[5] As an actor, he is well-known for portraying the main character "King Kong" in five installments of the Aces Go Places film series.

In 1950, along with his three older brothers, Michael, Ricky, and Stanley, Hui and his parents arrived in Hong Kong as refugees in 1950, originally living in Diamond Hill.

'Ghost Horse (Cantonese slang for "Goofy") Twin Stars'), was the partial soundtrack to the Michael Hui-directed film of the same name.

A prolific songwriter, a noted recurring theme in his music is that it often describes or humorously satirises Hong Kong society and events.

Examples can be seen in his farewell song in 1992 and "From the Heart of a Loafer" (浪子心聲), where for Cantopop, the sophisticated language and messages were rare in the lyrics of contemporary artists.

He was once seriously injured while filming The Legend of Wisely in Tibet due to lack of oxygen, thereafter falling very ill and many of his fans pointed out that this near fatal accident may have been pivotal on his decision to retire as they superstitiously believed that he was haunted by a spirit.

[citation needed] During the late 1980s, Hui's father advised him to retire to avoid the stresses he endured from hosting concerts.

[15] Hui also hosted shows in Canada, in Vancouver, at the Pacific Coliseum, and Toronto, Ontario, which he dedicated to his late father.

Despite reiterating his plans for retirement, Hui came back for a short stint in the movie Winner Takes All co-starring Nicholas Tse and Ruby Lin.

In these concerts, he paid tribute to his recent passed close colleagues, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 and claimed that their deaths had influenced his decision to return to performing, culminating in his 2004 comeback song '04 Bless You ('04 祝福你).

[citation needed] In 2007, Hui signed with EC Music and released his first album in 17 years, named "Life is Good" (人生多麼好).