On stage, his portrayal of Kuan Kung, the heroic general from the Three Kingdoms Period, has earned him the epithet of "a living Kuan Kung."
李桐春的父親李永利，原是劇界出名武淨，曾經受教於「活老爺」三麻子王鴻壽，並拜為義父。虎父無犬子，卅年代繼楊小樓、尚和玉之下的頭牌武生，一是李萬春、一是李少春，前者正是李桐春嫡親大哥；後者為早年海派著名武生「小達子」李桂春之子，亦與李門有姻親關係。