He was born in Java in 1925, of Bawean descent, raised in Pasir Panjang, and he entered Malay Film Productions in 1952 as a general studio hand — clapper board, assisting the editor, whatever the day required. He was not hired to be seen.
What got him in front of the camera was physical. An unusual agility, a gift for mimicry, and a face that could not stay still. B.S. Rajhans started giving him bit parts, and by the time Bujang Lapok arrived in 1957 he had become one third of the most durable comic partnership in the region's history.
His function in the trio was kinetic. Where Ramlee schemed and Sudin doubted, Aziz acted — immediately, on impulse, usually wrongly. The fiery temper, the impromptu dance, the rapid-fire verbal sparring: he was the engine, and the reason the comedy has momentum rather than merely wit. He also punctured Ramlee's romantic delusions with a cynicism that kept the character from turning sentimental.
Eleven films together between Semerah Padi in 1956 and Seniman Bujang Lapok in 1961, plus the double act with Shamsuddin as the thieves Badan and Nyawa in Nujum Pak Belalang. His 1983 oral history deposition at the National Archives of Singapore is the primary source on how the trio actually worked — the rehearsal methods, the unscripted beats, how much of what looks improvised was rehearsed and how much genuinely wasn't.
He became a significant director in his own right after Jalan Ampas — Keluarga Si Comat (1975), Prebet Lapok (1979), Setinggan (1981) — and a pillar of the revived Panca Sitara. He was made a Datuk in 2007 and died on 6 May 2014, a year after Shamsuddin, closing the era they had built together.
Beliau dilahirkan di Jawa pada 1925, berketurunan Bawean, dibesarkan di Pasir Panjang, dan memasuki Malay Film Productions pada 1952 sebagai budak papan klap dan pembantu penyunting. Beliau bukan diambil bekerja untuk dilihat.
Apa yang membawanya ke hadapan kamera bersifat fizikal. Ketangkasan yang luar biasa, bakat meniru gaya, dan wajah yang tidak mampu diam. B.S. Rajhans mula memberinya watak-watak kecil, dan menjelang kemunculan Bujang Lapok pada 1957, beliau telah menjadi satu pertiga daripada gandingan komedi paling tahan lasak dalam sejarah rantau ini.
Fungsinya dalam trio itu bersifat kinetik. Jika Ramlee merancang muslihat dan Sudin meragui, Aziz bertindak — serta-merta, mengikut dorongan hati, dan lazimnya tersilap. Baran yang panas, tarian spontan, pertikaman lidah yang pantas: beliau enjinnya, dan sebab mengapa komedi itu memiliki momentum, bukan sekadar kecerdikan. Beliau juga mencantas khayalan romantik Ramlee dengan sinisme yang menghalang watak itu daripada bertukar cengeng.
Sebelas buah filem bersama antara Semerah Padi pada 1956 hingga Seniman Bujang Lapok pada 1961, ditambah gandingan dwitunggal bersama Shamsuddin sebagai pencuri Badan dan Nyawa dalam Nujum Pak Belalang. Rakaman sejarah lisannya pada 1983 di Arkib Negara Singapura ialah sumber utama tentang cara trio itu benar-benar bekerja — kaedah latihan, babak tanpa skrip, dan berapa banyak yang kelihatan spontan itu sebenarnya dilatih serta berapa banyak yang benar-benar tidak.
Beliau menjadi pengarah yang berwibawa selepas era Jalan Ampas — Keluarga Si Comat (1975), Prebet Lapok (1979), Setinggan (1981) — dan tonggak kepada kebangkitan semula Panca Sitara. Beliau dianugerahkan gelaran Datuk pada 2007 dan meninggal dunia pada 6 Mei 2014, setahun selepas Shamsuddin, menutup era yang mereka bina bersama.