An Homage to Sabu

[pocketamonstah]

Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Tony Jaa?

[traynor2rt]

My first crush! Beautiful man x

[ustadpedro100]

A very healthy man, according to his wife, died at the age of 39 of heart attack.

His name Selar Shaik Sabu. I wonder where Dastegir came from because its an unusual name for a boy from South India.

[SteveCrook127]

He was never married to Bibi Ferreira. They starred together, as husband and wife, in The End of the River (1947) and some people mistakenly thought they were married in real life

[Ishmael932]

Sabu was also a decorated war hero who enlisted in the Air Corps as soon as he gained US citizenship in 1943 and flew 42 combat missions as a B-24 ball turret gunner with the 307th Bomber Group in the Southwest Pacific, Indo-China and China during World War 2. He was awarded the the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters(indicates 5 seperate awards of the same medal), the American Campaign Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.

[melora72]

He had perfect teeth! I saw Thief of Bagdad today. He was so adorable when he smiled.

[anonchan317]

he was exceptionally beautiful

[molarmama5]

@anonchan317

Totally agree and he had a way of lighting up the entire screen with his smile! RIP Selar Sabu, we thank you.

[bokojoo]

many sabu's continue to live in rural south india

[bernardo7092]

WORD IN HOLLYWOOD WAS THAT HE WAS GAY AND VERY HUGE FOR A LITTLE GUY...

[4freespeech]

@bernardo7092 So what if he was gay? At 1:55 he looks about average in his speedos. Bet out of

around a billion people in India you could find at least a few hundred thousand orphan teenagers

who look just like him, but maybe only a few with his acting ability.

[tinamarie2484]

I was looking at the tv guide today and saw the Jungle Book was on. I had only saw the cartoon movie and the one with Jason Scott Lee. I had never know of this one. I put it on the channel and once I saw his face, I was in a trance. I couldn't take my eyes off him <3

[SriFeb7]

Growing up in Mysore, some 25 years after Sabu was discovered by the film crew from England, his name evoked a great deal of mystery and pride. My teacher would relate the story with great flair. We would lap it up with gusto. I have visited the royal elephant stable where Sabu's father was employed many times. Interstingly, I had not seen a single movie of his till I came to the US. Even now, very few Indians know about the first authentic Hollywood hero of Indian origin.

[treintjefop]

I want to find the movie where he was the elephant boy!

[jonrendell]

@treintjefop It's available on VHS, check ebay.

[samihasib]

he looks gay

[margaret267]

gosh! look at those gorgeous lips!!!!! i could make out with him for hours!!!!

[bernardo7092]

@margaret267 HE gave great jobs with those lips and became a giant star....

viva sabubu!!! anoop doggy ddooty and iced titty lill wayne also fags!!!! l

[margaret267]

He is like the most handsome boy ever!!!! I wish I could have dated him. He would have thought I was so sexy, he and me together! <3

[margaret267]

i think he is adorable!!!! ajajajaj.

[salvatorearcilesi]

...........der kleine sabu......

[Mothauntan]

Je me rappelle avoir Sabu dans quelques films qui sont passés à la télé et je l'appréciais beaucoup. Belle vidéo ! Wonderful !

[africanzionflo]

I use to be crazy about Sabu. I'm going to share this with my daughter along with old movies made in 1943. I'm very happy

with finding wonderful things on Youtube.

[gtrplyr4ever]

any biography books on sabu or any other indian actors in hollywood in the 1940s?

[Avatarlover85]

@gtrplyr4ever There weren't too many Indians in Hollywood in the 1940's, but the only one with a biography book I can think of is 1930's movie star Merle Oberon, who went to great lengths to conceal her Indian heritage. It's called Princess Merle by Charles Higham.

[RibbionsandStrings]

He was so so beautiful. I am 20 just saw the 1942 Jungle book and when I got a look at Mowgli. I said, I wish I was young back then. My b/f is indian and has similar facial features. I don't why it isn't recognized how Amazing looking so many if the indian people are. R.I.P Sabu!

[kaulentia]

I still remember my parents taking me to the cinema in adelaide to watch these now classics, and also they used to take me to the Greek cinema & sometimes they would also show the very colourful indian movies which used to astound me in the colour and my mum would cry pity i couldn't read the greek subtitles as i was too young but the performance was so well that i lived thru those films & wd try to dance them at home.i now watch srk *bollywood films with my grandson in uk which are good

[HiWayLady49]

Some really great film came from Hollywood. But their minorities were either gross misrepresented in movies, or the minority actors - including film divas - were mishandled. George Reeves could have been more than a Superman,; M. Monroe was more than boobs and bleached hair. I don't think HW has changed much. Look how they leave their child stars to fall prey to drugs, alcohol, and other predators. And lately even their movies stink.

