last summerCredit: ITV

He said in 2015 that he still renews his medical licence every year, not because he intends to practise but as a “reminder to keep me grounded”.

But despite his madcap on-screen persona, Ken insists he is “just your basic middle-aged man who’s afraid to go on a rollercoaster”.

In front of the camera, though, it is one wild ride.

  •  The Masked Singer returns on ITV on ­Saturday at 7pm and is on ITV player.
First look at ITV's new entertainment series The Masked Singer 


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