Miss Riboet II

This article is about the Indonesian actress. For the theatrical troupe, see Miss Riboet's Orion.

Miss Riboet II (born 1908, date of death unknown), also known as Miss Riboet Muda, was an Indonesian actress and singer who was active from the 1920s until 1950s and was one of the top five stars of Dardanella, along with Devi Dja, Astaman, Tan Tjeng Bok, and Ferry Kock. She was the mother of actress Netty Herawaty and was considered as the part of Classical Indonesian Cinema.

Miss Riboet II
Born	1908 (1908) Palembang, Dutch East Indies
Nationality	Indonesian
Other names	Miss Riboet II
Occupations	Actress singer costume designer
Years active	1927–1956
Spouses	Soepingi ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1942)​ Soepilin ​ (m. 1942)​
Children	Netty Herawaty
Relatives	Darussalam (son-in-law)

Early life

Riboet was born in 1908 in Palembang, Dutch East Indies, as the daughter of KNIL soldier. When she was born, there were a conflict after the conquest of the Djambi Sultanate by KNIL troops and the establishment of the Djambi residency in 1906. Her family moved to Sumbawa after her father retired and raised her there. She married and became a widow at the age of 14 and later joined the Menangkabau Opera, a stamboel troupe in Sumbawa.

Personal life

Riboet was married to Soepingi, a violinist whom she meet during her time in Menangkabau Opera, in 1922. They later moved to Java Island where she gave birth to a daughter, Netty Herawaty, in 1929. Her daughter went to became an actress and later married Darussalam, an actor, in 1945. They were divorced in 1942 and Riboet later remarried in the same year to Soepingi's brother, Soepilin, who still a cousin of Astaman. She was predeceased by her daughter who died in 1989.

Career

Riboet started her career as a singer in Menangkabau Opera and later moved with her husband to Dardanella when they was performed in Sidoarjo. She performed in August 1927 at Orion Theatre in Surabaya, and later performed in Semarang in next year for the first time. For the next seven years, Riboet toured along with Dardanella to several island in Dutch East Indies such as Java, Celebes, Maluku, Borneo, and Sumatra. She was the top stars of Dardanella along with Tan Tjeng Bok and Astaman. During the Sumatra tour from 1930 until 1931, Riboet fell sick in Tanjungbalai and was replaced by Devi Dja. She later became Dardanella's big five along with Astaman, Tan Tjeng Bok, Dja, and Ferry Kock. In mid 1934, Andjar Asmara announced that Dardanella will doing a tour around Malaya and East Asia in 1935. Riboet and her husband later not willing to go abroad and then left Dardanella, they later joined Orpheus troupe.

During her time as an actress in Orpheus, Riboet changed her name to Miss Riboet Muda. With this troupe, she starred in a play from Dardanella's era such as Rentjong Atjeh, Annie van Mendoet, Si Bongkok, Maha Rani, etc. In 1936, Tan Tjeng Bok left Dardanella and joined Orpheus followed by Astaman in March 1937. Riboet remained in Orpheus until the troupe was disbanded in the early 1940s. In December 1942, she joined Bintang Djakarta, a troupe who was founded by Henry Duarte with the name Tjahaja Asia in July 1942, and later reunited with Tan Tjeng Bok. In March 1943, she moved to Djawa Baroe troupe and was nicknamed Nyi Riboet. In Hoekoem Alam play, Riboet starred as a woman who is loyal to her evil husband and remains faithful until him repents and returns to her. She later joined Noesantara troupe whom was established in July 1943 in Cheribon, and was the part of Eihai, a Japanese film distribution company. He met Darussalam, and actor and her partner, who later married her daughter, Netty Herawaty.

During the Indonesian National Revolution, Riboet joined Trimurti troupe whom was established by Soepilin. He later gave the troupe to Darussalam and moved with Riboet to Pantjawarna troupe. After 1949, Riboet started her career in film industry as an actress and costume designer. She made her film debut in Solo Di Waktu Malam (1952), along with Astaman. She later starred in few films such as Gara-gara Djanda Muda (1954), Di Balik Dinding (1955), and Kasih dan Tjinta (1956).

In an interview with Star Weekly magazine in 1958, Riboet stated that an actor in the past was faced with higher demands. She later said that acting in the stage was harder rather in film because there has to be a contact with the public and has to have a loud voice to be heard because in her times there were no microphones.

Controversy

In 1928, Willy A. Piedro was sued by Tio Tek Djien, the owner of Orion troupe and the husband of Miss Riboet. He was annoyed by the news and advertisements that assumed Riboet II who was from Dardanella as Miss Riboet of her troupe, and asked Dardanella's management to stop using the name.

Filmography

Riboet with Ermina Zaenah in a scene from Gara-gara Djanda Muda (1954)

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1952	Solo Di Waktu Malam
1954	Gara-gara Djanda Muda
1955	Di Balik Dinding
1956	Kasih dan Tjinta

Works cited

• Erkelens, Jaap (2022). Dardanella, perintis teater Indonesia modern: duta kesenian Indonesia melanglang buana (in Indonesian). Penerbit Buku Kompas. ISBN 978-623-346-197-9.
• Kompas, Harian (1975-03-27). "Netty Herawati, Suaminya yang Dulu Juga". Kompas (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2023-07-02.