Today’s Doodle honors Sudirman Haji Arshad, the Malaysian singer, songwriter, author, visual artist, and actor known as “Sudirman” to his legions of fans. Born the youngest of seven children in Temerloh, Pahang, on this day in 1954, Sudirman worked as a journalist and an attorney before becoming one of the most popular performers in Asia, remembered for his piercing tenor voice and for staging one of the largest free concerts in Malaysian history.

Sudirman’s singing career surged after winning a contest on Bintang Radio Television Malaysia, and he went on to top the charts in Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia. On April 15, 1986 he performed for a crowd of over 100,000 on Kuala Lumpur’s Chow Kit Road. Lifted above the audience by crane, Sudirman delivered a performance that delighted a crowd that included Malay, Chinese, and Indian fans.

At London’s Royal Albert Hall, Sudirman won acclaim at the Asian Popular Music Awards in 1989, singing his signature hit “A Thousand Million Smiles” as well as a rendition of “Send In The Clowns” with choreography that paid tribute to Charlie Chaplin. The performance helped to raise Sudirman’s international profile. He would go on to travel the world from Hawaii and Asia through the Middle East and Europe.

As he toured, signing autographs – even if he felt was a chore – was a responsibility he undertook willingly. “He would sign every autograph, never refuse anyone who wanted to take a picture with him, always have a warm welcoming smile and was always humble,” said his former manager, Daniel Dharanee Kannan.

Appointed a "Singing Ambassador" by the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Sudi expanded his audience by singing in Malay as well as English, Tamil, Tagalog, Korean, and a number of Chinese dialects. He was also known for his weekly television show, during which he would sometimes serenade a member of the audience while sketching their portrait.

He also appeared in the film Kami, about orphans living in Kuala Lumpur, and wrote the children’s book Taming Si Budak Pintar. With 14 albums to his credit, Sudirman received the Malaysian music industry’s Anugerah Industri Muzik award. A street was named after him in his hometown and the Sudirman Scholarship Fund was established to support performing artists.

Selamat Hari lahir, Sudirman Haji Arshad!