On Sundays he would go to the church where her son was the pastor and join in Bible studies. "You can't find any prettier woman besides her.". The rise & fall of The Donut King. His gesture went unreciprocated for days. Ngoy attempted Gamblers Anonymous, but denied it helped with his situation, stating that when he went to meetings "I cry, everybody cry. She thought Ted was joking, but he was serious. He moved from church to church, until an elderly Cambodian woman allowed him to live on the covered porch of her mobile home. I ended up not sharing that donut. Phnom Penh Post Ted was dismayed. But he was more than well-off; he was respected. 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. Not many professional gamblers are bipolar women, but Cat Hulbert was one of the best - and she delighted in winning money from men. [8], Author Ryka Aoki describes Ngoy as legend in our Asian-American community and inspiration for her award-winning novel Light From Uncommon Stars for both his stealing books process and the legacy of Cambodian-American donut shops in Southern California. "It's a devil, it's a monster. I never loved you.' [8], After Cambodia's establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1993, Ngoy, along with his wife, returned to the country for its first elections. So Ngoy snuck into her family's heavily guarded compound and climbed through her bedroom window. They both drank and vowed to be faithful. Ted and Christy are divorced. Her parents wanted nothing to do with him. Ngoy showed them baking and bookkeeping. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. These are all people who present day you dont associate with welcoming refugees with open arms. In Cambodia, Ngoy formed the Free Development Republican Party. Ted encouraged others to do the same. They had lost their beautiful home and their chain of shops, but still had enough money to live comfortably. Channy also wholesales doughnuts to other minimarts. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. Besides, he reasoned, as a politician he would not be able to gamble. 'How I got rich beating men at their own game'. I thought I would just get an exterior scene for context. 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. Some of the interviews in the film seemed that way.It was actually really wonderful to speak with particularly his older kids Chet and Savy, who until that interview, they didnt have much to do with him. In 1985, Ngoy and his wife became American citizens assuming the American names of Ted and Christy, respectively, and were enjoying a lavish lifestyle including a million dollar home at Lake Mission Viejo, a vacation home in Big Bear, expensive cars, and vacations to Europe. They barely talked to him. No days off. They cried and prayed for the family they had left behind. He lost all the doughnuts, said James Dok, director of the United Cambodian Community, a social service agency in Long Beach. Suganthini smuggled him food at night, and after many days she said she loved him too. It's something Ted feels a bit bad about. He would forge her signature on checks and even borrow money from relatives who leased stores from him. According to Tao, the servants caught on to Ted's presence after a few days but didn't say anything. Ngoy tried Gamblers Anonymous. "Using money to provide for others is a feeling as powerful as any drug," he later wrote. "I came back to L.A. and I didn't know that I was going to create this crazy explosion in the business. "But many of them were not related, they just lived in the same village or heard of my name. He is nicknamed the "Donut King." He is nicknamed the "Donut King." [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. The whole community banded together and they all agreed to sell him out of donuts every morning by 9 a.m. To make sure he went through with it, they insisted on hiding behind a curtain while he said his spiel. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit I just first hurt my wife, Christy, my children and hurt many, many other people, too, because, when we needed money. "Before I'd never gambled, but like all the compulsive gamblers in the world, first you throw in a couple of bucks, $10, $20. Then he had his next great idea. Everybody went to the gold mine, Ngoy said. Ted did try to curb his habit. But within weeks he was back on a plane to Vegas. He had lost the respect of his family and community. Twice he joined a Buddhist monastery. 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'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. I told them I'm very sorry 1,000 times. Christy and Ted bought a $1-million, three-story, 7,000-square-foot house with palm trees and a three-car garage on Lake Mission Viejo in Orange County. 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. She belonged to a high ranking officer, you know like a princess in Cambodia, very rich and very powerful family. Although there is still some resentment towards him in the Cambodian community, whose hard-earned cash he gambled away, he is also revered by many. "After cry, go back gambling," he told one interviewer. Ted Ngoy By 1985, 10 years after arriving in the US as refugees, Ted and Christy were millionaires, owning around 60 doughnut shops. DK's Donuts There were some hurt relationships. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. "It was a different take on a refugee story,". Im also, again, the daughter of Chinese American immigrants and my dad was a big Republican party supporter. Broke, Ted and Christy returned to Cambodia. I told him that he has a story to tell. 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. Word spread. He lobbied his contacts in the Republican inner circle, including Senator John McCain, and MFN status was granted permanently in 1996. 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. One night under a full moon, they knelt and prayed. Ted is my great uncle,'" Gu says. Ted was the consummate schmoozer and salesman. 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. Christy always forgave him, but word got around that Ted could no longer be trusted. Okay, you guys can' It was a whole Romeo and Juliet story," Gu says. Alice found it hard to persuade Ted to return to California for filming. After cry, go back gambling.. "She was so beautiful," he remembers. Their youngest son Chris drove them there to pick up the money - but it went horribly wrong. He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. Gu's documentary, "Growing up, when you look on the screen, there's not a lot of Asian representation. The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. The family worked 12 to 17 hours a day, with all hands on deck. 