Her brother-in-law, Sutsakhan Sak, was chief of police and would become, briefly, the countrys president. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. Ted now sees that the same character traits that made him take bold risks in life also made it easy for him to fall prey to gambling. I say, Ted I dont think its that easy at all. And hell respond, Ive been rich three times. Doughnut shops were easy to run. A day before he left, his eldest son said if you have $3.2 million you can buy it. Some of his relationships didnt end well. 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. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit It actually made national, if not international, news about the kindness of these people in Orange County. Ngoy became a trainee and took over a Winchell's in Newport Beach. I did not have time to expand. The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. But he was more than well-off; he was respected. Word spread. Theres also the moment where Ted revisits his former home in Mission Viejo. 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. Everybody cry, he said. He taught them the names of the doughnuts: old fashioned, jelly-filled, glazed. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. He had lost the respect of his family and community. I'm not famous. A daughter owns a 1950s-style hamburger restaurant in Orange County. 2023 BBC. I have to go to school.". After setting up a sweet shop of his own, he helped fellow . One day in 2018, she cold-called The other discovery for me was what I called Donut Generation 2.0, the kids who go to take over the parents mom and pop shops. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. At a news conference, he dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. He did as he was told, but then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself, declaring he would rather die than live without her. Ted and a lot of the Asians who came aligned themselves with the Republican party. Those are the sounds of a man in love, her mother said. Ngoy bought his first doughnut. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three children to Camp Pendleton. I always thought of it as a Plan B to come back and now, it has become the Plan A and more," Tao says. I believed him a thousand times, she said. Alice found it hard to persuade Ted to return to California for filming. Theres so much competition. Ngoy's epic rags-to-riches-to-rags story has been chronicled before (in the ", Alice Gu's documentary, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King lost his crown (produced by Maryam Maruf), Ted Ngoy's autobiography is called The Donut King: the rags to riches story of a poor immigrant that changed the world. One night under a full moon, they knelt and prayed. He joined Gamblers Anonymous but was back at the tables in no time. Bun Tek Ngoy touched down at Camp Pendleton on a military plane in May of 1975 with his wife and three young children. [3] Ngoy worked at various jobs, including as a travel agent and tour guide, before joining the military in 1970. A woman from his church lets him sleep in the screened porch outside her mobile home, which he has fashioned into a makeshift bedroom. But it was really the immigrant story. Alongside doughnuts, they sell imported American goods - everything from Pop-Tarts to Starbucks Frappucinos. Her name was Suganthini Khoeun. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. "It's impossible to explain that money had nothing to do with it. Two days after Gu's out-of-the-blue call to DK's Donuts, she was talking to Ngoy in Cambodia. His sponsor told him people will have their prejudices but they mean well. The Donut King Ted Ngoy is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of donut shops in California, earning him the nickname the "Donut King." . Beautiful views aren't the only thing drawing Angelenos to the region. He had gotten his first taste of that passion years earlier. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. Ngoy tried Gamblers Anonymous. In 1985, he and Suganthini became U.S. citizens. [10] Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. 'How I got rich beating men at their own game'. [1], In 2013, he was living in Phnom Penh working in real estate. Ted became deeply religious. Ted had met Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., [Richard] Nixon. 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. Ngoy's gambling had progressed from the card tables to placing bets on sports games with Cambodian bookies. He was very surprised that anybody would find him and want to tell his stories. He left behind his new wife and their two children, and what he had seen as his last chance at redemption. Ted's story is told in a new documentary. The following month, US President Gerald Ford insisted the US should welcome 130,000 refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, telling any critics: "We're a country built by immigrants from all areas of the world, and we've always been a very humanitarian nation.". And I feel so much hurt. "If I need the vote, I cannot gamble. So, I just did it. These are kids who are American educated. He turned down a job as a security guard because it required standing for eight hours. Ted kept a low profile until the LA filmmaker Alice Gu got in touch a couple of years ago. When Christy's parents eventually discovered the ruse, they were furious. Suganthinis parents kept her locked in her room for days. I think thats the American way the power of connections and people. He slept under the bed and hid when the maids came to clean. A child of immigrants herself, she had become curious why Californian doughnut shops were so often run by Cambodians, and why there were so many of them. On the porch of a friends mobile home in Long Beach, the Cambodian doughnut king falls asleep each night shivering. He had $50,000 riding on many Sundays. Huge numbers of Cambodian refugees were arriving in California. He subsists on small handouts from friends. So I decided to change.". I never loved you.' It was hurtful. Also Jerry Brown, who weve seen in California as our beacon of hope and morality, in 1975 was actually the opposite. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. Never surrender. Ted Ngoy: Yeah. Late at night, Ngoy would put Suganthini on his back and climb down the roof, then down the coconut tree. 