Hidden Photos Reveal The Secret Double Life Of A Beloved Grandmother After She Dies

hidden photos reveal the secret double life of beloved grandmother after she dies [Music] but before we start please make sure to subscribe to m r tv and hit the bell so you never miss any upload from us also leave a like right now all his life johnny had treasured his musically inclined grandmother theresa long but as he thought he knew her through and through there was one photo album of her past that remained strictly off-limits to him and the rest of the family upon her passing these hidden photos at last came to light and the scale of the unbelievable double life johnny's grandmother had once led was nothing short of electrifying incredible as it was johnny's story was initially intended to serve as a memorial to his beloved grandmother teresa long for all his life johnny hadn't only ever seen her as an ordinary grandmother simple humble and protecting him from the occasional bully at school but as it turned out in reality she was anything but ordinary once she moved to the united states teresa born long ping settled in san francisco where her family has lived ever since her grandson johnny a lifelong resident of the bay area currently works as a freelance artist and art teacher a talent which he says he inherited from his late grandmother herself he knew that she was musically inclined singing and playing piano at the occasional christmas party but her full story has yet to be revealed as a child johnny enjoyed going through his grandmother's old pictures from them he learned more about his family members his heritage and about a past rooted in shanghai that could only be revisited through the photographs however teresa had kept several albums of hidden photos completely to herself off limits to the rest of the family as a child johnny was prohibited from seeing the albums even johnny's aunt reflected how she once asked her mother if she could see the notorious hidden photos the answer from teresa was a resounding no you can see them when i go she told her and so the family waited until teresa's death in february 2020 before daring to open the secret photo book upon opening the album johnny and his family were transported through time and space to a different era and an incredible setting it was the golden age in shanghai a time of prosperity and expansion new districts were being built to accommodate visitors and businessmen from the west were flooding in by the early 1930s shanghai was the world's fifth largest city as the decades progressed the cosmopolitan metropolis would soon become home to over 70 000 foreigners almost half of whom were european jews fleeing nazism having shown an aptitude for music at an early age teresa lung would enroll at the newly opened shanghai conservatory of music it would prove to be the path to amazing fortune teresa was signed to pafe records which later was absorbed by the music giant emi group the label still exists today and throughout its history has signed musical talents like the rolling stones michael jackson and radiohead when she signed her first record deal in 1942 teresa was just 15 years old she was trained in shideku a fusion genre which blends elements of chinese folk music with jazz instruments songs were typically performed in a high-pitched almost childlike style which required sophisticated and well-trained singers teresa was in the right place at the right time to launch a successful music career but trouble was on the horizon of course it helped that theresa had an amazing voice she recorded vinyl albums and performed at nightclubs in shanghai throughout the 30s when western businessmen were frequent patrons she had several recognizable hits including spring does not come my youthful days and wang zhao joon among others but the glamour of this lifestyle wouldn't last forever this form of music would soon be outlawed the day after the attack on pearl harbor the japanese stormed shanghai's international settlement imprisoning the nightclub's european clientele at the end of world war ii china entered a devastating period of civil war which had resumed after being on hold during the japanese occupation by the end of the 1940s political upheaval left teresa's homeland in a vice where would she be able to progress cities like shanghai suffered through the decades of conflict and the lung family was stuck in the middle loss of foreign business and investments led to a dizzying rise in unemployment which neared 40 percent exhausted government forces could not prevent the biggest city in china and its population of 6 million from being overtaken by the communists government forces lost control of shanghai in 1949 during a fierce battle in the aftermath teresa was forced to flee with her family to neighboring hong kong an administrative region which then belonged to the british and served as a refuge for many chinese fleeing the communist takeover what awaited her there teresa's art form was under constant pressure of being labeled yellow which meant that it contained commercial elements frowned upon by the communist government by the time she settled in hong kong in the early 1950s she was a full-fledged extremely well-known shiddaku star yet though the city was a safe haven for arts and culture that didn't meet the communist standards so she didn't plan on making the city her permanent home after a brief spell in hong kong teresa and her family relocated to singapore it was there that she met the entertainment mogul sir shaw he founded his own studios and production companies modeled after early entertainment companies in hollywood when elizabeth taylor visited singapore in 1954 shaw included teresa in the envoy of entertainers that greeted her and as the hidden photos would prove this wasn't the only celebrity to cross