Veteran Singapore actor Osman Zailani dies

SINGAPORE: Veteran actor Osman Zailani has died, according to his grandson Hady Mirza. He was 85.
Hady said in a Facebook post that Osman died at 9.15 pm yesterday at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Local media reports said the veteran actor had been ill for the past 18 days and was admitted to the hospital two days before Aidilfitri (on Sunday) for a suspected lung infection.
The remains of Osman would be brought back to his residence in Yishun today and the funeral prayers would be conducted at Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang after the Zohor prayers, said Hady, winner of Singapore Idol Season Two.
Osman, whose real name was Mohammad Kechut, had been active in the arts scene in Singapore and Malaysia.
The character of businessman ‘Johan’ that he played in the drama series ‘PJ Holdings’ in the 1980s may still be fresh in the minds of his fans.
He had also acted in the film ‘Kami’ alongside the late Malaysian entertainer extraordinaire Sudirman Arshad.
Osman had also played the character ‘Ong Lee’ in the Hollywood crime TV series ‘Hawaii Five-O’ as well as ‘Bob’ in the film ‘Saint Jack’.
In 2013, at the Singapore Pesta Perdana 12, he won the Best Actor award for his supporting role in the special drama ‘Terbelenggu’. — Bernama