P. Ramlee married three times.

His first marriage was to

Junaidah Daeng Harris, when he was only 21 years old. It
ended in divorce four years later. This was followed by his
marriage to Noorizan Mohd Noor, in February 6, 1955, also
culminating with a divorce, in 1961, when he married the
actress Salmah Ismail, better known as Saloma, in the same
year. He has nine children, among them three stepchildren
and four adopted children. His eldest is Nasir P. Ramlee,
born in 1953. At the height of his career, disaster struck
when Lee Kuan Yew, the President of Singapore, took
Singapore out from the Malayan Federation to become a
sovereign republic in 1965. As a patriot, P. Ramlee
insisted on returning to the Malay Peninsula. In Malaya, he
produced a further 22 films before his death in 1973.
Throughout his career, he acted, directed and wrote a total
of 66 movies as well as 359 songs.

P. Ramlee died of a heart attack at 5:30am on May 29, 1973,

at the age of 44. In 1986, in honor of his contributions to
the Malaysian entertainment industry, the P. Ramlee
Memorial was set up in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur and on 1982;
Jalan Parry (Parry Street) at the city centre has changed
into Jalan P. Ramlee (P Ramlee Street). In 1990, he was
posthumously awarded the Panglima Setia Kota (PSM), which
carries the title Tan Sri, and was accorded the title of
Seniman Agong (Great Artist)
in the same year.

Tan Sri P. Ramlee a.k.a Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh was born on
22 March 1929. He first made his debut in the film Cinta (Love) playing
the role of a villain constantly menacing the virtue of heroine Siput
Sarawak. However, his talents in composing music and singing gave him
an edge over many of his contemporaries. He was also very versatile as
a leading actor, comic, dramatic artiste, and scripwriter and film
director.

Ramlee’s star began to shine brighter when Director Datuk L. Krishnan

gave him the chance to play the leading role in Takdir Ilahi (Destiny)
alongside popular favourites Kasma Booty and Siput Sarawak.

Thenceforth, there was no turning back for P. Ramlee. He took to films

like ducks to water. When not busy upsetting the metabolism of heroines
onscreen he did almost everything else – being clapper boy, handling
continuity, assisting the cameraman, standing-in, etc. He loved films
and filmmaking.

In 1950 alone, he acted in 3 films and in 1952, five. His beautiful

curly hair, daring sideburns, dashing moustache and dangling
handkerchief in the back pocket projected a macho appearance that
became the rage. In addition, much imitated by young men.
Ramlee’s career took another upward swing when he was at last given the
chance to direct in 1955. With ‘Penarik Beca’, he achieved a full
circle in his career as an artiste of the celluloid world. It was one
to be envied for the film was a smashing success.

As a dedicated actor and director who would grasp any chance for self-
improvement in order to enhance future achievements, Ramlee took
serious note of the work of others.

He was immensely drawn to and influenced by the films of foreign directors, like
Satyajit Ray of India and Akira Kurosawa of Japan, which he particularly doted on
and used as springboards for his own imagination and creativity.

Long before Malaysia adopted the Look East Policy, Ramlee had already been won by
the ‘Empire of the Rising Sun’. As far back as the 50s, he had been bowled over by
the Japanese.

If we study Semerah Padi (1956) and Sumpah Orang Minyak (1958) with a fine eye,
it is obvious that Ramlee had been attracted to the directing techniques much loved
by Kurosawa such as the lavish tracking shots, baroque angles and fast editing
tempo.

Hamzah Hussein, a confidante of the late artiste loves to recall how he used to watch
movies with Ramlee. The actor would ceaselessly jot down notes on camera angles,
dialogue delivery, and others that he would use, with modifications of course, in his
future films.

Ramlee’s crowning achievements as an actor of total consummation and projection

was attained when he won the Best Actor Award at the Asian Film Festival in 1957
for dual roles in Anakku Sazali a powerhouse drama if ever there was one.

The late 1950s and early 1960s were Ramlee’s heydays. Every film he did seemed
tailor-made for him. The heavy dramas such as Ibu Mertuaku, Antara Dua Darjat,
and Sumpah Orang Minyak are perennial classics. Even when viewed for the
umpteenth time over television, they still exude a charge.

His comedies are timeless. With films like Musang Berjanggut, Nujum Pa Belalang,
Madu Tiga and especially the ‘Bujang Lapok’ quartet, he has assured them eternal
placings in the movies’ Hall of Fame. For these were not only vehicles to laugh at or
laugh with. Between the dialogue, comedy pacing and apparently silly goings-on are
stinging barbs on social patterns.

His innuendoes and comments on society’s shortcomings and failings that he subtly
injected into his comedies are still relevant even in today’s society. Ramlee never lost
sight of the fact that an artiste, like politicians, teachers, theologians and the like,
also had a social function to fulfil. He did it through his films.

Indeed, Ramlee perpetrated several innovations on social habits and patterns as well
as living concepts in his films, which later became very much the way of life for most
Malaysians.
Before we learn to accept Rukun Negara as our guiding ideology and confront the
harsh realities attendant to a plural society, Ramlee had dissected these issues in his
films Sesudah Subuh and Gerimis, which were released in 1966 and 1968
respectively.

However, his plea for social tolerance in these two films has been made a mockery by
present-day polarisation in our midst. Yet Ramlee pursued this theme in the hope
that it would become like second skin to Malaysians.

P. Ramlee passed away on 29 May 1973. Every year, on that date without fail, the
Malaysian mass media laments his passing. They heap a profusion of eulogies on him
that, at times, seems to border on mania.

Small wonder it is, for the man has left an indelible mark on show business in this
country. He died a legend. It is generally agreed that his voice was his forte. It had
the kind of caressing quality that could project maidens into dreamland. He sang,
wrote the lyrics and music for about 200 songs that appeared in 63 films. His
popularity with his fans, young and old, had reached its zenith long before his
demise.