ted ngoy second wife

That's a disaster," he says. 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. It's a monster in me.". He became tired running doughnut shops on his own and decided to train and lease shops to his relatives and employ Cambodian refugees. Los Angeles Times Perpetually in need of cash, he'd ask the people running his donut shops for loans. Volcanic tiki drinks. The families who followed Ngoys lead learned to run businesses and picked up English. Ted Ngoy: Well, when I was in a high school in a French school, my wife's Suganthini. . When the couple recovered, her parents finally allowed them to marry. Then he would return to Vegas in an attempt to win back what he had lost. In the early 1990s, it was reported that California had 2,400 Cambodian-owned doughnut shops. This caused tension in the Ngoy household, being the center of many arguments between Ngoy and his wife. One by one, Ted lost all of his donut shops. The documentary goes back and forth between Ngoy and the present-day lives of second- and third-generation donut shop kids or what Gu refers to as Donut Generation 2.0. Tao did everything in her power to help Gu. He had sold what few shops remained. 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. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. Once, he enjoyed the warmth of family and the respect of his community. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. According to Tao, the servants caught on to Ted's presence after a few days but didn't say anything. "I came back to L.A. and I didn't know that I was going to create this crazy explosion in the business. 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. As far as the immigrant experience and my parents what it really did for me is open my eyes and I just cut them some slack about growing up here in conflict with wanting to be an American kid and their Chinese ways of raising me. Whenever Ted won, the family would rejoice with him. He wrote a book called The Donut: History, Recipes, and Lore from Boston to Berlin and he gave really fascinating insights into donut culture, history and our relationship to donuts in America. In 1993 Ted and Christy moved back to Cambodia. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. 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. Ted did try to curb his habit. I think there's nothing wrong for them to lie to the embassy because everybody needs a chance to survive. Ted's parents and sisters fled across the border to Thailand, and Ted got a call from the US embassy there asking if he would sponsor them to live in the US. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. Boozy Dole Whips. Suganthini was terrified, but she let the stranger stay. The son of a peddler had no chance with such a girl, no right even to think of loving her. The first few times he and Christy visited, on early family holidays, everything went well: they watched a magic show, they saw Elvis perform. Ted Ngoy made a fortune in doughnuts. Once back in Orange County, he bet more than ever. After completing the company's training program, they gave him the keys to a store in Newport Beach. "New documentary 'The Donut King' follows Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy's journey to multi-million dollar empire", "Review: A Shakespearean SoCal tragedy, 'The Donut King' charts the rise and fall of Ted Ngoy", "Director Alice Gu Wants You to Meet The Donut King", "The Donut King who went full circle - from rags to riches, twice", "Review: The Donut King, a sweet documentary that doesn't tell the hole truth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Donut_King&oldid=1131760803, This page was last edited on 5 January 2023, at 16:51. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. BC Donuts Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted, because of the many Cambodian immigrants he'd sponsored. and This is an incredible story of how he helped people. Soldiers and dogs guarded the mansion. The Donut King At the height of his success in the US he had been an ardent Republican, and an enthusiastic fundraiser for the party. She later discovered that they were among the first to be executed by the Khmer Rouge. "Using money to provide for others is a feeling as powerful as any drug," he later wrote. No political life, no religious life, just work, work, he said. in Irvine, Ngoy bought his first doughnut. They made a blood pact, promising to be forever faithful. He says his gambling is under control -- though he has no money with which to test this will power. DK's Donuts 60? Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. "If I need to shower, I knock on the door, 'Lady can I take a shower?' [5] She reached out to Ngoy and other Cambodian families who ran donut shops, and within six weeks began principal photography. It provided a path for refugees to settle and was a profitable business model. Then he flew to a monastery in the Thai countryside. I dont know who I am right now, he said. They would speed through Phnom Penh on his motorcycle, the couple recalled. He became Ted. Gambling is a devil. The couple and their three toddlers arrived penniless at Camp Pendleton, part of the first wave of Cambodian refugees. One of their sons is a financial consultant; another is a computer-networking technician. You cannot resist against it.. One of Ngoy's first jobs in the US was as a service station attendant. LAist.com/radio. "And she says, 'Because Cambodian people make them.'". He had $50,000 riding on many Sundays. [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. 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. The premise of family in the film is how hard your parents work and the sacrifices they make so that you can have a life better than they did. 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. The Cambodians worked hard and because the whole family pitched in, they did not have to pay out any wages. Gab Chabrn reflects on growing up in L.A. in a Latino home that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead. Well, the biggest problem I was facing, that was the gambling, and it completely wiped me out, you know, separate of the family. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles. At the end, I win. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. Ngoy also involved himself in American politics, joining the Republican Party and hosting fundraisers for George H. W. Bush and encouraged fellow Cambodian immigrants to support the GOP. "[5] Upon looking into the matter, she learned about Ted Ngoy and became fascinated with the topic. There were some hurt relationships. He took a chance and opened a bedroom door - and there was Suganthini, fast asleep. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. Distraught, she took an overdose of sleeping pills and fell into a coma. Filmmaker Alice Gu (left) poses with Mayly Tao outside DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. ", He communicates with them almost every day. He hired his wife and nephew. in San Clemente and, of course, DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. Her brother-in-law, Sutsakhan Sak, was chief of police and would become, briefly, the countrys president. [10] Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. It was a strategy that ended up working for them. Instead, she told him about a training programme run by the doughnut chain, Winchell's. I instantly found the Realtor, the listing agent and arranged to go and have Ted walk through his old house. Yes, you read that right. It took longer than 40 years. I just do it.. The family were among the many tens of thousands of . They took American names. COVID-19 has hit her store and most other shops hard. On Sundays, he attends Parkcrest Christian Church in Long Beach. His mother raised him in a rural village near Cambodias border with Thailand. 50? [6], The Donut King had its world premiere in the Documentary Feature Competition the South by Southwest film festival. His party did poorly in the 1993 and 1998 parliamentary elections, but Prime Minister Hun Sen made him an advisor on commerce and agriculture. He ran to the shop across the street where he bought a donut. Doughnuts offered an escape from years of welfare dependency. Ted Ngoy has become a stranger even to himself. Ted became deeply religious. The details that aren't in the movie are even crazier. Which donut shop do you find yourself going back to for the sake of eating a donut?I had my out of body experience at DKs Donuts and Bakery in Santa Monica. Despite never really being a huge success under the previous owners, Christy's became popular under the ownership of the Ngoys. I thought I would just get an exterior scene for context. On one of his Las Vegas trips, Ngoy took up gambling. Streaming now on PBS. The world moves so quickly now, but I do believe that it is still real and it is still possible. 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. "I learned to bake, to take care of payroll, cleaning, sales - everything," he says. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. If there's anything she wants people who watch The Donut King to know, it's that this seemingly simple treat has a deeper cultural resonance. "But many of them were not related, they just lived in the same village or heard of my name. Interviews can sometimes feel like a therapy session. Once, he was a poor boy who carried away one of Cambodias wealthiest daughters. "The note said, 'I appreciate you blowing the flute. Las Vegas was the new thing, he said, besides making money and making doughnuts,. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local doughnut shop and inquired of its operators about learning the business. Ngoy built a vast donut shop empire across California and it started in 1970s Orange County. Because of the Ngoys, a Cambodian refugees first American job was often in a doughnut shop. 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. I'm not famous. The entire family Christy and the three kids worked alongside him. Despite his success, he said, he felt unhappy and isolated. (Elina Shatkin/LAist). Why would anybody be interested in my story?' Ted liked Cadillacs; Christy preferred Mercedes-Benz convertibles. The donut business isnt easy. He would forge her signature on checks and even borrow money from relatives who leased stores from him. An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about . "It went like fire on the hill, so fast," says Ted. To make sure he went through with it, they insisted on hiding behind a curtain while he said his spiel. If you can dream it, they're probably mixing it somewhere on property. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. Upon deeper glance, it was so personal for me. Some of those he borrowed from were the people he had leased doughnut shops to. [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. 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. Then I went to America, Ngoy said, and created the doughnut world.. Ngoy joined the army. But it was really the immigrant story. One night under a full moon, they knelt and prayed. Christy Ngoy now owns a Peruvian restaurant in Irvine. And he saw an opportunity. 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. 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. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. Everybody went to the gold mine, Ngoy said. Before sunrise, they would climb back into her room. He hired his wife and nephew. He co-signed loans for supplies and equipment. But with great riches come great temptations. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. By 1976, Ted had saved up enough money to buy his own shop, which he named Christy's. in Pasadena, "I did not have time to take care of business, so business was going down. I never will be able to pay back. She was hooked. He remarried and had four more children - the youngest two are still at school. Everybody cry," he said. The rise & fall of The Donut King. youths avoid juvenile hall comes to an end, As it approaches its first decade, the Frida Cinema abides, Shake Shack gets ready to shake things up in Orange County, Santa Anas Electric City Butcher moves online, Brews&Bites beachside beer festival comes to the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 13 couples say I do on Valentines Day weekend at the Anaheim Marketplace, Broadway Divas serve off-Broadway realness at Segerstrom, Dine your heart out this Valentines Day with special menus throughout Orange County, 43rd annual Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Fair a source of pride in Anaheim. Okay, you guys can' It was a whole Romeo and Juliet story," Gu says. Suganthini smuggled him food at night, and after many days she said she loved him too. I was addicted to a feeling, and money was simply the needle that delivered the toxic dose," he writes in his autobiography, also called The Donut King. "They're a good company and I owe them gratitude," Ted says. He saw an opportunity to expand his business and help the large number of poor, unassimilated Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge to the United States. 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 the porch of a friends mobile home in Long Beach, the Cambodian doughnut king falls asleep each night shivering. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment). He moved from church to church, until an elderly Cambodian woman allowed him to live on the covered porch of her mobile home. Rose Donuts and Cafe Baby Yoda cocktails. He joined Gamblers Anonymous but was back at the tables in no time. After Ted revealed his presence to Christy, he hid under her bed until he was eventually discovered and her family allowed them be together. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. "What happens if I decide to jump into your room?" It was hurtful. Ted was dismayed. He had no home and no money, and his country had been overrun by a gang of pitiless thugs. Ended up working for them to lie to the embassy because everybody needs a to... Anonymous but was back at the tables in no time, because of the Ngoys, a member-supported Public network! Into her room fell in love from afar with a reply Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead at. Before sunrise, they insisted on hiding behind a curtain while he said, ' I appreciate blowing. 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