The lifetime achievements of a former Alberta lieutenant-governor, Norman Kwong, will be the focus of a Heritage Minute.
It's being produced for Historica Canada by Brent Kawchuk and Michelle Wong of Calgary's Danny Rockett Productions.
It will be the eighth Heritage Minute produced by Kawchuk.
"They are a piece of history but then they become history, too. The minute becomes iconic and then lives on and on, not like a commercial or something that comes or goes or something that goes into a second season," Kawchuk said.
"It's captured and it's part of the Canadian conversation. They're remembered (and) they're loved."
Kawchuk says the Heritage Minute will focus on parts of Kwong's life that many people may not know about.
"Norman's parents had a small mom-and-pop grocery shop in Bridgeland in Calgary, and we're sort of doing some of the backstory moments that kind of showed his resolve and his stamina as a player and as a kid growing up in Calgary," Kawchuk said.
"He faced bullies. He had to deal with his parents, who weren't maybe that keen on him taking on football versus other careers that he might have had at a high school age."
Canadian actor Patrick Kwok-Choon (Wynonna Earp, Star Trek: Discovery) plays the part of Kwong in the Heritage Minute.
"It's such an honour to be offered this part by Historica Canada. I grew up watching the Heritage Minutes, so it's such a part of my upbringing to see diverse stories reflected and to celebrate these champions in our history," Kwok-Choon said.
"He (Kwong) was such a pioneer, great CFL player, entrepreneur, family man and lieutenant-governor of Alberta. So it means a lot to me to be to be selected for this."
Prior to production, Kwong's family was asked for approval by Historica Canada.
Monday, as production began, his son Greg and grandson Brendan were on set.
"It is a thrill, a huge thrill," Greg Kwong said.
"I'm very curious because it is called the Heritage Minute. It is only a minute. How they can encapsulate his entire life into a minute?"
Brendan Kwong says he is impressed at the lengths Historica Canada has gone to, to ensure the accuracy of the script.
"I took the liberty of reading the script last night and I was taken aback at just how accurate it was and how it really stuck to my heartstrings," he said.
“It just felt like real, real true storytelling”
Each 60-second Heritage Minute depicts a significant person, event or story in Canadian history.
Other sports heroes featured include Maurice "the Rocket" Richard and Jackie Robinson, who played his first professional baseball game for the Montreal Royals in 1946.
There have been more than 100 Heritage Minutes since they first went into production in the early 1990s.
Kwong's story, like many stories featured in Heritage Minutes, is one of overcoming adversity and discrimination, breaking barriers and paving the way for others to succeed.
"He was Chinese-Canadian at a time when it was frankly not a good thing to be Chinese-Canadian," said Anthony Wilson-Smith, president and CEO of Historica Canada.
"He just pushed ahead against all odds, against tough conditions, people telling him all the things he couldn't do, and he went out and did them."
Kwong was born in Calgary in 1929.
His parents had both immigrated to Canada 20 years earlier.
Kwong's father, Charles Lim Kwong, had to pay the Chinese Head Tax to immigrate.
Norman Kwong was the fifth of six children in the family, which owned and operated the Riverside Cash and Carry Store.
Kwong attended Western Canada Senior High School, where he proved an exceptional athlete, especially playing football.
When Canada's Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1946, barriers for Chinese players in professional sports were dropped, paving the way for Kwong's entry into the CFL.
Nicknamed "the China Clipper" (a reference to his speed on field), Kwong played from 1948 to 1950 for the Calgary Stampeders.
In 1948, he won the Grey Cup with the Stamps.
In 1951, Kwong was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos, for whom he would play until his retirement in 1960.
Kwong notched three more Grey Cup wins with the Eskimos in 1954, 1955 and 1956.
In 56, Kwong rushed for 1,437 yards, setting the CFL record for the most yards rushing by a Canadian in a season.
It would be 56 years before Jon Cornish toppled the record in 2012.
At the time, B.C. Lions coach Wally Buono said Cornish's record should have an asterisk beside it, because Kwong set the record in a 15-game season, while Cornish played 18 games in 2012.
Following football, Kwong went on to a successful career in business and in 1980 was one of a group of six who joined forces to purchase the Atlanta Flames and move them to Calgary.
Kwong also would go on to be president and general manager of the Stampeders in 1988, the same year he was awarded the Order of Canada.
As he was a team owner when the Flames won the league championship in 1989, Kwong is one of five people with their names on both the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup.
(Others include Wayne Gretzky, Lionel Conacher, Joe Miller and Carl Voss.)
Kwong was appointed lieutenant-governor of Alberta in January 2005, and held the vice-regal position until May 2010, during which time he welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Canada in celebration of Alberta's centennial.
Norman Kwong died in September 2016.
The Heritage Minute featuring Kwong's story is expected to be released publicly in early 2024.
