Wikipedia

Maria Menado

Maria Menado (born Liesbet Dotulong; 2 February 1932 – 30 April 2026), also known as Liesje Mandagi, was a Sulawesi-born Malay actress, model and producer who is known for her contributions to Singaporean-Malaysian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. At the height of her fame she was voted “Malaya’s Most Beautiful” by Times Magazine and the “Best Dressed Woman in South East Asia” by publisher United Press International.[1] In addition to acting, she also sang and went on to direct and produce films under her own production company, Maria Menado Productions.[2] Menado was Minahasan and was born in Manado, Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia).[3]

Yang Hormat Dato' Sri
Maria Menado
SSAP DIMP
Menado in February 1959
Born
Liesbet Dotulong

(1932-02-02)2 February 1932
Tondano, Manado Residency, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)
Died30 April 2026(2026-04-30) (aged 94)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Other nameLiesje Mandagi
CitizenshipIndonesia
Singapore
Malaysia
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • producer
Years active1951–2015
Spouses
A. Razak Sheikh Mohamed
​
​
(m. 1950; div. 1963)​
​
​
(m. 1963; died 1974)​
Mohammad Husain Yusof
​
​
(m. 1978; died 2000)​
Children5

Life and career

edit

Maria Menado was born Liesbet Dotulong on 2 February 1932 at Tonsea Lama in North Tondano, Dutch East Indies, to Abdullah Dotulong.[4][5] When she was seven years old, her parents died, and she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Makassar.[5] They eventually moved to Jakarta to escape fighting between the Dutch and Indonesian nationalists.[5] By the time Liesbet was seventeen, she was known locally for her beauty, and appeared as a fashion model in magazines and newspapers.[5] In 1950, she travelled from Bandung to Singapore in a group led by Fifi Young, who held a kebaya fashion show there.[6]

While she was with her aunt and uncle in Malaysia, Liesbet became interested in the Maria Hertogh riots, which were occurring at the time. Maria Hertogh was a Dutch girl who was sent to live with a Malay Muslim family, and became the subject of a highly publicized custody battle which led to religious race riots in Singapore. Due to Liesbet's interest in the case, and her birthplace of Manado, Indonesia, she was dubbed "Maria of Manado" by friends. The name stuck, and for the rest of her career in films she was referred to as Maria Menado.

After Maria's photos appeared in newspapers and magazines as a fashion model, her career as a film actress began in 1951. Shaw Brothers offered Maria the role of the leading lady alongside P. Ramlee in the film "Penghidupan".

However, it was her role as a vampire in the film "Pontianak" that gave Maria fame in 1957. "Pontianak" was the first Malay horror film. The script for this film is a collaboration with her ex-husband, A. Razak Sheikh Mohamed. Maria supplied the vampire stories she had heard while in Indonesia and they weaved the film's plot together.

Her transformation from a beautiful woman to a hunchback and then a vampire took hours of decorating. Maria also had to lean back without moving so that the change could be filmed little by little. Unlike now, there were no computer graphics back then to make corrections, and everything had to be done manually. However, the film reaches a fairly realistic level as can be seen from the reports of several people fainting after watching the shocking scenes. Its screening in Cathay cinemas lasted for 12 days. This is a major achievement, especially because Malay films have never been shown in Cathay cinemas. Maria then acted in the following two sequels, Dendam Pontianak (1957) and Sumpah Pontianak (1958).

At the height of her fame, she was given the role of an evil character alongside Shammi Kapoor in a Hindi film titled "Singapore". The film was shot in Singapore and Mumbai. In a period of 12 years, Maria acted in more than 20 films including her own production, Maria Menado Production (M. M. Production) through the film Siti Zubaidah in 1961. She was the first Malay female film producer.

Maria herself played the main role as Siti Zubaidah. Her involvement as a producer was not only proud but she also played the role of producer and actress at the same time which is rarely done by a producer.

Three other films produced by her company are Darahku, Bunga Tanjung and Pontianak Kembali.