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. His family didn't want to see him, and nobody offered him work, not even baking doughnuts. The whole community banded together and they all agreed to sell him out of donuts every morning by 9 a.m. I dont think you dare come to my room, she responded. Whenever Ted won, the family would rejoice with him. Ngoy was one. He cut his chest sliding under barbed wire. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. "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. The Donut King: Directed by Alice Gu. Hard work. I just first hurt my wife, Christy, my children and hurt many, many other people, too, because, when we needed money. With the pastor's permission he went out and got two more jobs, as a sales person from 6pm to 10pm and petrol attendant from 10pm to 6am. To think about what Ted did years ago letting bygones be bygones. "I did not have time to take care of business, so business was going down. They barely talked to him. But the situation at home was increasingly dangerous and on his last trip, in April 1975, the capital fell. By 2005, after a failed political career in Cambodia, Ngoy was penniless and living on the porch of a fellow Parkcrest Christian Church parishioner's mobile home. Aside from what [9], Ngoy is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Donut King. A week later, Suganthini wrote back, and the two began a secret correspondence. "a short-lived comeback in Sacramento in 2002," the Massachusetts-based company didn't return to the Golden State Suganthini's family insisted Ted break it off by telling her he didn't love her. And then we opened second store in Fullerton, and when they opened, I also train people and my wage, Christi, also . Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? Where are they now?. I ended up not sharing that donut. Naturally he agreed, and set his sisters up with doughnut shops. Money, doughnuts, sleep.. "I cry. When people know about the bad reputation, people are not going to vote for me. "It was a different take on a refugee story,". An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. 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. From the wall, he leaped onto the roof and crawled through an open window. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. "'You want to tell my story? Night after night, he watched customers come and go. Ted was the consummate schmoozer and salesman. 50? Im Chinese American. In the 1980s and '90s, when Dunkin' Donuts tried to establish itself on the West Coast, his frosted, deep-fried empire sent the company packing. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles. Few foods are as universally adored as fried dough. In return, he played their tables and lost thousands of dollars. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. One night he asked the woman at the counter if saving $3,000 would be enough to buy a doughnut shop. Ngoy returned to Cambodia without his wife (they would subsequently divorce) and mounted a failed political campaign. Ngoys wife hated his gambling. And she was heavily chaperoned. He said hes Chinese Cambodian and we spoke Mandarin for a couple of minutes. , to name a few outlets), but Alice Gu is the first to put it on film. I called her when I found out and asked if she knew about Ford and Brown. When time goes by it gets into your blood and you just cannot get it out," says Ted. "When Alice called me, she described something that I have always wanted to tell but never thought that it would get picked up anywhere," Tao says. She became Christy. 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. Once back in Orange County, he bet more than ever. When the couple recovered, her parents finally allowed them to marry. Ted Ngoy: Well, when I was in a high school in a French school, my wife's Suganthini. The first few times he and Christy visited, on early family holidays, everything went well: they watched a magic show, they saw Elvis perform. It was here that Ngoy had his first taste of gambling while placing bets at the blackjack tables. The United States alone is home to more than 25,000 donut shops and they produce more than 10 billion donuts each year. Gambling is a devil. "If I need to shower, I knock on the door, 'Lady can I take a shower?' They wont trust you, he said. When you first reached out to Ted, it was a cold call. Ted and Suganthini sold everything they had and arrived in California on one of the first refugee flights, with their three children, an adopted nephew and two nieces. Most crucially, she acted as something of an ambassador, vouching for Gu and introducing her to other donut shop proprietors. He took two additional jobs, working almost 24 hours per day. TED NGOY HAD an unrelenting obsession during his 1975 plane ride from Southeast Asia to Southern California. Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. [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 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three . But he admits he was also aware that conquering Suganthini's heart held out the promise of a better life. Instantly acquiring the rank of Major, Ted and his young family moved to Bangkok, and every month he travelled back to Cambodia to collect the wages for his soldiers. She would discover big losses, and they would argue, sending their children running to their rooms. Eventually Cambodians owned so many doughnut shops in California that they dominated the market, pushing Winchell's into second place. I said, 'Because it's incredible, for one. He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. When you get to the table, youre so emotional, evil in your body, he said. He trained them and handed over the keys. While he was recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life. [11], Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:19, "Rise and fall of Cambodian refugee 'Donut King' charted in award-winning film", "A TASTE OF CAMBODIA: A Real Horatio Alger Story: Refugee Built Empire on Doughnuts", "VOICES FROM THE FIRST GENERATION: The Ngoy Family", "Asians Looking to Broaden Horizons: Immigrants Prosper but Hope to Venture Outside the 'Business Ghetto', "The Donut King who went full circle - from rags to riches, twice", "The story of the man they called the doughnut king", "Review: A Shakespearean SoCal tragedy, 'The Donut King' charts the rise and fall of Ted Ngoy", "Lessons from the Donut King & Science Fiction's Golden Age", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ted_Ngoy&oldid=1140980965, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:19. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. Ted Ngoy has become a stranger even to himself. She was lucky that Mayly Tao, whose mom, Chuong Lee, owns the shop, answered the phone. And of the 5,000 independent doughnut shops in California today, around 80% are still Cambodian, she says. 