Biography
Puteh Ramlee, real name: Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh (1929-1973), was a Malaysian music composer, actor and director, famous in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.
He was born on March 22, 1929 in Aceh to a wealthy family. In his younger years he was a reluctant and mischievous student, however he showed an interest and talent for music and football. His studies were interrupted by the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, during which he enrolled in the Japanese Naval Academy (Kaigun Gakko). During that time he learned the basics of music and singing Japanese songs. When the war ended, he continued to take music and composition classes.
By 1948, the 19-year-old Ramlee had already won several singing contests and was writing his own songs; he was also playing the violin in a kroncong band. That year, a Malay Film Productions (MFP) director met him at a song contest and gave him a supporting role in one of his films, in which he performed 5 songs with great success. In the following films, he had the leading role and established himself as a major star in the Malaysian film industry. Between 1948 and 1955 he starred in a total of 27 films in most of which he performed songs that became hits.
Apart from acting, Ramlee was a prolific songwriter and about 500 of his songs have been recorded, either by himself or by other artists. Among his best known songs are 'Getaran Jiwa [ms]', 'Dendang Perantau [ms] ]”, “Engkau Laksana Bulan”, “Joget Pahang [ms]”, “Tudung Periok”, “Di Mana Kan Ku Cari Ganti [ms ]” and “Azizah”. P. Ramlee began writing screenplays and directing feature films in 1955.
His career with Malay Film Productions between 1955 and 1964 is considered as his "golden age". In 1964, he left Singapore for Kuala Lumpur to make films with Merdeka Film Productions, however, he was less successful there.
In the early hours of May 29, 1973, he died of a heart attack.