Background
Wahid was born in Indragiri, Indonesia and migrated to Singapore in 1935.
Wahid was born in Indragiri, Indonesia and migrated to Singapore in 1935.
He received his early education at Geylang Malay School. Prior to his acting career, his favorite pastimes was painting which is his hobby since his school days. Because of the quality of his paintings, Wahid was offered a job as a studio set painter at the Cathay Keris Studios at East Coast Road, Singapore at the end of 1956.
In 1957, director B.N. Rao needs a young comedian to be given a role in the film Pontianak.
He noted that Wahid always telling jokes to his co-workers and always making everyone on the set laughed. B.N. Rao decided to include him in Pontianak as a comedian.
The role given to Wahid is the part of satay seller in a village where the people are afraid of Pontianak. Wahid so effectively acted the part of the satay seller that the scene became one of the most memorable scene of the film Pontianak.
The movie Pontianak created its own history when it broke Malay movie theater record, with a total takings of more than one million dollars, the highest amount was then in 1957.
The nickname "Wahid Satay" was given by Loke Wan Tho, owner of Cathay Keris Studios following his appearance as the Satay Manitoba in the original Pontianak movie. Following his huge success in Pontianak, Wahid Satay was promoted from assistant painter to full-time actor with a three-year contract. Wahid is not only competent in the field of acting, he is also a competent singer.
Besides his skills in front of the camera, Wahid also performs live shows to promote his films.
Up to this day, Wahid still get many invitations to perform live on stage. During his Cathay Keris Studio days, Wahid represented his studios at the Asia Pacific Film Festivals in Tokyo, Manila and Hong Kong.
As an actor with Cathay Keris Studios at East Coast Road Singapore, Wahid starred in numerous lead and supporting actor comic parts, which led him to be labelled Jerry Lewis of Singapore. of Malaya.
