Tan Sri P.Ramlee...The Greatest Malaysian film actor, director and songwrite

Tan Sri P. Ramlee

Biography

Ramlee was born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh to Teuku Nyak Puteh bin Teuku Karim and Che Mah Hussein at his grandmother's house (now opened as P. Ramlee House) in Counter Hall (now renamed as Jalan P. Ramlee), Penang, Malaysia. Teuku Zakaria - P Ramlee's birth name. 'Teuku' is a title for descendants of noble families from Aceh of Sumatra, Indonesia. His father Teuku Nyak Puteh was a sailor from Lho' Seumawe in the province of Aceh, Indonesia.

As a child, he studied in several schools, including the famous Penang Free School. During his school days he was very active in sports, especially sepak takraw, badminton, and football.

He was married three times, the last to the singer Salmah Ismail (or Saloma) in 1961.

Career

P.Ramlee's big break came on 1 June 1948 when he was spotted by Indian film director B. S. Rajhans from Malay Film Productions of Jalan Ampas, Singapore. The director was impressed by Ramlee, and in 1949 he was cast in the film Nasib (Fate). Seven years later, Ramlee directed his first film Penarik Becha (The Trishaw Man). In 1957, Ramlee would act in the first of his Bujang Lapok (Dowdy Bachelors) comedic films, 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 300 songs to his credit. Among his films that received awards are:

•  — Third Asian Film Festival, Hong Kong (1956)Best Musical Score for 
•  — Fourth Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1957)Best Male Actor for 
•  — Seventh Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1960)Best Comedy Film for 
•  — Tenth Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1963)Most Versatile Talent for 
•  — Eleventh Asian Film Festival, Taipei (1964)Best Comedy Film for 

 on 1973 before his death. on 1972 and last songs and lyrics was His final film was 

Death

On 27 May 1973 P.Ramlee died at the age of 44 due to heart problems and was buried in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. In 1986, in honour of his contributions to the Malaysian entertainment industry, the P. Ramlee Memorial was set up in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. In 1982, Jalan Parry in the KL city centre has been renamed Jalan P. Ramlee in his honor. He was posthumously awarded with the honorific title Tan Sri in the early 1990s.