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Raden Mas ''Priyayi'' (also spelled ''Priayi''; former spelling: ''Prijaji'') was the Dutch-era class of the nobles of the robe, as opposed to royal nobility or '' ningrat'' ( Javanese), in Java, Indonesia. ''Priyayi'' is a Javanese word originally den ...
Kartolo (died 18 January 1949) was an Indonesian actor and songwriter. Born in
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
to a noble family, he entered the theatre and married the actress Roekiah around 1933. The two, living in Batavia (now Jakarta) acted in numerous movies together, starting with the 1938 hit . However, Roekiah was always cast with other actors as her romantic interest. After Roekiah died in 1945, Kartolo brought the family to Yogyakarta and worked with
Radio Republik Indonesia (Radio of the Republic of Indonesia, abbreviated as RRI, stylized in logo in all-lowercase) is a public radio network of Indonesia and one of Indonesia's two national Public Broadcasting Institutions, the other being the public television n ...
until his death. One of his sons, Rachmat Kartolo, went on to be an actor in the 1960s and 1970s.


Early life and career

Kartolo was born in
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
,
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
(now Indonesia), as the son of Honggodimedjo who was of
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...
descent. Around 1933, while a member of the Palestina touring troupe, he met his future wife Roekiah, a stage actress and singer of ''
keroncong Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; , ) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ''kroncong''). A ''kroncong'' ...
'' music (traditional music with Portuguese influences) in the Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) area. After leaving Palestina, in 1934 they toured in Singapore with the Faroka troupe.


Film career

In 1937 Kartolo made his first film appearance as a supporting character and comedic relief in
Albert Balink Albert Balink (3 August 1906 – 8 February 1976) was a Dutch journalist and filmmaker who contributed to early Indonesian cinema. Born in the Netherlands, he began a career in film journalism in the Dutch East Indies. A self-taught filmmaker, ...
's (''Full Moon''). Roekiah starred alongside Rd. Mochtar; the two played young lovers. was a commercial success, drawing over 200,000
Straits dollars The Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1898 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Kingdom of Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo. Histor ...
during its international release in
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...
. As Algemeen Nederlandsch Indisch Filmsyndicaat, which had produced , stopped its work on
feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
s, Kartolo and many other cast and crew members migrated to
Tan's Film Tan's Film was a film production house in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). Established by the brothers Tan Khoen Yauw and Tan Khoen Hian on September 1, 1929, its films were mostly targeted at native ethnic groups. Starting with '' Njai ...
. In this time, Kartolo and Roekiah established the short-lived Troupe, which saw another tour to Singapore. With Tan's, Kartolo and the migrants were utilised for the 1938 hit ''
Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...
'', starring Roekiah and Mochtar; Kartolo once again took a secondary role. This film, which closely followed the formula established by , was a commercial success, earning 200,000 gulden on a 7,000 gulden budget and establishing Roekiah and Mochtar as the nation's first on-screen celebrity couple; when Mochtar left Tan's in 1940, Rd. Djoemala took over as Roekiah's on-screen love interest. Kartolo continued to act in secondary roles alongside his wife, with her singing songs he wrote: the couple received a monthly holding fee of 200 gulden, twice as much as they had been given for . They were also given a house in Tanah Rendah. Kartolo and Roekiah appeared in six further films together, although never as lovers. Film production in the Indies declined after the Japanese occupation beginning in early 1942, in which all but one studio was closed. Kartolo acted in two
propaganda films Propaganda Films (stylized as PЯOPAGAИDA FILMS) was a production company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by American producer Steve Golin, Icelandic producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson, English director Nigel Dick, and American directors David Fi ...
for this occupation government, although not alongside Roekiah: Kartolo was in the 1943 feature-length ''
Berdjoang ''Berdjoang'' (literally "struggle", also known under the title ''Hope of the South'') is a 1943 film from the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The film, produced by the Japanese studio ''Nippon Eigasha'', is credited as havi ...
'' (''Hope of the South'') and the 1944 short ''Djatoeh Berkait'' (''Fall Together''), while Roekiah was in the 1944 short ''Ke Seberang'' (''To the Other Side'').


Later life

After Roekiah's death in 1945, Kartolo left Jakarta (renamed during the occupation) with their five children and worked at
Radio Republik Indonesia (Radio of the Republic of Indonesia, abbreviated as RRI, stylized in logo in all-lowercase) is a public radio network of Indonesia and one of Indonesia's two national Public Broadcasting Institutions, the other being the public television n ...
for three years. This period was one of great turmoil, as the
Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...
, a fight against the Dutch who had returned to recapture the Indies after the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...
in 1945, was in full swing. When the Dutch captured Yogyakarta following
Operation Kraai Operation Kraai (Operation Crow) was a Dutch military offensive against the '' de facto'' Republic of Indonesia in December 1948, following the failure of negotiations. With the advantage of surprise, the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesi ...
in December 1948, Kartolo refused to cooperate with the colonial government. He died soon afterwards, on 18 January 1949. Of Kartolo and Roekiah's five children, one died while in Yogyakarta while the rest were brought to Jakarta and raised by Kartolo's close friend Adikarso. One of them, Rachmat Kartolo, went on to be an actor, active up through the 1970s.


Filmography

* (''Full Moon''; 1937) *''
Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...
'' (1938) *''
Siti Akbari ''Siti Akbari'' is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong and produced by Tan Khoen Yauw. Starring Roekiah and Rd Mochtar, it follows a couple while the husband commits adultery. Plot Siti ...
'' (1940) *'' Gagak Item'' (''Black Raven''; 1939) *'' Roekihati'' (1940) *'' Sorga Ka Toedjoe'' (''Seventh Heaven''; 1940) *'' Poesaka Terpendam'' (''Buried Heritage''; 1941) *'' Koeda Sembrani'' (''The Enchanted Horse''; 1942) *''
Berdjoang ''Berdjoang'' (literally "struggle", also known under the title ''Hope of the South'') is a 1943 film from the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The film, produced by the Japanese studio ''Nippon Eigasha'', is credited as havi ...
'' (''Hope of the South''; 1943) *''Djatoeh Berkait'' (''Fall Together''; 1944; short film)


References

Footnotes Bibliography * * * * *


External links

* {{authority control Year of birth uncertain 1949 deaths Male actors from the Dutch East Indies Indonesian songwriters People from Yogyakarta 20th-century Indonesian male actors