Portrait of David Yip

Birthday profile

David Yip

David Yip, English actor and playwright

Born
June 4, 1951
Age in 2026
75
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1951

About David Yip

David Nicholas Yip (Chinese: 葉西園; pinyin: Yè Xīyuán; born 4 June 1951) is an English actor and playwright. He gained prominence through his role in the BBC series The Chinese Detective (1981–82) as the first Asian lead on British television. His films include A View to a Kill (1985), Ping Pong (1986), and Break (2020). Yip wrote and starred in the play Gold Mountain. On television, he appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1989–90), the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010), and the Sky Atlantic thriller Fortitude (2017–18). He is also known for his voice work. Yip has given talks and presented documentaries on the Chinese community in his hometown of Liverpool. In 2022, he was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Essex and Edge Hill University. == Early life == Yip was born in Liverpool to a Chinese father, a seaman from Canton, and an English mother from Liverpool. He was one of eight children and had a working class upbringing.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

David Yip timeline

  1. From 1981 to 1982, Yip starred as the titular detective John Ho in the BBC police procedural The Chinese Detective, making him the first East Asian lead on British television.
  2. In 2022, he was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Essex and Edge Hill University.

The world when David Yip was born

David Yip was born in 1951. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1951

  • #1 song"Too Young" – Nat King Cole
  • Top movieAn American in Paris
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookThe Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World"
  • Top headlineI Love Lucy premieres and becomes a cultural phenomenon
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial computer (UNIVAC I) delivered
  • Defining fadI Love Lucy
  • Notable inventionSuper Glue
  • World population2.59 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonRochester Royals (NBA)
  • U.S. population154.0M

1951 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in David Yip's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19512026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$8,800$435,000
Average income$5,500$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.53$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population154.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.