Annie Landouw

Landouw was born in Surakarta, Central Java, in 1913. She lost her sight following an extended illness as a child, and was not long afterwards adopted by her aunt and uncle. In 1927 she competed in – and won – her first singing competition, a Concours concert at a night fair in Surakarta. As a result, she was approached by Beka, a recording company, which signed her. She moved to Batavia (now Jakarta), the capital of the Dutch East Indies, soon afterwards and quickly rose in popularity.[1]

By 1938 Landouw had joined the NIROM radio troupe, singing keroncong. The following year she joined Hugo Dumas' troupe Lief Java.[1] During this period she became active in film. In 1938 she provided vocals for Fatima, a production by Tan's Film;[2] she provided vocals again for Tan's 1939 film Gagak Item (Black Raven).[3] She made her onscreen debut later that year, with Siti Akbari. In 1940 she appeared in two further films, Sorga Ka Toedjoe (Seventh Heaven) and Roekihati.[4]

Landouw's prowess singing keroncong rendered her immensely popular. In 1940, the blind singer was scheduled for eye surgery.[5] Her fans organised a fundraising campaign to help her pay for it, although ultimately Landouw refused the charity.[5]

After Indonesia's independence, Landouw continued singing; however, she acted in no further films.[1] She died on 17 August 1982.[1]

Music scholar Peter Keppy suggests that, because of her popularity as a keroncong singer, Landouw may have influenced the character of Yah in Armijn Pane's 1940 novel Belenggu;[6] in the novel, Yah is famous as a keroncong singer under the stage name Siti Hayati.[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Annie Landouw.

• Annie Landouw at IMDb