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. Once back in Orange County, he bet more than ever. I wanted to tell this story in a way that was inspirational and optimistic. By 1976, Ted had saved up enough money to buy his own shop, which he named Christy's. His tenants opened their own stores and leased them out. They pricked their fingers and squeezed drops of blood into a cup of water. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. Because of the Ngoys, a Cambodian refugees first American job was often in a doughnut shop. He trained them and handed over the keys. But the name was misleading. Yes, you read that right. Refugees who had sought his advice now avoided him, fearing he would ask for a loan. Ted now had a new passion - politics. 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. And he saw an opportunity. Ted was a poor boy from a poor family while Christy was the daughter of a high-ranking official. Then he would return to Vegas in an attempt to win back what he had lost. 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. When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, they knew they couldn't go home. It was here that Ngoy had his first taste of gambling while placing bets at the blackjack tables. He built a donut empire and $20 million in wealth, but his fortune built on donuts would crumble and he would lose it all. That was super mind blowing for me to hear the political flip-flop and really insightful about another time when politics were more civil and there could be discussion. Gu says Christy's family then threatened to kill Ted but his mother made a deal with them. He bought donut shop after donut shop, leasing them to other Cambodian immigrants, who ran the stores with their families, and taking a monthly cut of each store's profits. All three were taken to the police station but they were too scared to mention the cash in the boot. Every time I met them I said, 'Sorry son, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy. When he was working in the donut shop, he went to his sponsor and said he was having a hard time. He wrote a note, telling her that he lived in the building opposite and was the flute player. He co-signed loans for supplies and equipment. In the early 1990s, it was reported that California had 2,400 Cambodian-owned doughnut shops. Ted became their first South East Asian trainee. I cant take credit for it, but I do feel like in the making of this film and having some of these people face feelings that they hadnt confronted in many years, it was very healing. All night long Ted would watch people buying coffee and doughnuts, and he realised it was a good business. He subsists on small handouts from friends. That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. Near the station was a doughnut shop. I'm no good. One by one, Ted lost all of his donut shops. He took a chance and opened a bedroom door - and there was Suganthini, fast asleep. [5] By 1977 he was able to purchase his first doughnut shop, Christy's Donuts, in La Habra. At each stop, they set up the business and trained the families who leased it. They made a blood pact, promising to be forever faithful. People made fun of his accent. Once, he was a millionaire who met three U.S. presidents. And a new figure emerged on the California business landscape: the Cambodian doughnut-shop owner. He believed he could show others the path to wealth and opportunity. 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. Suganthinis parents kept her locked in her room for days. As word of Ted's success spread, Cambodian immigrants started seeking him out when they arrived in Southern California. One night, he. The film details how Ngoy fled Cambodia with his family during the Vietnam War and later went on to build a donut shop empire, only to lose it all because of a gambling addiction. The couple and their three toddlers arrived penniless at Camp Pendleton, part of the first wave of Cambodian refugees. and Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted,. 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. Sent to the city to study, Ngoy met the beautiful Suganthini Khoeun who was the daughter of a government. Christys Doughnuts in La Habra never did great business. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. A cinematographer who has worked on commercials and movies with Rory Kennedy, Werner Herzog and Stacy Peralta, she stumbled onto the subject after her nanny brought her some "Cambodian donuts. 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. 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. He says his gambling is under control -- though he has no money with which to test this will power. 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. They took American names. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. Never surrender. It smelled delicious and when he first tasted one it reminded him of something from home - a fried pastry, also circular, called nom kong. "I learned to bake, to take care of payroll, cleaning, sales - everything," he says. But Cambodians were leaving the business, tired of working 17-hour days and squeezing a 13-cent profit from every 65-cent doughnut. Ted Ngoy was reaping rewards of that success. [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. 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. she says. Following his time in the nation's capital, Ngoy spent time in a monastery in the Thai countryside where he spent his morning begging for alms. 60? COVID origins? "If I need to shower, I knock on the door, 'Lady can I take a shower?' More and more relatives came forward for sponsorship. "We were happy - until the gambling came to wreck my life. 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Even in gambling. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. He had no way of making a living until a Chinese contact from better days asked him to help out with a real estate deal. They married and started a family, and life was good until civil war broke out in 1970, between the government and the communist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. ', "If you could turn the clock around, I would do that. Ted Ngoy, his wife and family pick up the story and walk us through their unbelievable experience, flying to a . Each morning, he walked with the monks, begging for food from peasants, crying as the rocky roads tore at his bare feet. Suganthini's family insisted Ted break it off by telling her he didn't love her. 