Despite the villa's armed security guards and guard dogs, one rainy night Ted climbed up a coconut tree and over the barbed wire and made his way in through a bathroom window. Was there any tension or awkwardness when he visited California again?He came to visit California, I think, with a little bit of trepidation. When he lost their money he would just sign over the shop to them - without telling Christy, whose signature he forged. He and his family barely escaped and were among. When he was unable to pay back his debt, he would sign over his store to them. I never loved you.' 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. Most importantly, the trip allowed him to mend relations with Christy, who has now remarried, and with their grown-up children. Then, after falling out with a powerful political rival he feared for his life and fled to the US. I gave her my spiel, and she said, 'Well, you've called the right person. When he couldn't pay them back because he had gambled the money away, Ted signed away his ownership stake in those stores. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. The son of a peddler had no chance with such a girl, no right even to think of loving her. Through the maneuvering of his brother-in-law, chief of police and briefly future president of Cambodia, Sak Sutsakhan, Ngoy was promoted to the rank of major and appointed military attache at Cambodia's embassy in Thailand. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. "Growing up, when you look on the screen, there's not a lot of Asian representation. Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted, because of the many Cambodian immigrants he'd sponsored. They both drank and vowed to be faithful. He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. After cry, go back gambling." Everybody went to the gold mine, Ngoy said. The gambling is sad, the saddest part of my life.". After a year of running two shops they had saved $40,000 and Ted decided to expand. Until then, she was kept sheltered. and California landscape with a familiar coat yellow strip mall signs with red lettering reading Christys Donuts. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Everybody cry," he said. and 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 he flew to a monastery in the Thai countryside. 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. 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. Casino operators gave Ngoy free rooms, food, airfare and front-row seats to prize fights. No days off. Yes, you read that right. As word of Ted's success spread, Cambodian immigrants started seeking him out when they arrived in Southern California. But the name was misleading. Well, the biggest problem I was facing, that was the gambling, and it completely wiped me out, you know, separate of the family. 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. He was fortunate to escape with his wife, two kids and some relatives, arriving in California where he and his family were housed in a. I'm not famous. He is nicknamed the "Donut King." He is nicknamed the "Donut King." Chuong Lee, who has run DK's Donuts since 1988, is officially retired although she occasionally helps out at the shop. Alice found it hard to persuade Ted to return to California for filming. Still homeless, he moved to the coastal town of Kep, on the Gulf of Thailand. "Ted, again, is Mr. Nine Lives. More and more relatives came forward for sponsorship. Then I went to America, Ngoy said, and created the doughnut world.. "Using money to provide for others is a feeling as powerful as any drug," he later wrote. 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. (Elina Shatkin/LAist). [2], In 1967, Ngoy was sent by his mother to study in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he met and married Suganthini Khoeun, the daughter of a high-ranking government official. , some of the dough (see what we did there?) Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. Hes friends with Dana Rohrabacher. . You cannot resist against it.. [2][3][4], The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. These are kids who are American educated. What drew you to Teds story at the start?Finding out about his story, its fascinating a guy who comes here penniless and becomes a Donut King. Doughnut shops were easy to run. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. "She was powerful, like your royal princess," says Ted. "It made me homesick," says Ted. Theres so much competition. COVID-19 has hit her store and most other shops hard. 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. Ted did a lot of the baking at night, with his youngest son, Chris, collecting a light dusting of flour as he slept beside him in the kitchen. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. That really broke the ice for us. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. 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. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. Some of his relationships didnt end well. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. It really helped put some perspective on the journey to get here from somewhere else and the struggles that people go through when they arrive in a new, strange and foreign land. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy) was born into a poor Cambodian family in 1942. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. When there was an overrun of pink doughnut boxes Ted bought them cut-price, and the pink boxes became his trademark. Ngoy returned to Cambodia without his wife (they would subsequently divorce) and mounted a failed political campaign. The details that aren't in the movie are even crazier. [citation needed] Ngoy's political career ended in 2002 after breaking with two powerful allies, the commerce minister and the head of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, Teng Bunma. He ran to the shop across the street where he bought a donut. To Christy, this was the final betrayal. Everybody cry, he said. [5] By 1977 he was able to purchase his first doughnut shop, Christy's Donuts, in La Habra. "[5] Upon looking into the matter, she learned about Ted Ngoy and became fascinated with the topic. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. Ted, who spoke four languages, was offered a post as liaison officer in Thailand by Suganthini's brother-in-law, Gen Sak Sutsakhan. Ted Ngoy in The Donut King documentary. They wont trust you, he said. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. I thought it was so profound that this was the very same community that just a couple of decades earlier were making fun of somebody who worked at the counter and had an accent. 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. An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. At loose ends, she returned to Los Angeles and, once again, started helping with the family business. Gambling is a devil. Working all hours, Ted and Christy knew very little about what was happening back home in Cambodia, but what they heard was bad. Soldiers and dogs guarded the mansion. They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. War erupted in 1970. When you first reached out to Ted, it was a cold call. His few shirts and pants hang from a clothesline. Like Ngoy, most of the people who leased his stores were Chinese Cambodian. It's so amazing, so touching.' Her name was Suganthini Khoeun. He wrote a note, telling her that he lived in the building opposite and was the flute player. He is nicknamed the "Donut King. Ngoy managed to escape just as Phnom Penh was falling and brought his wife, Suganthini, and their three children to America in the mid-1970s. Oh, and stop for a donut and say "hi.". Not many professional gamblers are bipolar women, but Cat Hulbert was one of the best - and she delighted in winning money from men. 