[shoeyshoes]

Sabu was a true hero to all of us when I was a kid on Saturday afternoons! He was truly mystical and very soothing. Damn, I miss those days!

Thanks

[TVGenius999]

Haha you weren't in the 1940s, you asshole

[HiWayLady49]

I think shoeyshoes was referring to His days as a child watching Sabu on tv in the fifties. I miss those days too. And none of us are so ignorant to think that one time is better than others...just certain times have special memories.

[IEPhenom]

nothing very homicidal, suicidal, or genocidal about this Sabu...

[VAMPIREBIRDIE]

He was part of saturday afternoons at the local cinema for at least two generations of Australian kids. He was part of the world of cinematic adventure...

[Unforsaken92]

great. FF

[gphw]

I love Sabu,he was very talented and perfect for the films he starred in.........his boyish,yet exotic look was captivating. His wife was very talented too,she had a wonderful singing voice.They are together again in heaven.Thanks :)

[trancis36]

Gorgeousness Gracious !

[martyrindia]

Englishmen is really great,Bollywood never recognized south Indians,always dirty ,nasty politics.Making whole Indians fool with their foolish ideas.

[TwinkleSpaceGirl]

eyes like fire..

[hpribot]

Sort of GQ for the period.

[SAIselecta]

Lunga Vita a Sabu! Long LIfe to Sabu! Well done Homage, fascinating music...good job! : )

[FilmTraumStars1]

Fantastic video!Well done!And the music is wonderful!Thanks for sharing!

[StanKingston420]

Triple Jump Moonsault!! Sabu!! Sabu!!!

[60andcounting]

Thank You... Sabu was a hero to me when I was a child. He was a grown man by the time I was born, but about my age in films, when I started to enjoy seeing him on black & white TV in the Fifties. I recently bought a DVD by Janus Films, The Thief of Bagdad. It's a 2 disc set with many extras on the making of the film. It has photo galleries, trailers, FX doc & a 20 page booklet. They've added 2 audio commentaries, one by Francis F. Coppola & Martin Scorsese & one by Bruce Eder, music histoian.

[boxingglovelove]

I've always wondered: Is Mysore an eyesore?

[Pdstefan]

The music captures the magic of Sabu. Great tribute.

[emoviebuff87]

the first indian actor to make it big in hollywood!!

[guely55]

Thank you for the homage to this forgotten heroe of fantasy!!

[FilmTraum8]

Thanks for this great tribut!

[MikeHudson65]

Thanks for answering/ for the advice, it was really helpful. I have now got it.

[MikeHudson65]

Great compilation video. Where can I get the music from?

[jonrendell]

Hi Mike, the music is "Jungle Madness" by Martin Denny. I got this version from a compilation album: Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 1: Mondo Exotica (They are going cheap used on Amazon for about $3 each.

[queenhexa80]

hmm... to travel back in time and know him.

[FrettiYeti]

love the music....wish jungle jazz was still big.....imagine going to a club and seeing "that" band

[HarveyCartwright]

I was disappointed to find out he liked Ronald Reagan and James Stewart.

[kassandrasduplex]

Ronald Reagan was publicly a Democrat and Union president in Sabu's time,but also, I believe, an informant for the Right Wing fascists. Jimmy Stewart was a Lt. Colonel in the Army Air Force, the branch of service Sabu served in. The studio execs are pretty much Republican, and always have been. The idea Hollywood is liberal is as much myth as reality. And many American audiences are very gullible.

[HarveyCartwright]

I know Reagan didn't officially switch to the Republicans until 1962 but his views had shifted to the Right by 1947, I was wondering if Sabu was also a Republican who supported the blacklist. Stewart of course was even more right-wing than Reagan.

[kassandrasduplex]

As is the case with many child actors, the Hollywood Treatment drops them after they become "sexual", of age. Sabu, a physically stunning fellow was typecast and could never be anything else in the racist days of anti-miscegenation. He was and would always be in the pre-war theater a Jungle Boy. Too bad. He was a fine actor and a fine specimen of a young man. The very music chosen for this video perpetuates the dehumanizing myth of the "exotic".

