| Crowned King of Cambodia in 1941, but then abdicated 14 years later - in favour of his father. However, he subsequently became prime minister and was elected head of state in 1960 - only to be overthrown by a coup in 1970. Five years later the Khmer Rouge took control, and Sihanouk was head of state once more. But whaddaya know, almost immediately he'd been forced out of office. Then what happens? In 1982 he teams up with the Khmer Rouge (after they've been booted out by the Vietnamese) and becomes president in exile of the government of Democratic Kampuchea. He returned to Cambodia in 1991, and two years later, guess what? He's reinstated as King of Cambodia. Throughout all of this, he somehow found the time to direct, produce and score 28 films. The saxophone-playing Tom Jones fan suffers from diabetes, heart problems, and colon cancer. |