Remembering Joe
Remembering the 9th death anniversary of Sri Lanka’s finest character actor Joe Abeywickrema, a ceremony and film screening will be held tomorrow, September 21 at 6 pm at the National Film Corporation.
A. D. Ranjith Kumara
Joe was natural actor who excelled both in the arty and commercial movies. Initially started as a comedian Joe ended up playing internationally award winning roles.
Over six decades of his acting career, Joe Abeywickrama had acted in 172 films.
Born on June 22, 1927 as Deshabandu Gammana Patabendige Don John “Joe” Abeywickrama, he began acting in 1955 and achieved fame as a comedic actor.
He has won 18 Sarasavi Awards and Presidential Awards. At the 1999 Singapore International Film Festival, Abeywickrama won a Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Actor for his portrayal of a grieving father in Pura Handa Kaluwara (Death on a Full Moon Day), a first for a Sri Lankan. He is also widely known as one of the three crowned kings of Sri Lankan cinema history. THe other two are Gamini Fonseka and Tony Ranasinghe.
Commemoration speech will be delivered by veteran journalist and author A. D. Ranjith Kumara followed by screening of D. B. Nihalsinghe’s ‘Weli Kathara’ in which Joe played the unforgttable role of ‘Goring Mudalali’.