[wurzelese]

One of my all time heroes!!! I am 57 now, when I was a boy. I was totally captivated by 'Thief of Bagdhad' & 'Jungle Book', I wanted to be Sabu! What an actor!! Still feel the same now lol

[jayabaroo]

Yes I am couple of years older and yes this film and Sabu did and still does have a magical feel! GEE BEE

[juanbosco31]

Maravilloso personaje. Dedico esto a Cepero Brito, Consuelito Vidal , Manolo Ortega, los locutores de Randio Enciclopedia Popular, Maria de Los Angeles Santana, Raquel Revueltas, Manolo Coego, Gina Cabrera , Angel Espasande, Jorge Felix,

Carlos Barba, Rolandito Barral,todos artistas cubanos gracias

[mzinkk9]

\/\/ That's cool that she knew him!

[stunner2022]

My grandma used to be acquainted with him! Her brother worked on a few of his films and they became quite good friends and thus my grandma and him met on a few occasions. She would always tell me the story with a proud grin on her face.

Sadly she died in 2005 and all her siblings are long gone so I can't find out anything more about it. :(

[jonrendell]

I can just imagine her grin when speaking of him. Thanks for the post.

[Xibee]

I want to thank you so much for posting this!-- I haven't seen it for many many years. Sabu was a HUGE influence on me personally, and now almost no one knows about him. He was the first boy I saw in movies or television who I immediately fell into a complete crush over. Even at about 6 years old, I thought he was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. And a wonderful actor. I'm reading more about his life now - he even became a U.S. soldier! What an astounding life path...

[YMN1]

one of the first indian ctors

[theadbhoy]

Im watching Jungle Book right now. Sabu was a great actor and so charasmatic. If he was at his peak right now, he would be unstoppable.

[goffather]

Do you have clips that you can post from Cobra Woman? That movie is incredible and impossible to find.

[jonrendell]

I have a copy on DVD that I got on ebay. I'll see what I can do - I agree it's a hoot of a movie!!!

[Badwolf182]

wow is this guy handsome or wat. His eyes, his face, his intensity . imagine wat he could hav achived IF he remained alive and was not type-cast!!!! GOB BLESS HIM. RIP Sabu.

[rapture03]

hey!! this guy is born in Mysore, India. Dastagir means Patron (who provides shelter to everyone). This word is derived from sanskrit (which is considered as the most advanced, & intellectual language earth has ever witnessed)

[kinumedo]

I cannot believe how much this guy reminds me of the Thai martial arts/action star Tony Jaa. I just watched Jungle Book, & they both have the same mannerisms. Maybe it's because they both work w/elephants? Scary.

[bnino2]

You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT....Tony Jaa - IS THE NEW SABU....Tony Jaa - is totally fantastic....I will continue to look for him in upcoming productions.

[Jagged85]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Sabu and Tony Jaa look so much alike... almost as if Tony Jaa is a reincarnation of Sabu.

[marxfan8]

What a shame that such a talent like Sabu died so young. I saw him in "The Thief of Baghdad" and he was a delight, so exuberant and charismatic. Thank you for the tribute.

[kehkehbia]

I loved him in the thief of Bagdad and Jungle Book. Why was he called Dastagir?

[jonrendell]

I don't know - I only discovered all that when I posted the video.

[300359alann]

I will always remember him, when i was 7 I named my first dog after him, and I always wanted to dress like him!!!

[tubulardude44]

Sabu was the epitome of exotic male beauty. And by all accounts, he was a sweet man too.  At the time of his death, his career had just been revived by Walt Disney.

[mami2drewytati]

His death was odd. All i know he was a cuuuuuutttiee!!

[xekbixsi]

wow, that must have been a fascinating read. ive alway been puzzled by the circumstance of his death. apparently he died of a heart attack but at aged 36 i found this very strange. do you perhaps know more about it?

[jonrendell]

I don't know, but his daughter, Jasmine died aged 44 in 2001. His son Paul and wife are still alive. Sabu was 39 when he died of the heart attach, but yes -- it's too young.

[xekbixsi]

i have my own little imaginative theory about it. i reckon he became depressed by the lack of roles, plus the prejudices and racial stereotypes of the 1930's. this drove him to drugs which he eventually succumbed to and died. in order to save his honor, and to keep the tabloids from slandering his name, the family released the official cause of death as being a heart attack.

[xekbixsi]

dramatic, but possibly not so far from the truth?

[jonrendell]

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.

[xekbixsi]

very interesting. iv always wondered more about this actor. the theif of bagdad and jungle book were two of my favourite movies as a child

[jonrendell]

A few years back I went to an estate auction of his family and purchased his working script for jungle book with all his notations in it etc. I too loved all his films as a kid.