KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — More than 200 family members, friends and those in the performing arts community turned up for the funeral service of Samantha Schubert at St John’s Cathedral in Bukit Nanas here yesterday.
Her group of friends, dubbed the “Watermelon Sisters”, stood together during the sombre ceremony, leading the congregation into traditional hymns such as Just a Closer Walk With Thee and Amazing Grace, believed to be Schubert’s favourite songs.
Her husband, Oliver Knott, 47, and their three children — Jody Pearl, 12, Harry, 10, and Thomas, seven — joined several public figures and performing arts luminaries, including Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Datuk Faridah Merican, Datuk Zahim Albakri, Marion D’Cruz and Sean Ghazi, in the hour-long church service led by Fr Clarence Devadass.
Actress Susan Lankester read an eulogy by Schubert’s godfather, Malcolm Williams, who was not present.
Williams recounted his care of a nine-year-old girl sent to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire to study music, dance and drama.
“Sometimes I took on the role of her brother, sometimes her father and sometimes even her mother,” he said.
“It was such a privilege, she was a joy to look after — ever so sweet and well-behaved.”
The daughter of public relations expert and businesswoman Datuk Paddy Bowie, Schubert showed much promise for the arts at age three. She lost her father, Carl, when she was six.
Schubert later found success as a dancer, model and actress in the 1980s and 1990s as she shuffled between England and Malaysia.
Her chief accolade came in 1991 when she was crowned Miss Malaysia/World. She went on to star in film and television, notably in Red Kebaya (1994), directed by Knott, and Amok (1997), in addition to a memorable Nescafe commercial.
She married Knott in 2002.
Williams said Knott’s father, Steve, served with the British armed forces in post-Merdeka Malaya and “just felt something right” about his son’s marriage to Schubert after finding out about her nationality.
Schubert continued acting after marriage, and she and her husband also owned a pub, The Scarlett Arms, in the Surrey countryside for a while. It is understood they hosted occasional Malaysian nights, popular among the locals.
Williams noted how well regarded Schubert was in the village community.
“Even there she was a star,” he said.
“Samantha was a delightfully complex mixture of introvert and extrovert. On stage she exuded self-confidence.
“But for those of us who knew her well, we also saw her little insecurities in times of vulnerability.
“This is why people admired her and, at the same time, wanted to protect her.”
There were special mentions for “two great friends” — Lankester and singer-songwriter Melissa Indot, who were very supportive after Schubert was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last August.
Schubert died on Monday, two days after turning 47.
After the memorial service, her remains were taken to the City Hall crematorium in Cheras.
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