He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. She ended up threatening to starve herself, saying, "If you won't let me be with him, I'm not going to eat.". A woman from his church lets him sleep in the screened porch outside her mobile home, which he has fashioned into a makeshift bedroom. The family were among the many tens of thousands of . When the couple recovered, her parents finally allowed them to marry. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. Tell me more about how they connected to the local community.Ted came in the 70s and it was quite homogeneously white in Orange County at the time and a lot of people had never seen an Asian person, much less heard of a place called Cambodia. Christys Doughnuts in La Habra never did great business. 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. Gu first needed to find Ted Ngoy but she had no idea how to do it. One of Ngoy's first jobs in the US was as a service station attendant. Cambodia was poor and under-developed after years of war. In 1990, after disappearing for another disastrous trip to Las Vegas, he flew to Washington, D.C., and joined a Buddhist monastery. Mag's Donuts He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. He bought a bigger doughnut shop, and offered to lease the original Christy's to a family of Cambodian refugees, who had been working in fast food outlets on low wages. 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. "If I need the vote, I cannot gamble. Ngoy joined the army. He says to me, Alice, making money its so easy. "[10], Whittaker said that "as Asian Americans face increasing racism, its closing message about how immigrant communitiesdefine America has only become more timely."[8]. The Donut King is a documentary directed by Alice Gu that covers the life of Ted Ngoy, one of the primary reasons behind the Cambodian American donut shop boom. After completing the company's training program, they gave him the keys to a store in Newport Beach. I called her when I found out and asked if she knew about Ford and Brown. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. Ngoy doesnt remember how many stores he started or bought -- 40? "He's like, 'You know what? Interestingly, largely because of Democratic policy we got a grant for our camera and it came from this girl, who was the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who landed in Arkansas. He took a chance and opened a bedroom door - and there was Suganthini, fast asleep. Ted soon got a job working at Winchell's, which was then the dominant donut chain on the West Coast. Her brother-in-law, Sutsakhan Sak, was chief of police and would become, briefly, the countrys president. But from then on, every store Ngoy and his wife bought or opened they named Christys Doughnuts. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. The ubiquity and low overhead of these Cambodian mom-and-pop donut shops helped drive Dunkin' Donuts out of California in the late '90s. Yes, you read that right. Ted Ngoy was born in Sisophon, Cambodia. By 1987, Ngoy owned 32 Christy's Donuts locations, largely accomplished by living out of a motorhome allowing him and his family to travel up and down the state of California establishing new locations. 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. Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. Soon, Cambodians began copying the Ted Ngoy business model. In doing the research and finding that it was President [Gerald] Ford who issued the executive order to receive the refugees, a Republican president that was a huge surprise to me given that during the time that we were making this film we were hearing Donald Trumps rhetoric. When he lost he would lash out, smashing doors, breaking furniture and frightening the children. Suganthini replied, "Well be careful, if you don't jump into my room, you'll jump into my mum's room.". I believed him a thousand times, she said. the Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin hired Ngoy as a janitor. When I become big guy, then I cannot go gamble because people wont vote for you. They barely talked to him. [8], After Cambodia's establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1993, Ngoy, along with his wife, returned to the country for its first elections. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news. , the 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. There were some hurt relationships. [2][3][4], The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) When you first reached out to Ted, it. Besides, he reasoned, as a politician he would not be able to gamble. Also, significantly for Ngoy, other Cambodian refugees and their children donuts. "He was a little uneasy," Gu says. Her parents and cousins hid behind curtains so they could hear him break off the relationship. "I just wanted to raise pigs and chickens and have enough meat and eggs to take to . A day before he left, his eldest son said if you have $3.2 million you can buy it. Ted became their first South East Asian trainee. The families who followed Ngoys lead learned to run businesses and picked up English. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. Their fairy tale romance is so distant, she said, its as if it happened to someone else. If you walk into a doughnut shop in California, the chances are it's owned by a Cambodian 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 . But on a later trip Ted had a go on the blackjack tables, and soon he was hooked on the glamour and the adrenaline. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. Ngoy bought stores in Fullerton, Anaheim, Anaheim Hills and Buena Park over the next year. His story begins in the early 1970s when Ngoy was a commander in the Royal Cambodian Army, training soldiers in Thailand. TED NGOY HAD an unrelenting obsession during his 1975 plane ride from Southeast Asia to Southern California. He tasted his first donut at a Tustin gas station, trained as a baker in a La Mirada Winchells and ran his own Winchells store in the Balboa Peninsula. He sat on the roof of his apartment and played his flute, the music sweeping over the neighborhood. [10] Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. He hired his wife and nephew. He did not fare well in either the 1993 or 1998 parliamentary elections, but his friend, Prime Minister Hun Sen, made him an advisor on commerce and agriculture. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The whole community banded together and they all agreed to sell him out of donuts every morning by 9 a.m. Hard work. "We were happy - until the gambling came to wreck my life. 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. 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. