A Small Treasure
One of the few things I saved of my mothers when she died was an old 78rpm record cover. (what I'd give for some sort of copy of what was in it!!) The records were long gone but the memory of listening to it are not.
The record was a "talk/ music" version of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book:
When I was young Sabu was one of those actors I was in love with. (him and Turhan Bey) He was so brave and so smart for a young boy in the wilds. I became very attached to him, and the sound of his voice. To this day "Elephant Boy" remains one of my all time favorite movies to watch. It was such a shame that he died so young. Here's a short Bio on him:
Date of birth (location)27 January 1924Karapur, Mysore, India Date of death (details)2 December 1963Chatsworth, California, USA. (heart attack)
He became an American citizen on January 4, 1944, after which he served in the US Army Air Force during World War II as a tail gunner.
Father of Jasmine Sabu and Paul Sabu.
According to his widow, actress Marilyn Cooper, Sabu had a complete physical just a few days before his death, at which time his doctor told him, "if all my patients were as healthy as you, I'd be out of business." Thus, his sudden death of a heart attack at the age of only 39 came as even more of a shock than it would have been otherwise. His last film, Disney's A Tiger Walks (1964), was released posthumously, to good reviews.
The first Indian and middle-eastern actor to make it big in Hollywood. However, he was restricted to stereotypical roles of Indians.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, he was among the richest stars in Hollywood. In an era in which white actors often played Asian characters, he was respected not only for his physique but also for his natural acting abilities. He was a friend to many Hollywood actors including James Stewart and Ronald Reagan.
Most reference books have his full name as "Sabu Dastigir", but research by journalist Philip Liebfried suggests that was his brother's name, and that Sabu was in fact Selar Shaik Sabu.
The record was a "talk/ music" version of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book:
When I was young Sabu was one of those actors I was in love with. (him and Turhan Bey) He was so brave and so smart for a young boy in the wilds. I became very attached to him, and the sound of his voice. To this day "Elephant Boy" remains one of my all time favorite movies to watch. It was such a shame that he died so young. Here's a short Bio on him:
Date of birth (location)27 January 1924Karapur, Mysore, India Date of death (details)2 December 1963Chatsworth, California, USA. (heart attack)
He became an American citizen on January 4, 1944, after which he served in the US Army Air Force during World War II as a tail gunner.
Father of Jasmine Sabu and Paul Sabu.
According to his widow, actress Marilyn Cooper, Sabu had a complete physical just a few days before his death, at which time his doctor told him, "if all my patients were as healthy as you, I'd be out of business." Thus, his sudden death of a heart attack at the age of only 39 came as even more of a shock than it would have been otherwise. His last film, Disney's A Tiger Walks (1964), was released posthumously, to good reviews.
The first Indian and middle-eastern actor to make it big in Hollywood. However, he was restricted to stereotypical roles of Indians.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, he was among the richest stars in Hollywood. In an era in which white actors often played Asian characters, he was respected not only for his physique but also for his natural acting abilities. He was a friend to many Hollywood actors including James Stewart and Ronald Reagan.
Most reference books have his full name as "Sabu Dastigir", but research by journalist Philip Liebfried suggests that was his brother's name, and that Sabu was in fact Selar Shaik Sabu.
He was 12 years old and cleaning out the stables of a wealthy Indian maharajah when he was spotted by director Robert J. Flaherty, who was in India looking for a lead for his film Elephant Boy (1937).
Ocassionally I search to see if there was some sort of audio made of the above records, but I've never found them. The record included Sabu's own voice and instruments such as an Obo for a voice of one of the animals.
It's sad when such treasures are lost. Be it recordings or old movies.. I know they are trying to save many movies, but along the way many will be lost forever.
At Christmas time, I think I will choose to hope that somewhere out there this particular recording was saved somehow
posted by DesLily | 1:21 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting; never heard of him. He was good looking though.
betty
Geez, that brings back memories!
Hugs,
V
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