Popular Little Saigon radio host, entertainer and activist Viet Dzung died Friday at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital of heart disease. He was 55.
In addition to his heart ailments, Dzung had used crutches as the result of a childhood bout with polio, according to the Los Angeles Times. He had also suffered from diabetes.
Dzung, whose real name was Nguyen Ngoc Hung Dung, was respected in Little Saigon for his dedication to the Vietnamese refugee community and his commitment to fighting for human rights in his native Vietnam, according to the Nguoi Viet online.
"For more than 10 years I started my morning with him," one fan noted on Facebook. "He is a treasure. His voice is as familiar to us as his heart."
He began his radio career in 1993 with Little Saigon Radio before moving to Radio Bolsa in 1996 where he was a popular reporter and commentator. He was also a singer and musician who wrote and recorded several hit songs.
Dzung first gained notoriety as a spokesman for the Vietnamese refugee community in April 1975 as the Vietnam War ended and millions fled South Vietnam by boat as it came under Communist rule. Many of these so-called "boat people" died at sea while hundreds of others settled in what is now Westminster's Little Saigon community.
In recent years Dzung told listeners he preferred to not play music by artists from Vietnam to protest that country's refusal to support Vietnamese-American performers, the Times reported.
He also helped organize concerts in Little Saigon to encourage potential voters to register and recorded public service announcements on the dangers of smoking, according to the Times.
Dzung was born in Saigon on Sept. 8, 1958 to a former member of Parliament and a school teacher, according to the Vietnamese version of Wikipedia. In 1975, he fled to Singapore before moving to the United States in 1976 and being reunited with his family.
In addition to his radio program, Dzung was the literary editor of a monthly magazine called Witnessess, according to Wikipedia.
Reported by City News Service
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