He went on to receive tuition from Lin Sung-yen (林松煙 Lín Sōngyān) and became an actor and writer but remained largely unknown to the wider public.

Along with Chang Fei, Frankie Kao, and Ni Min-jan, Chu was one of Taiwan's biggest TV stars of the 1980s.

The following day, Chu announced plans for a comeback in a short speech aired on Taiwan's major TV channels.

[12] Chu euphemistically said that he had been "studying abroad" for ten years but that he was grateful to the media for "photographing me eating oden".

[6][9] Chu was required to give Yang 20 percent of his earnings until he repaid the remaining NT$24 million he owed.

In the following month, he was recognized in the Golden Bell Awards as Best Variety Show Host, together with his co-host, Rene Hou.

[13] Chu also had a major part as a city councilman in the 2011 hit movie Night Market Hero, a role which cemented his comeback.

[23] Having terminal colorectal cancer for three years, Chu died in the National Taiwan University Hospital on 15 May 2017 due to liver failure.

Chu typically wears a (sometimes colorful) dinner jacket with a bowtie but with bermuda shorts, black shoes, and white socks.

[3] Chu's hairstyle has been called a "toilet-lid (馬桶蓋 mǎtǒng gài) haircut"[2][29] and is similar to a bowl cut like that of Moe Howard of the Three Stooges but covering the ears and shoulder-length at the back.