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. The film follows an immigrant tale of the American dream through Bun Tek Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee whose charmed life is full of war, romance, entrepreneurship, racism and a caution about greed. "[1], Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand. This caused tension in the Ngoy household, being the center of many arguments between Ngoy and his wife. [5] By 1977 he was able to purchase his first doughnut shop, Christy's Donuts, in La Habra. She was hooked. In English, Mandarin and Cambodian with English subtitles; Not rated, Playing: Regency South Coast Village, Santa Ana, and in limited release where theaters are open; available via virtual cinemas, including Laemmle Theatres. [4], Ngoy secured work as a janitor with Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin, California. I am the flute player, he said in a note passed through the familys maid. 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. Despite his success, he said, he felt unhappy and isolated. One involves reggae and another focuses on Puerto Rican musicians. Did working on this film change or contribute to your perspective of the American dream or immigrant stories?It seems like these days the American dream is harder and harder to attain. I could have made a special piece just on the history of donuts. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. "I spent about $100,000 of my own money, my time, my everything," he says. "It's a devil, it's a monster. , to name a few outlets), but Alice Gu is the first to put it on film. Ted and Christy are divorced. He has to start a new life.. Over the next few years, he went back every month or so, seeing Tom Jones, Diana Ross and Wayne Newton -- and betting ever-larger sums. He lobbied his contacts in the Republican inner circle, including Senator John McCain, and MFN status was granted permanently in 1996. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. He says he hid in her room for 45 days until he was discovered. Interviews can sometimes feel like a therapy session. You cannot resist against it.. Volcanic tiki drinks. Over the years, he says he sponsored more than 100 Cambodian families that wanted to come to the U.S. Streaming now on PBS. "Well, it is because I've fallen in love with you," Ted replied. 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. Director Alice Gu makes her film debut with The Donut King, following the life of Ted Ngoy. Ted Ngoy By 1985, 10 years after arriving in the US as refugees, Ted and Christy were millionaires, owning around 60 doughnut shops. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. They would speed through Phnom Penh on his motorcycle, the couple recalled. One night, he saw Suganthini on her balcony, and decided it was time to make his move. I gave her my spiel, and she said, 'Well, you've called the right person. But within weeks he was back on a plane to Vegas. He taught them the names of the doughnuts: old fashioned, jelly-filled, glazed. Ted Ngoy has become a stranger even to himself. Ted kept a low profile until the LA filmmaker Alice Gu got in touch a couple of years ago. On the porch of a friends mobile home in Long Beach, the Cambodian doughnut king falls asleep each night shivering. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. That same year, President Gerald Ford signed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, allowing 130,000 people from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to come to the U.S. California's Governor at the time, Jerry Brown, opposed the move, saying, in a clip that's featured in The Donut King, "When we have a million people out of work, when we have our own people taxed to the hilt, I'm just very slow to just open the floodgates and say come on in unless we provide a way to put Americans to work.". Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. He has converted to Christianity, he said, and prays often, asking God for help. Chuong Lee, who has run DK's Donuts since 1988, is officially retired although she occasionally helps out at the shop. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. He enjoyed meeting the younger generation of doughnut makers, who are innovating and inventing new flavours. Ngoy would open more shops and lease them to fellow refugees. DK's Donuts Gambling is a devil. Ted joined the Republican Party, held fundraisers for George H.W. He credits his Christian faith with finally curing his gambling addiction, although he confesses he liked to bet on football games until last year. They saw Elvis Presley perform, and Ted played a little blackjack. According to Tao, the servants caught on to Ted's presence after a few days but didn't say anything. in Pasadena, Ted negotiated well and got a good commission. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. Ngoy attempted Gamblers Anonymous, but denied it helped with his situation, stating that when he went to meetings "I cry, everybody cry. He was born Bun Tek Ngoy. They cried and prayed for the family they had left behind. The Ngoys drove a motor home around California, opening shops in Los Angeles, Modesto, Fresno, San Jose, the Bay Area city of Brisbane, Sacramento and San Diego. "But many of them were not related, they just lived in the same village or heard of my name. He had hidden a dagger and he took it out and stabbed himself three times. Christy has remarried and lives in Lake Forest, not far from their three adult children, who all live in Orange County. But it was really the immigrant story. He co-signed loans for supplies and equipment. 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. Christy's parents said they would let Ted live if he told Christy that he was a dog who had romanced other girls and had never loved her. What new information did you learn in the making of the film?There was a lot that was new to me. 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. If you can dream it, they're probably mixing it somewhere on property. All night long Ted would watch people buying coffee and doughnuts, and he realised it was a good business. The Donut King is told through archival footage, animation, and interviews with family members alongside Ted Ngoy, who has tried to make peace with those who he's hurt including Mel Allison, a 91-year-old baker still at it at Winchell's. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. Where Im going, I dont know. I said, 'Because it's incredible, for one. The stranger who crept into her room more than 35 years ago is a stranger again. I dont know who I am right now, he said. So Ngoy snuck into her family's heavily guarded compound and climbed through her bedroom window. [9], Ngoy is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Donut King. "She was so beautiful," he remembers. And that's what he did. With the help of his brother-in-law, he was promoted to major and appointed military attache at the countrys embassy in Thailand. Ted wrote one day. I say, Ted, who are you? I really dont know.. "Ted, again, is Mr. Nine Lives. Beautiful views aren't the only thing drawing Angelenos to the region. 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. They wont trust you, he said. At each stop, they set up the business and trained the families who leased it. The Ngoys decided to keep uniformity amongst their shops, naming subsequent acquisitions Christy's. [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. 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