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. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. 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. It was a strategy that ended up working for them. A daughter owns a 1950s-style hamburger restaurant in Orange County. The world moves so quickly now, but I do believe that it is still real and it is still possible. The Ngoys helped hundreds of refugees find housing and apply for Social Security cards. Baby Yoda cocktails. He landed in LA with less than $100 in his pocket - all the money he had left. The Donut King He sat on the roof of his apartment and played his flute, the music sweeping over the neighborhood. They would speed through Phnom Penh on his motorcycle, the couple recalled. Using his Republican Party connections, Ngoy successfully lobbied the U.S. for most-favored-nation trade status for Cambodia in 1995, helping create a modern garment industry and thousands of jobs. At the weekend the oldest children, Chet and Savy, then nine and eight, helped out by pouring coffee, packing doughnuts and folding boxes. In 1975, Ted Ngoy fled the war in Cambodia with his wife and three kids and arrived in America as a penniless refugee. 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." While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about learning the business. What was surprising for me was watching Ted, a Republican, pictured with Pete Wilson at one point in the film since Wilson supported laws that hurt immigrants.Its wild. He became tired running doughnut shops on his own and decided to train and lease shops to his relatives and employ Cambodian refugees. Alongside doughnuts, they sell imported American goods - everything from Pop-Tarts to Starbucks Frappucinos. [8] However, the film's directorAlice Gupersuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. And that's what he did. Eventually, her parents discovered Ngoy and threw him out. Some of those he borrowed from were the people he had leased doughnut shops to. [5] She reached out to Ngoy and other Cambodian families who ran donut shops, and within six weeks began principal photography. Theres this portion in the film that goes into Ted and his ex-wife Christys experiences in Orange County during the 70s. When Christy returned to California for the birthday of a grandchild in 1999, Ngoy met a young woman and brought her to live in his house. She became Christy. But one night, he had an idea. until 2014 He did as he was told, but then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself, declaring he would rather die than live without her. [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. Ngoy ended his political career abruptly in 2002, breaking with two powerful allies, the commerce minister and the head of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. A bank had foreclosed on his mansion on Lake Mission Viejo. Gu is working on developing a couple of music-themed film projects, both documentaries and narratives. Theres so much competition. He would have no more donuts to sell so he could be with his wife for the rest of the day. An immigrant story with a (glazed) twist, The Donut King follows the journey of Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy, who arrived in California in the 1970s and, through a mixture of diligence and. Ngoy became a trainee and took over a Winchells in Newport Beach. And I feel so much hurt. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. I could have made a special piece just on the history of donuts. Still homeless, he moved to the coastal town of Kep, on the Gulf of Thailand. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? 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. Beautiful views aren't the only thing drawing Angelenos to the region. Then he opened his first independent shop in La Habra, eventually covering the rest of O.C. Over the last few years, Tao has rebranded the shop with a colorful, hot pink logo and experimented in the kitchen, producing eye-catching, Instagram-friendly creations and original flavors. Ngoy's gambling had progressed from the card tables to placing bets on sports games with Cambodian bookies. Naturally he agreed, and set his sisters up with doughnut shops. [4], Ngoy secured work as a janitor with Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin, California. Driving back with $85,000 cash in the boot of the car, they were stopped by the police; they had fallen behind with payments, so the car showed up as stolen. The Cambodians worked hard and because the whole family pitched in, they did not have to pay out any wages. [5], The film received 69/100 on Metacritic, receiving "generally favorable reviews. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. I am the child of immigrants who came and moved here for the American dream. You cannot resist against it.. His story has been told through different angles in a couple of articles. Ngoy asked to visit. The second time Ted came back to California, Chet took all this time off of work, took him to his timeshare in Oceanside and drove his dad around all over Southern California. Cambodia was poor and under-developed after years of war. Mag's Donuts Theyre savvy, young, hip. In this condensed and edited conversation, Gu talks about the American dream, Cambodian American Republicans, 1970s Orange County and the best donut she ate during filming. Those are the sounds of a man in love, her mother said. He was raised by his mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong, and who only spoke Chinese. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. 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. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. Late at night, Ngoy would put Suganthini on his back and climb down the roof, then down the coconut tree. He says to me, Alice, making money its so easy. The Donut King comes out Friday, Oct. 30, online, and when you "Some of them were cousins, uncles, nieces," says Ted. To understand the politics, the Republican party at the time was a very anticommunist party. She divorced him and didnt return to Cambodia. Soldiers and dogs guarded the mansion. Ted liked Cadillacs; Christy preferred Mercedes-Benz convertibles. When he completed his three-month training, Winchell's gave him a shop to run on Balboa Pier, a tourist spot on the Newport peninsula not far from Tustin. 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