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Sabu Dastagir

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Full Name
  
Sabu Dastagir

Years active
  
1937–1963

Children
  
Paul Sabu, Jasmine Sabu

Occupation
  
Actor

Role
  
Film actor

Other names
  
Selar Shaik Sabu

Name
  
Sabu Dastagir

Cause of death
  
Heart attack

Religion
  
Islam


Sabu Dastagir imagesnpgorguk80080053mw211753jpg

Born
  
27 January 1924 (
1924-01-27
)
Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India

Died
  
December 2, 1963, Chatsworth, California, United States

Spouse
  
Marilyn Cooper (m. 1948–1963)

Movies
  
The Thief of Bagdad, Elephant Boy, Jungle Book, Black Narcissus, The Drum

Similar People
  
Zoltan Korda, Paul Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez, Ludwig Berger

SABU DASTAGIR - The Elephant Boy: Sad Story of First Indian Hollywood Star


Sabu Dastagir (27 January 1924 – 2 December 1963), born Selar Shaik Sabu or Sabu Francis, was an Indian film actor who later gained United States citizenship. He was normally credited only by his first name, Sabu, and is primarily known for his work in film during the 1930s–1940s in Britain and America.

Contents

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Dastagir Vintage Autgrafo Foto Autografiada eBay

Early life

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Dastagir triviaserendipin

Born in 1924 in Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore, then a Princely State of British India, and raised as a Muslim, Sabu was the son of an Indian mahout (elephant rider). While most reference books have his full name as "Sabu Dastagir," research by journalist Philip Leibfried suggests that was his brother's name. Sabu's full name was in fact Selar Shaik Sabu or Sabu Francis. His brother managed his career. His brother was killed in a robbery of his furniture store, a failing business jointly owned by the two men.

Career

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Dastagir Here in Van Nuys

When he was 13, Sabu was discovered by documentary film-maker Robert Flaherty, who cast him in the role of an elephant driver in the 1937 British film Elephant Boy. This was adapted from "Toomai of the Elephants", a story by Rudyard Kipling. In 1938 producer Alexander Korda commissioned A. E. W. Mason to write The Drum as a starring vehicle for the young actor.

Sabu Dastagir httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons66

Sabu is perhaps best known for his role as Abu in the 1940 British film The Thief of Bagdad, starring . Director Michael Powell said that Sabu had a "wonderful grace" about him. In 1942 Sabu played another role based on a Kipling story, namely Mowgli in Jungle Book directed by Zoltán Korda where he plays a feral child whose animals are in danger by human villagers. He starred alongside Maria Montez and Jon Hall in three films for Universal Pictures: Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943) and Cobra Woman (1944).

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Cinema Films and Movie

After becoming an American citizen in 1944, Sabu joined the United States Army Air Forces and served as a tail gunner and ball turret gunner on B-24 Liberators. He flew several dozen missions with the 370th Bomb Squadron of the 307th Bomb Group in the Pacific, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor and bravery.

Sabu Dastagir Dastagir the actor who crossed over to Hollywood on the back of an

His career declined after World War II as he was unable to secure equivalent roles in Hollywood that British films had offered. He occasionally did gain significant parts, such as his supporting role in the British film Black Narcissus (1947). Through most of the 1950s he starred in largely unsuccessful European films. In 1952, he starred in the Harringay Circus with an elephant act.

Sabu Dastagir Selar Shaik Sabu Actors and Actresses Films as Actor Publications

His last completed film, A Tiger Walks, was released in March 1964, three months after his death.

Personal life

Sabu Dastagir Sabu invents a new kind of acting YouTube

On 19 October 1948, Sabu married little-known actress Marilyn Cooper, (whose only film part, as Princess Tara in Song of India in 1949, was not credited), with whom he had two children. Their marriage lasted until his death.

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Dastagir 1924 1963 Find A Grave Memorial

Their son Paul Sabu established the rock band Sabu in the 1980s, and their daughter Jasmine Sabu was an animal trainer on various films; she died in 2001.

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Biography IMDb

Sabu was the subject of a paternity suit that resulted in a published opinion by the California Court of Appeal, Dastagir v. Dastagir, 241 P.2d 656 (Cal. App. 1952). Sabu was sued by an infant girl born in 1948, through her mother, an unnamed, unmarried English actress, who claimed to have had an affair with Sabu, and that he was the infant's father. The suit was tried by a jury, which returned a nine to three verdict in favour of Sabu.

Death

On 2 December 1963, Sabu died suddenly in Chatsworth, California, of a heart attack, a month short before his 40th birthday at the age of 39. He is interred at the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery. His wife said in a television interview that two days before his death, during a routine medical check, his doctor told him: "If all my patients were as healthy as you, I would be out of a job."

Filmography

Actor
1964
A Tiger Walks as
Ram Singh
1963
Rampage as
Talib
1960
Mistress of the World as
Dr. Lin-Chor
1957
Sabu and the Magic Ring as
Sabu
1957
The Black Panther (Short) as
Sabu the Jungle Boy
1956
Jungle Hell as
Sabu the Jungle Boy
1956
Jaguar as
Juano
1953
Il tesoro del Bengala as
Ainur
1952
Baghdad
1952
Hello Elephant as
Sultan of Nagore (as Sabù)
1951
Savage Drums as
Tipo Tairu
1949
Song of India as
Ramdar
1948
Man-Eater of Kumaon as
Narain
1947
The End of the River as
Manoel
1947
Black Narcissus as
The Young General
1946
Tangier as
Pepe
1944
Cobra Woman as
Kado
1943
White Savage as
Orano
1942
Arabian Nights as
Ali Ben Ali
1942
Jungle Book as
Mowgli
1940
The Thief of Bagdad as
Abu
1938
The Drum as
Prince Azim
1937
Elephant Boy as
Toomai
Writer
1937
Round the Film Studios (TV Series) (narrative script - 1 episode)
- No. 2 Denham Part 4 (1937) - (narrative script)
Soundtrack
1946
Tangier (performer: "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain", "Love Me Tonight", "Polly Wolly Doodle")
1940
The Thief of Bagdad (performer: "I Want To Be A Sailor" - uncredited)
Self
2018
Around India with a Movie Camera (Documentary) as
Self
2006
Steve Irwin: He Changed Our World (TV Movie documentary) as
Self - Elephant (uncredited)
1962
This Is Your Life (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Cleo Laine (1962) - Self
1946
Screen Snapshots Series 25, No. 7: Hollywood Victory Show (Documentary short) as
Self
1937
Round the Film Studios (TV Series) as
Self - Actor
- No. 2 Denham Part 4 (1937) - Self - Actor
Archive Footage
-
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance (Documentary) (filming) as
Self
2006
Today Tonight (TV Series) as
Self - Elephant
- Episode dated 20 September 2006 (2006) - Self - Elephant (uncredited)
2001
E! Mysteries & Scandals (TV Series documentary)
- Maria Montez (2001)
1993
Rear Window (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Sabu the Elephant Boy (1993) - Self
1981
Arena (TV Series documentary) as
Abu
- A Pretty British Affair (1981) - Abu (uncredited)
1966
The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) as
Ram Singh
- A Tiger Walks: Part 2 (1966) - Ram Singh
- A Tiger Walks: Part 1 (1966) - Ram Singh
1964
Hollywood and the Stars (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- The Wild and Wonderful Thirties (1964) - Self (uncredited)

References

Sabu Dastagir Wikipedia