theresa's path johnny and his family knew about their matriarch's international fame but they largely thought that it existed within the realm of shideku fans who were mostly chinese they had no idea that she had once rubbed shoulders with hollywood royalty or with run run shaw a celebrity in his own right but that was just the tip of the iceberg the other hidden photos revealed more incredible surprises teresa standing with none other than marion anderson one of the most famous singers of all time performing opera classical music and spirituals anderson performed all over the united states and europe breaking racial barriers in the process as goodwill ambassador for the united states she toured the far east during the 1950s stopping in singapore which is where she met teresa in 1957. teresa's fame was skyrocketing all over asia and her best years were yet to come at the time when elizabeth taylor and marion anderson were touring in east asia teresa was in the prime of her career she was famous in china hong kong singapore and british malaya today's malaysia throughout the 1950s she was performing live and on radio in addition to releasing records she was friends with several other shideku vocalists many of whom had become immortalized on the silver screen in addition to producing the top musical talent in asia from the 1950s through the 1970s ron run shaw also produced films casting several shideku vocalists in his movies the singers and actresses with their previously established fame helped draw larger audiences to the pictures similarly teresa was about to make a career change of her own teresa was no stranger to television though she kept her secret her hidden photos laid bare the truth at one time she appeared in advertisements for the german beer brand bex among others one picture shows her posing on a motorcycle perhaps she thought that showing her grandson would send the wrong message to him while it would have been nice if theresa could have shared the backstories behind her amazing snapshots it is also respectable to know just how humble she was to keep the memories to herself from the sheer number of photos it is crystal clear that teresa was a bona fide star in addition to singing and acting the family discovered another unbelievable secret in a separate album with newspaper clippings from 1952 johnny and his family discovered something electrifying that teresa had competed in the first ever miss universe pageant representing her then home country of british hong kong the find was a complete shock to everyone in the family who had never heard her utter one word about it while some older people might revel in pictures that highlight their extraordinary good looks from when they were younger it simply wasn't in teresa's character in fact she almost won the contest eventually she was eliminated in the semi-finals by judy dan a shanghai-born actress who appeared in several american films including get smart and to kill a dragon yet even this wouldn't be teresa's last time in front of the camera when browsing through teresa's album of hidden photos it is difficult not to be struck by how naturally she photographed in the pictures where she was not singing it is difficult to tell whether or not photos were taken as a part of a modeling shoot or just a candid moment in front of the camera she had indisputable poise the photo above as she casually struts the tarmac was taken at the first airport in malaysia it's obvious that if there was a readily available camera teresa was a prime choice to be included in the photo op in some pictures that lacked context johnny surmised that they could have potentially been a part of a movie or advertisement but even her enormous career couldn't stop one aspiration in the prime of her career teresa also made it a point to get married and to have a family juggling both stardom and motherhood in the album johnny and his family were lucky to find a previously unseen color photograph from teresa's wedding night pure elegance after a singing career spanning more than three decades teresa was forced to make a very difficult decision in the waning years of her career she decided to immigrate to the united states from singapore feeling that her children and future grandchildren might have more opportunity there but first she had to find a way to support herself after learning about her character it is perhaps unsurprising that theresa didn't stop pursuing her passion even when she moved to a new country where she didn't speak the language fluently while in san francisco she still made it a point to sing as well as to teach music occasionally even performing once in the united states she was invited to give performances in new york los angeles and chicago as well as canada and australia she had even boasted to her grandson that she was a member of a gospel choir during the late 1970s in san francisco something that johnny doubted until he finally saw the evidence in her hidden photos the question lingered what to do with this newfound explosion of information while johnny and his family did know that teresa had been a famous singer they had no idea just how unbelievably glamorous the beloved grandmother's life had been the private photo album served as a window into a life that until that point they had only vague recollections about now johnny is faced with a decision about what to do with the album since posting the long hidden photos to the internet several media outlets have become interested in his grandmother's story admittedly johnny is unsure what his plans are but he's not discounting turning the photos into something bigger whether or not it's what his grandmother would want is impossible to tell but her reluctance to share moments of her life that would be envious to anyone are a true lesson in humility for us all you