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. They have social media and know how to work it to innovate their parents old donut shops with a worldwide following. She divorced him and didnt return to Cambodia. A 2005 profile in the Los Angeles Times described him as "broke, homeless, and dependent on the goodwill of his few remaining friends." Today, he makes a living selling real estate in Cambodia. I just do it.. People made fun of his accent. "[8] Giving it three-out-of-four stars, Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com called the The Donut King "a heartwarming albeit scattered documentary from director Alice Gu," and praised the film for "its balance of poppy visuals and detailed history. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three . You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot. He returned to a refugee community in transition. Mag's Donuts You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. One night, he saw Suganthini on her balcony, and decided it was time to make his move. It was really wonderful. 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 could have made a special piece just on the history of donuts. The Donut King: Directed by Alice Gu. Besides, he reasoned, as a politician he would not be able to gamble. [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. The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LAs top 5 stories in just 3 minutes. 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. 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. I told him that he has a story to tell. Upon deeper glance, it was so personal for me. Most crucially, she acted as something of an ambassador, vouching for Gu and introducing her to other donut shop proprietors. Along with thousands of other Cambodian refugees, the Ngoys ended up at Camp Pendleton. They told him Winchells Donuts trained store managers. You just have to see the opportunity and go for it. Those are the wise words of Ted Ngoy. He was a fraud, he said. Once, he was a millionaire who met three U.S. presidents. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. I say, Ted I dont think its that easy at all. And hell respond, Ive been rich three times. Los Angeles Times He remarried and had four more children - the youngest two are still at school. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. Hard work. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. Im also, again, the daughter of Chinese American immigrants and my dad was a big Republican party supporter. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. 'How I got rich beating men at their own game'. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. In the early 1990s, it was reported that California had 2,400 Cambodian-owned doughnut shops. He hosted Dan Quayle and Pete Wilson at his house. Ngoy built a vast donut shop empire across California and it started in 1970s Orange County. Naturally he agreed, and set his sisters up with doughnut shops. "What happens if I decide to jump into your room?" But he was more than well-off; he was respected. Ted and Christy are divorced. . They took American names. COVID origins? He says to me, Alice, making money its so easy. Abcarian: Mask mandates? It was a strategy that ended up working for them. He became Ted. Also Jerry Brown, who weve seen in California as our beacon of hope and morality, in 1975 was actually the opposite. "Everybody's happy to see me now, because I changed from the bad guy to the good guy.". I cry. the By 1976, Ted had saved up enough money to buy his own shop, which he named Christy's. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. "He was a little uneasy," Gu says. [4], Despite the wealth he had amassed and his importance within his community, Ngoy felt dissatisfied, remarking that he had "No political life, no religious life, just work, work. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. "It is the purest form of risk-taking, the distilled anxiety and thrill behind every business decision and bold declaration of love," he writes in his autobiography. Ted Ngoy By 1985, 10 years after arriving in the US as refugees, Ted and Christy were millionaires, owning around 60 doughnut shops. 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. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were 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. Cambodia was having its first democratic elections since the war and he wanted to stand for office to help rebuild his country. He said that we didnt have room for these refugees here. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. "Many times I try to commit suicide because I hate myself. 60? Ngoy would open more shops and lease them to fellow refugees. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Suspected shooter in attacks on Jewish men was on FBIs radar, LAPD chief says, Caregiver accused in Manhattan Beach child sexual abuse case believed to be in Philippines, Prosecution presents closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Intel agencies say theres no sign adversaries were behind Havana syndrome, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Its really bad up here. Stranded residents in San Bernardino Mountains brace for more snow, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. So, I just did it. At the height of his success in the US he had been an ardent Republican, and an enthusiastic fundraiser for the party. He had no home and no money, and his country had been overrun by a gang of pitiless thugs. Ted is my great uncle,'" Gu says. I instantly found the Realtor, the listing agent and arranged to go and have Ted walk through his old house. Then Ngoy would fly to Las Vegas without telling her, sometimes staying as long as a week. In 1975, Ted Ngoy fled the war in Cambodia with his wife and three kids and arrived in America as a penniless refugee. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. 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. "It went like fire on the hill, so fast," says Ted. Gu's documentary, 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. "'You want to tell my story? His family didn't want to see him, and nobody offered him work, not even baking doughnuts. Now, he is in real estate development," Gu says. [7][3], Ngoy's fortunes improved dramatically, such that by the mid-1980s Ngoy had amassed millions of dollars through his expanding doughnut shop empire, reported as 50 locations throughout California. Ngoy asked to visit. The first few times he and Christy visited, on early family holidays, everything went well: they watched a magic show, they saw Elvis perform. This caused tension in the Ngoy household, being the center of many arguments between Ngoy and his wife. Eventually Cambodians owned so many doughnut shops in California that they dominated the market, pushing Winchell's into second place. I am the child of immigrants who came and moved here for the American dream. Ted had met Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., [Richard] Nixon. He had lost the respect of his family and community. 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. 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