Raden Ajeng Srimulat

Raden Ajeng Srimulat was born into a noble family in Central Java, but she ran away from home at a young age to pursue her passion for art and music. She joined various traditional Javanese theatre and puppetry groups, and became a popular singer of Keroncong music, a genre that blended Portuguese, Malay, and Indonesian influences. She recorded songs for His Master's Voice, a British record label, and performed in night markets and radio shows. She met her husband, Teguh Slamet Rahardjo, a musician and comedian, in 1946 and they married in 1950. They founded their own troupe, Srimulat, which initially focused on music and comedy, but later shifted to slapstick comedy and satire. Srimulat became one of the most popular and influential comedy groups in Indonesia, and spawned many famous comedians and actors, such as Teguh Karya, their eldest son, who became a renowned film director. Srimulat also appeared in several movies, such as Tiga Dara (1956), Tiga Abdul (1964), and Si Doel Anak Modern (1966). She died of a heart attack in 1968, at the age of 60. She is remembered as a pioneer of Indonesian comedy and a versatile entertainer.