Sabu Dastagir (or Selar Shaik Sabu, depending on your resource) was born on January 27, 1924, in the little town of Mysore, India, which is nestled in the jungles of Karapur. The son of an elephant driver (mahout) in service for the Maharajah of his town, the young stable boy learned responsibility early in life when, at age 9, his father died and...
Was the first actor to play the Character Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling's, Jungle Book.
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Was one of the many dozen of Hollywood celebrities who made regular weekend visits to Ralph Helfer Africa U.S.A. Exotic Animal Ranch in Soledad Canyon, California to play with the animals and to pitch in with the chores.
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He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and served with distinction.
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He received his citizenship papers on January 4, 1944.
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When Sabu's brother was killed by a robber in 1960, and the actor had to take over management of their furniture store. He was in the process of making a comeback when he suffered a fatal heart attack.
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Before entering the service during WWII the actor participated in the Treasury Department's defense bond campaign, touring thirty cities and broadcasting on radio.
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Director George Stevens sought to borrow Sabu for the title role of "Gunga Din" (1939) but producer Alexander Korda refused to loan out his star. Aware of this, actor Sam Jaffe patterned his audition for Gunga Din after Sabu and won the coveted role. In order to give his best performance, Jaffe reportedly told himself "Think Sabu" before each scene was shot.
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He was 12 years old and cleaning out the stables of a wealthy Indian maharajah when he was spotted by director Robert J. Flaherty, who was in India looking for a lead for his film Elephant Boy (1937).
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Most reference books list his full name as Sabu Dastigir, but research by journalist Philip Liebfried suggests that was his brother's name, and that Sabu's full name was, in fact, Selar Shaik Sabu.
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In the late 1940s and 1950s, he was among the richest stars in Hollywood. In an era in which white actors often played Asian characters, he was respected not only for his physique but also for his natural acting abilities. He was a friend to many Hollywood actors including James Stewart and Ronald Reagan.
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The first Indian actor to make it big in Hollywood. However, he was restricted to stereotypical roles of Indians.
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According to his widow, actress Marilyn Cooper, Sabu had a complete physical just a few days before his death, at which time his doctor told him, "If all my patients were as healthy as you, I'd be out of business." Thus, his sudden death of a heart attack at the age of 39 came as even more of a shock than it would have been otherwise. His last film, Disney's A Tiger Walks (1964), was released posthumously, to good reviews.
$10 Million
