P. Ramlee

P. Ramlee was born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh.His father Teuku Nyak Puteh was a sailor from Aceh,and later marries Che Mah Hussain.He was born on the first day of Eid festival,which is 22 March 1929.

     He attended Sekolah Melayu Kampung Jawa (English:  Kampung Jawa Malay School) and Sekolah Francis Light primary schools. Next he went to the famous Penang Free School secondary school until the World War broke out. During the Japanese Occupation years in Malaya, he continued his studies at the Japanese Navy Academy. When the war ended, he reconvened his studies in Penang Free School. He was very active in sports.

Career

In 1947, he won the first place in a song competition organized by Penang Radio.Seven years after his acting career started, P. Ramlee directed his first film Penarek Becha. In 1957, P. Ramlee would act in the first of his Bujang Lapok comedic films that he acted along with Aziz Sattar and S.Shamsudin, which are still popular among the modern Malay film watchers. During his career he directed and acted in sixty-six films, and had more than 360 songs to his credit.

     He returned permanently to Kuala Lumpur after years with Shaw Brothers in Singapore; however,he would never expect that his permanent return would mark the begin of his downfall.His final film was Laksemana Do Re Mi in 1972 and his last song and lyrics was Air Mata di Kuala Lumpur (Tears in Kuala Lumpur),before his death in 1973.In his last song,the lyrics depicts his crushed feeling and series of disappointments and setbacks upon returning to Malaysia after years in Singapore.

Family

P. Ramlee was married three times. His first marriage was to Junaidah in 1950 but the marriage ended in a divorce four years later. His second marriage was to a member of the Royal family of State of Perak, Noorizan Mohd. Noor in 1955 but it also ended in a divorce in 1961. His last marriage was to Salmah Ismail, who was a very famous singer known as Saloma on 21 November 1961.

Death and Legacy

On the 27th of May 1973, P. Ramlee died at the age of 44 due to a heart attack and was buried in Jalan Ampang Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur His untimely death was a huge shock to the nation, and a sense of collective guilt began to spread nationwide, as prior to his death, he had been discredited and rejected by his own nation, citing that he was then a 'has been', and his songs and film were no longer marketable.

In 1986 (13 years after his death), in honor of his contributions to the Malaysian entertainment industry, the P. Ramlee Memorial was built in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. In 1982, Jalan Parry, in the center of Kuala Lumpur, was renamed Jalan P. Ramlee in his honor. In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Malaysian honorific title Tan Sri, and later in 2009, the honorific title of 'Datuk Amar' by Sarawak State Government. The Chief Minister of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud, an avid fan of P. Ramlee, presented the award to his adopted daughter, Dian P. Ramlee, in a ceremony honoring veteran artists in Kuching.On 31 October 2010, a 90-minute documentary on his life was aired on History Channel Asia.

Awards

His award-winning films are:

• Anakku Sazali (My Son Sazali): Best Male Actor,4th Asian Film Festival (Tokyo,1957)
• Hang Tuah (Legend of Hang Tuah): Best Musical Score,3rd Asian Film Festival (Hong Kong 1956) and Official screening at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival in 1957.The first and only P.Ramlee movie to be filmed in color.
• Ibu Mertuaku (My Mother in-law): Most Versatile Talent,10th Asian Film Festival (Tokyo,1963)
• Madu Tiga (Three Wives): Best Comedy,11th Asian Film Festival (Taipei,1964)
• Nujum Pak Belalang (Pak Belalang The Fortune Teller): Best Comedy,7th Asian Film Festival (Tokyo,1960)
• Pendekar Bujang Lapok (The Three Warrior Bachelors): Best Comedy,6th Asian Film Festival (Kuala Lumpur,1959)
• Sumpah Orang Minyak (Curse of The Oily Man): Best Black and White Photography,5th Asian Film Festival (Manila,1958)