In 1963, Menado married Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang, who was 27 years her senior. The marriage ended Menado's film career as her films were no longer allowed to be screened in the theatres or on television.[7] They had three children: Tengku Norashikin Sultan Abu Bakar, Tengku Idris Sultan Abu Bakar, and Tengku Baharuddin Sultan Abu Bakar.[7] Menado died of an old age on 30 April 2026, at the age of 94. She was buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.[8]

Awards and nominations

edit
    • Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) - Dato' (1980)
    • Darjah Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP) - Dato' Sri (24 October 2017)
Year Award Film Category Results
1957 Malaysian Film Festival Pontianak Best Actress Won
1951/1952 Malaysian Film Festival Penghidupan Best Supporting Actress

Filmography

edit
YearFilmDirectorStudioNotesRef.
1951Live (Penghidupan)L. KrishnanMalay Film ProductionsCo-starring Malaysian actor P. Ramlee.[9]
1951Pearl Island (Pulau Mutiara)S. RamanathanMalay Film Productions[10]
1952Jewel in the Slum (Permata di-Perlimbahan)Haji MahadiMalay Film ProductionsOften considered the first film by a Malaysian director.[11]
1952 Farmer Girl (Gadis Peladang) B. S. Rajhans Malay Film Productions
1954Temptation (Nafsu)L. KrishnanCathay-Keris Film Productions[12]
1954Gamble (Pertarohan)L. KrishnanCathay-Keris Film Productions[13]
1955Riding on Love/Loving Another (Kasih Menumpang)L. KrishnanCathay-Keris Film Productions[14]
1955Happy Holidays (Selamat Hari Raya)L. KrishnanCathay-Keris Productions[15]
1955My Brothers and Sisters (Saudaraku)Laurie FriedmanCathay-Keris Productions[16]
1957Vampire (Pontianak)B.N. RaoCathay-Keris ProductionsThe first in the popular Pontianak trilogy, now believed to be a lost film.[17]
1957Vampire's Revenge (Dendam Pontianak)B.N. RaoCathay-Keris ProductionsThe second in the Pontianak trilogy, now believed to be a lost film.[18]
1958The Curse of the Vampire (Sumpah Pontianak)B.N. RaoCathay-Keris ProductionsThe third and final film in the Pontianak trilogy.[19]
1958The Elusive Man (Orang Lichin)L. KrishnanCathay-Keris Productions[20]
1958Pomegranate Shawl (Selendang Delima)K.M. BaskerCathay-Keris Productions[21]
1958The Sun (Mata Hari)Ramon EstellaMalay Film Productions[22]
1959 Habis Gelap Datang Terang (Gone Dark Comes Light) Ho Ah Loke & Usmar Ismail Merdeka Film Enterprise & Perfini
1960SingaporeShakti SamantaEagle Films[23]
1961Sultan Mahmud Dies (Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang)K.M. BaskerCathay-Keris Film Productions[24]
1961Victim of Malice (Korban Fitnah)Usmar IsmailMalay Film Productions[25]
1961Siti ZubaidahB.N. RaoCathay-Keris, Maria Menado ProductionsThe first film Menado produced and released under her production company, Siti Zubaidah is adapted from a famous Malaysian poem.[26]
1962Tun FatimahSalleh GhaniCathay-Keris Film Productions[27]
1963King Bersiong (Raja Bersiong)K.M. BaskerCathay-Keris, Maria Menado ProductionsReleased under Menado's production company.[28]
1963My Blood (Darahku)Ramon EstellaCathay-Keris, Maria Menado ProductionsReleased under Menado's production company.[29]
1963Cape of Flowers (Bunga Tanjong)Ramon EstellaCathay-Keris, Maria Menado ProductionsReleased under Menado's production company.[30]
1964The Vampire Returns (Pontianak Kembali)Ramon EstellaCathay-Keris, Maria Menado ProductionsAn addition to the Pontianak series, released under Menado's production company.[31]
2015 Our Sister Mambo Ho Widing Cathay Asia Films

References

edit
  1. ↑ The Star Online
  2. ↑ Dr. Rilly Ray Rajkumar (4 September 2014). From Fear To Freedom. Dorrance Publishing. pp. 97–99. ISBN 978-1-4809-1094-2.
  3. ↑ Utusan Malaysia, 2007 (Malaysian)
  4. ↑ "'Sihir' Maria Menado di Perfilman Tanah Melayu". suara.com (in Indonesian). 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  5. 1 2 3 4 ZIEMAN. "A role she will always be remembered for". The Star. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  6. ↑ Siapa Dato' Maria Menado, retrieved 2023-04-29
  7. 1 2 "Dato' Sri Maria Menado Isteri Terakhir Sultan Abu Bakar". Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  8. ↑ minit, 30 April 2026 03:04pmMasa membaca: 4 (2026-04-30). "Seniwati legenda, Maria Menado meninggal dunia". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 2026-04-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Sumpah Pontianak". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 26 December 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Malay Wikipedia. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  23. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Victim of Slander". IMDb. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  26. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  27. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  29. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  31. ↑ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Menado&oldid=1354447522"