The Torrance Public Library presents a virtual screen of, documentary, The Donut King (2020), June 28th at 5:00 p.m. The Donut King is Ted Ngoy's rags to riches story of a refugee escaping Cambodia, arriving in America in 1975, and building an unlikely multimillion-dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. Ngoy sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet teaching them the ways of the donut business. By 1979, he was living the American Dream—but a great rise often comes with a great fall.

Melina von Stietz

The Donut King

Alice Gu

In 1975, Ted Ngoy and his family immigrated from Cambodia to Camp Pendleton in San Diego as part of a refugee program. By 1977, he saved up enough money to buy his first donut shop. By the mid-80s, he owned 32 shops and had amassed millions of dollars. This award-winning documentary from Alice Gu charts Ngoy’s meteoric rise to the title of “The Donut King” –– and his subsequent devastating fall. 