Tan Kim Ching who happened to be Anna Leonowens, a young widow, looking for work to support herself and her two children. The story of the schoolteacher and the King of Siam has been made popular through the films "The King And I" (Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr) and "Anna and the King" (Chow, Yun Fatt and Jodie Foster). When the King and Queen of Siam landed in Singapore in 1890 they stayed at Tan Kim Ching's house, "Siam house", in North Bridge Road. It was reported that The King, who was expected to arrive in Singapore at Tanjong Pagar Wharf on board
Robert Anderson (playwright) took an undergraduate as well as a master's degree. He may be best-remembered as the author of "Tea and Sympathy". The play made its Broadway debut in 1953 and was made into an Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film in 1956; both starred Deborah Kerr and John Kerr. "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running", a collection of four one-act comedies, opened in New York in 1967 and ran for more than 700 performances. His other successful Broadway plays were "Silent Night, Lonely Night" (1959) and "I Never Sang for My Father" (1968). He wrote the screenplays for "Until They Sail"