Ted became their first South East Asian trainee. What you've done is incredible.' The Cambodians worked hard and because the whole family pitched in, they did not have to pay out any wages. Volcanic tiki drinks. That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. 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. [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. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. Phnom Penh Post But the name was misleading. in Tustin sponsored the family, allowing them to live in the church where Ted worked as a janitor. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. 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. This documentary tells Ted Ngoy's story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. He wrote a note, telling her that he lived in the building opposite and was the flute player. He dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. Ted did try to curb his habit. He hosted Dan Quayle and Pete Wilson at his house. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. 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. Doughnut shops were easy to run. Eventually he and Christy were left with just one doughnut shop, which they decided to sell. [9], Ngoy is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Donut King. Then he pulled a knife. Ted was dismayed. The past I cannot change, but I learned the heavy way. The families who followed Ngoys lead learned to run businesses and picked up English. 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. Theres a hustle to it, and director Alice Gu captures it in her debut documentary The Donut King.. 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. Suganthini became the smiling face behind the counter, even though she hardly spoke any English. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. One of them being my interview with Michael Krondl, the food historian. Your Guide To Everything Boozy You Can Order, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. Some of his relationships didnt end well. In return, he played their tables and lost thousands of dollars. At the peak of his success, Ted owned something like 65 donut stores many of them named Christy's and was bringing in about $100,000 per month. Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. 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. Broke, Ted and Christy returned to Cambodia. I dont know who I am right now, he said. While he was recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life. Where are they now?. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) When you first reached out to Ted, it. He had lost the respect of his family and community. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. Ngoy became a trainee and took over a Winchells in Newport Beach. 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. I believed him a thousand times, she said. 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. Within a decade, he had become a multimillionaire with a lakeside mansion . He had met Richard Nixon, the former president, and Presidents Reagan and George HW Bush. They have social media and know how to work it to innovate their parents old donut shops with a worldwide following. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Okay, you guys can' It was a whole Romeo and Juliet story," Gu says. Every time I met them I said, 'Sorry son, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. It took longer than 40 years. At a news conference, he dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. This is going to happen.'". How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. "I just wanted to raise pigs and chickens and have enough meat and eggs to take to . 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. On hearing the music float across the quiet city, Suganthini's mother remarked that whoever was playing must be in love. "I spent about $100,000 of my own money, my time, my everything," he says. Ngoy forged her signature on checks. Buddha cannot help me.. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. They barely talked to him. In less than two years, while working on other jobs and projects, Gu directed and shot the 94-minute documentary. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Rising Egg Prices Are For The Birds. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. Las Vegas was the new thing, he said, besides making money and making doughnuts,. He was ready to be taken by a new passion. Theres also the moment where Ted revisits his former home in Mission Viejo. Yeah, My Family Doesn't Either, Soup Dumplings, Kimchi Burritos And More Fast, Cheap Eats In Glendale, At Masarap Cafe, West African and Filipino Cuisines Find Their Pairing, Drinking At Disneyland? [6] Gu persuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. in San Clemente and, of course, DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. Christy always forgave him, but word got around that Ted could no longer be trusted. Alice found it hard to persuade Ted to return to California for filming. Ngoy would often visit Las Vegas for a period of a week, unbeknownst to his wife. [5], Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. 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. Once, he was a millionaire who met three U.S. presidents. One night, during his shift at a gas station, the scent of freshly baked goods wafted toward him. Every evening, he sat by his open window and played the flute. I just first hurt my wife, Christy, my children and hurt many, many other people, too, because, when we needed money. That really broke the ice for us. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. 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.". It's something Ted feels a bit bad about. War erupted 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. No political life, no religious life, just work, work, he said. In Cambodia, Ngoy formed the Free Development Republican Party. An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. "If I need the vote, I cannot gamble. In order to be allowed to leave the camp and find work, they needed an American sponsor, who would find them a job and somewhere to live. Ted Ngoy was reaping rewards of that success. Naturally he agreed, and set his sisters up with doughnut shops. in Pasadena, When he lost big, he would sign the stores over to them. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? She said he would be throwing his money away. BC Donuts "a short-lived comeback in Sacramento in 2002," the Massachusetts-based company didn't return to the Golden State Ted joined the Republican Party, held fundraisers for George H.W. For the next 45 days, he lived in her room. "Before I'd never gambled, but like all the compulsive gamblers in the world, first you throw in a couple of bucks, $10, $20. Don't die. 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. The rise & fall of The Donut King. The family were among the many tens of thousands of . 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. Christy Ngoy now owns a Peruvian restaurant in Irvine. Never give up. Hes really funny. Ngoy is Cambodian and he was in Phnom Penh when it fell. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. They both drank and vowed to be faithful. He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. 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. "You can't find any prettier woman besides her.". He was born Bun Tek Ngoy. 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