KUALA LUMPUR: Popular 1950s comedy actor S. Shamsuddin, affectionately known as Sudin, of ‘Bujang Lapuk’ fame, died in Singapore yesterday morning.
The man who had acted alongide the late legendary Malay movie thespian, Tan Sri P Ramlee, was 84.
He died of old age at 10.56am at his residence at Block 101, Bukit Batok, West Avenue 6, #07-34, Jurong, Singapore.
His daughter, Noredah, told Bernama here that the much-loved cine artiste was found unconscious this morning and taken to the hospital but was confirmed dead.
Shamsuddin, whose real name was Sahamsudin Dali, married Puteh Esmoon in 1954 and had seven children, including Ariff, an actor-comedian currently with Singapore TV.
Born on Jan 1, 1929 in Pasir Panjang, Singapore, Sudin was a comedian artiste in the same era as P. Ramlee, late A R Tompel and Datuk Aziz Satar, and was famous for the film series, ‘Bujang Lapok’ and ‘Nujum Pak Belalang’.
He had acted in more than 25 films, including the classic ‘Tiga Abdul’.
Sudin’s foray into movies was unplanned when he went to the Malay Film Production Studio (MFP) in Jalan Ampas, Singapore in 1948 to watch the shooting of the film, ‘Cempaka’, and was promptly hired as an extra in the film.
The director of the film, B S Rajhans, had paid Sudin RM3 which was the amount paid to an extra in those days. Several days later, Sudin applied to work with MFP and was accepted as a carpenter to build sets and backdrops for the film at RM50 a month.
He also received additional payment when be became an extra or dancer in a film.
His career took a turn for the better when he was picked lead actor in the comedy film, ‘Tas Tangan Wanita’, directed by L Krishnan in 1952. His co-actors were Osman Gumanti, Neng Yatimah and Siti Tanjung Perak.
Sudin’s career was boosted further when P Ramlee directed a comedy for the first time in 1957, namely, ‘Bujang Lapok’, which combined three main actors, namely, Sudin, Aziz Sattar and P. Ramlee.
Following the huge success of the film, P Ramlee extended the characters of ‘Bujang Lapok’ with three more films, namely, ‘Pendekar Bujang Lapok’, ‘Seniman Bujang Lapok’ and ‘Ali Baba Bujang Lapok’.
Another film directed by P Ramlee, which highlighted the strength and intensity of Sudin’s acting, was ‘Antara Dua Darjat’, which was produced in 1960. The serious drama was interspersed with comedy through Sudin’s acting. — Bernama