Eddy Sud, promoter of local talents, passed away at 68

Eddy Sud, promoter of local talents, passed away at 68

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although he had been absent from show business for many years, for people who grew up watching then state-controlled TVRI, seasoned entertainer Eddy Sud will always be remembered.

Eddy passed away on Aug. 16 due to liver, heart and kidney problems. He had been sick for quite some time but only treated at the home of one of his daughters in Surakarta until his condition deteriorated on Sunday.

He was taken to Mawardi Hospital but pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Beside being known as the father of TVRI's variety show for local entertainers Aneka Ria Safari, Eddy was also a prominent comedian.

Born as Eddy Sudihardjo on Aug. 20, 1937 in Sayangan village in Klaten, Central Java, Eddy kicked off his career as an entertainer after graduating from the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University's school of economics. He co-founded a comedy group called "Ebi" along with Bagio and Iskak.

Together with Bing Slamet, Ateng and Iskak, in the 1960s he founded the legendary "Kwartet Jaya."

Perhaps due to a lack of competition, this group maintained its stardom until the 1970s when a new crop of comedians like the Warkop Prambors emerged. Even so, to some junior comedians Kwartet Jaya was considered to be setting a new standard of professionalism for the country's comedy scene, which was then dominated by traditional groups like Srimulat and Betawi native Benjamin S. and friends.

"Kwartet Jaya lent something different to our comedy scene. With its creative jokes that transcended ethnicities and social classes, it inspired the young comedians of the day," said top comedian Dedi "Mi'ing" Gumelar as quoted by Antara.

"Our world of comedians is in mourning because Eddy Sud left us all for good," Mi'ing said in his speech at the funeral.

Mi'ing is one of the executives of the newly established Indonesian Comedian Association of which Eddy was a founder.

A man with a God-given talent for making people laugh, Eddy also proved to be a skillful leader among comedians and singers under Artis Safari (or the Safari entertainer's group). Aside from regular performances on TVRI this group worked like a cooperative for its members.

Through this group also, Eddy stepped into the political arena as he was embraced by the Golkar Party, which used the Safari entertainers to attract voters.

Under the Soeharto administration, some artists -- mostly affiliated with Golkar -- served as members of the House of Representatives, including Eddy, singer Titiek Puspa and king of dangdut Rhoma Irama.

Entertainer Eko Patrio said Eddy's dream had been to revive Artis Safari but there had been long delays (because of his tight schedule). "We never had a chance to work on it," Eko said.

"Personally it's a big loss for me and other entertainer friends who knew Eddy," he added.

"He was a fatherly leader and very supportive of new emerging entertainers,"Detik.com quoted top dangdut singer Vety Vera as saying.

The music industry also owes a lot to Eddy's breakthroughs in recruiting musicians and a new crop of singers.

A member of group Fafarid, Is Haryanto spoke of Eddy's eye for picking talent and launching careers.

In the 1970s through until the 1980s Eddy worked tirelessly to find new stars for TVRI's in-house programs, which was no easy job.

"Such skill in organizing fellow entertainers has not been displayed by this generation, It must be a challenge for them," Is Haryanto continued.

Time passed and the television industry thrived, new private stations offered innovative programs from home and abroad, and Aneka Ria Safari was deserted by its audience.

Eddy's marriage to the late Lili Rusina, the mother of four of his children, ended.

He then married emerging dangdut singer Itje Tresnawati with whom he had two children.

However, the success of his career was not reflected in his marriage. In 2003, Itje filed for divorce but shortly retracted the suit. The couple reunited. A year later, Itje again filed for divorce. She remarried, leaving Eddy brokenhearted.

"Although they were divorced, we also sent the news to Ibu Itje but she said she couldn't come because her brother-in-law in Tasikmalaya also passed away," one of Eddy children, Irawan Achmad said.

Irawan said his father had not declared his wishes regarding his property in his last days, but his children remembered his dream of building a mosque in his hometown.

"We will sell bapak's land in Jakarta to finance the building," he said.