Veteran Actor Dorman Borisman Passes Away

"I have known him since we were both active at the Gelanggang Remaja Jakarta Timur, near the PFN building (National Film Production). I was a student of Bang Dorman. We were into theater there since 1983. So, we have known and interacted with each other for around 40 years," said Eddie, who is also an actor and scriptwriter, on Wednesday (May 8th, 2024).

Even though he is famous and has been involved in many Indonesian films, added Eddie, Dorman's character is very modest and not "rumongso" or arrogant. In fact, Eddie assessed that as an artist, the deceased was very well known, recognized for his acting abilities and was inspiring. Many of Dorman's acting students are successful and exist in their respective fields now.

Not only that, as a senior actor, Dorman is still eager to learn and diligently reads books. It is not only related to the field of arts but also other topics such as philosophy, anthropology, and religion, while also being active in writing various works such as drama scripts, films, and articles. Unfortunately, most of Dorman's writings are not published.

"He also enjoys making music and has mastered the instruments guitar, piano and keyboard. His book collection is quite large. "Some time ago he donated his collection of books and musical instruments to the Humanities Studio that I founded," said Eddie.

After being laid to rest at a funeral home in the Dukuh village area, Kramatjati, East Jakarta, the deceased was buried at the Suci Susukan Cemetery in Ciracas. The deceased is survived by a wife, Sukowati (64), and a son, Gagah Pangestu Gusti (32).

Sick for a long time

Regarding the deceased's illness, Eddie said that Dorman had been suffering from illness for the last five years. Due to his physical condition increasingly making it impossible for him to carry out activities, the deceased was no longer able to work or act for the last two years. Several shooting offers from two private television stations were canceled.

"The brother has been in and out of the hospital for the past five years. He had a stroke before. In the past year, he experienced impaired verbal communication. So, he can only communicate through gestures. In addition, there is also diabetes. A week ago, he was taken to the hospital because he had to amputate his right leg," added Eddie.

The process of amputating Dorman's right leg took place on April 30, 2024. Since then, according to Eddie, Dorman's condition has continued to decline until he breathed his last breath on Tuesday evening.

Also read: Dorman “Poltak” Borisman, specializing in supporting roles at Warkop DKI, passes away

Toto Soegriwo, a colleague and also a producer who is active in the organization of the Association of Cinema Entrepreneurs throughout Indonesia (GPBSI), expressed the same sadness. According to Toto, the senior actor had been fighting illness for the past five years. For Toto, going in and out of the hospital had become a new routine for the late actor.

In addition, Dorman experienced two strokes. The first stroke occurred in 2018. The deceased was also diagnosed with diabetes. The second stroke had a significant impact on his health condition.

Toto added that since September 2023, Dorman has had difficulty communicating verbally due to his stroke. "But he can still communicate using gestures. His condition also worsened in the early fasting month of March 2024. At that time, he was treated in the ICU for three weeks," said Toto.

Batak accent

As a talented actor, Dorman's acting ability is highly admired. According to senior journalist Yan Widjaya, although he originally came from the Javanese ethnic group, Dorman's acting skills and accent were very convincing when he played a Batak character. In fact, Dorman is often mistaken for a Batak person due to his ability.

“He always plays the role of a Batak man. In fact, he is a genuine Javanese. In fact, it is often mistaken for Batak people. He is also often thought to be part of the members (comedy group) Warkop DKI. In fact, he only played in two Warkop DKI films, Pintar Pintar Dudoh (1980) and Human Six Million Dollars (1981). "He is often labeled as a comedian, even though he is an actor," said Yan when contacted by telephone, Wednesday.

Yan further explained that Dorman's career in the world of acting began in 1977 with the drama film entitled Ku Gapai Cintamu (1977) by Wim Umboh. Next, he took part in strengthening the cast in the film Suci Sang Primadona (1977) directed by Arifin C Noer.

Also read: Babe Cabiita, the persistent comic has passed away

Every year, Dorman takes part in a number of film productions under the direction of famous directors. Starting from Wim, Arifin, Ismail Soebardjo, Adhi Soerya Abdi, to Jopi Burnama. In 1980, he entered the comedy genre through the Warkop DKI films.

In 1980, even though he always played supporting roles, Dorman became increasingly popular because of the various film genres he acted in. He tried out everything from drama, comedy to horror. Several drama films even collaborated with famous stars at that time, namely Rano Karno. Some of these include the films Roman Picisan (1980), Your Place on My Side (1980), and Nostalgia in High School (1980).

Several years later, Dorman, who had also played in Queen of Black Magic (1981) with Suzanna, continued to play in horror films. For example,Telaga Angker (1984), The Wake of Nyi Roro Kidul (1985), Friday Night Kliwon (1986), Malam Satu Suro (1988), to Revenge of Satan Karang Bolong (1989).

In 1990, he returned to starring in films with Rano Karno and Merriam Bellina under the direction of Arifin C Noer in the film Taksi (1990) which won the Citra Cup. Vacuum from the big screen for a while, Dorman was then busy in the children's series Saras 008 until 2004.

”After that he entered again on the big screen from 9 Dragons (2006), Serdadu Kumbang (2011), Garuda on My Chest 2 (2011) , A Little Letter to God (2017), to The New Rich (2019). "Until the last moment, the deceased had played in 54 films and five soap operas," said Yan.

Goodbye Dorman. Rest in peace.