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. 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. [5], Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. Cambodian Americans control an estimated 80 percent of the donut market in California thanks largely to one man- Ted Ngoy, otherwise known as The Donut King. After completing the company's training program, they gave him the keys to a store in Newport Beach. "It's a crazy story, but it's true," says Ted, now 78. Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. He had spent all his money on electioneering and on a failed attempt to introduce a new type of hybridised rice, which he believed would improve yields. I am the flute player, he said in a note passed through the familys maid. All that money paid for expensive clothes, luxury cars, fancy trips and an opulent home in Mission Viejo. 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. I gave her my spiel, and she said, 'Well, you've called the right person. I never will be able to pay back. "Well, it is because I've fallen in love with you," Ted replied. He has converted to Christianity, he said, and prays often, asking God for help. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. He built a donut empire and $20 million in wealth, but his fortune built on donuts would crumble and he would lose it all. But the name was misleading. Every time I met them I said, 'Sorry son, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy. Ted was dismayed. "[1] In 1977, the Ngoys took a trip to Las Vegas where Ted saw Elvis Presley. He landed in LA with less than $100 in his pocket - all the money he had left. Suganthini became the smiling face behind the counter, even though she hardly spoke any English. 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. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment). "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. Suganthini was terrified, but she let the stranger stay. This is my own speculation, but it seemed like he had come to some peace with his dad and childhood. That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. I could have made a special piece just on the history of donuts. He sat on the roof of his apartment and played his flute, the music sweeping over the neighborhood. Ngoy had become an example to other Cambodian immigrants, who began to follow his business model for their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Gu is working on developing a couple of music-themed film projects, both documentaries and narratives. He was, however, invited to become a government adviser on commerce and agriculture. In 1993 Ted and Christy moved back to Cambodia. called [6] Gu persuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. Ngoy doesnt remember how many stores he started or bought -- 40? His few shirts and pants hang from a clothesline. "Cambodian people owe them a lot.". 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. Suganthini replied, "Well be careful, if you don't jump into my room, you'll jump into my mum's room.". How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. 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. On one of his Las Vegas trips, Ngoy took up gambling. And that's what he did. And then I hate the gambling and then I hate that I treat Christy so badly, treat my children so badly, because of the gambling, so I hate myself," he says. Then, after falling out with a powerful political rival he feared for his life and fled to the US. Perpetually in need of cash, he'd ask the people running his donut shops for loans. He began to disappear off to Las Vegas for days, losing $5,000, $7,000 a game, and neglecting his family and his doughnut empire. DK's Donuts (Elina Shatkin/LAist). Theres a hustle to it, and director Alice Gu captures it in her debut documentary 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. Like Ngoy, most of the people who leased his stores were Chinese Cambodian. Tell us about your wife. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. An immigrant story unlike any other, Alice Gu's "The Donut King" follows the twisty, unexpected journey of Cambodia refugee Ted Ngoy, who arrived in California in the 1970s and, through a. "He's like, 'You know what? At the end, I win. Suganthini smuggled him food at night, and after many days she said she loved him too. Because of the Ngoys, a Cambodian refugees first American job was often in a doughnut shop. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. Doughnut revenue put their children through college. "This story sheds light on refugees in a positive way, about what happens when they're given an opportunity," she says. Since many of them had gotten their start in the business and the United States thanks to Ngoy, they were happy to help. The details that aren't in the movie are even crazier. Hes really funny. Once again Suganthini was the friendly face welcoming customers, and when she became a US citizen she took the name Christy as her own. I just do it.. For weeks, they watched other families leave, until finally they, too, were sponsored by a pastor from a church in Tustin, Orange County, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. He returned to a refugee community in transition. Tao did everything in her power to help Gu. "She was powerful, like your royal princess," says Ted. So Ngoy snuck into her family's heavily guarded compound and climbed through her bedroom window. It also reminds us that several U.S. presidents welcomed a flood of refugees with open arms. Her parents and cousins hid behind curtains so they could hear him break off the relationship. Never give up. Before sunrise, they would climb back into her room. 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. A map of Christys Donuts, Winchells and Dunkin Donuts across California during the height of Ted Ngoys entrepreneurship in the 1970s through the 1990s. He has found his way to be wealthy again. Distraught, she took an overdose of sleeping pills and fell into a coma. Phnom Penh Post 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. And it was actually a donut that I refused at first from Mayly Tao, the Donut Princess. County 's Fledgling clean power Agency Survive 's donuts, she responded while placing on! 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Every morning by 9 a.m one night he asked the woman at the blackjack tables who seen...
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