Joe Abeywickrama

Abeywickrama was born on 22 June 1927 in Lellopitiya, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka (at that time British Ceylon) and grew up in a rural area. He was the eldest of four children, with two sisters, Nanda Abeywickrama and Missie Abeywickrama, and a brother, Allan Abeywickrama. His surroundings instilled in him a strong appreciation of nature and hard work. His father had a close friendship with John D’Oyly, from whom Abeywickrama received his name, “Joe.” He completed primary education at Dippitigala Mixed School near Lellopitiya. Then he joined Sivali Central College, Ratnapura for his secondary education and then joined St. Aloysius College, Ratnapura for a short period of time. After completing his education, Abeywickrama worked as the manager of the Lellopitiya Co-operative with the support of his brother Allan Abeywickrama, who himself appeared in two Sinhala films. In the 1940s he settled in Colombo and started working for Sirisena Wimalaweera's studio Nawajeewana. Joe married Pushpa Kumari Karunarathna, the daughter of a civil engineer and architect. He first met her while living next door to her family’s home. During those days, Joe would often follow her to the temple, hoping for a chance to speak with her. With the help of Gamini Fonseka's wife Tina who discreetly exchanged letters between them, their acquaintance blossomed into a romance. Joe and Pushpa eventually married and remained together until her death in 2007. They had two children: a daughter, Udeni Kumari Abeywickrama, and a son, Channa Abeywickrama. ==Career==

After settling in Colombo he started working for Sirisena Wimalaweera's studio Nawajeewana. Initially limited to doing office chores, Abeywickrama eventually became involved in films screened in Ratnapura by the studio. He made contacts with film industry insiders while with the studio, and on his leave obtained a role in Devasundari. Abeywickrama began his acting career in stage plays. In 1955, he made his film acting debut with a comedy role in Devasundari directed by M.H. Munas, a Sri Lankan who made films from India. In 1956, he made a role of "comedy detective" in the film Shri 296 directed by Premnath Moraes. In the preceding years, he appeared in many dramatic roles in several critically acclaimed films such as Deepashika, Soldadu Unnehe, Chandiya, Sweep Ticket, Allapu Gedara, Ektam Ge, and Saravita. In 1965, he won the award for the Best Actor at the Sarasaviya Awards for his role "Sarayya" in the film Saravita. In 1971, he acted in the film Welikathara directed by D. B. Nihalsinghe, where he played the role of "Gorin Mudalali". He also starred in Mahagama Sekera's Tun Man Handiya in 1970. His other notable acting came through Getawarayo as "Semaneris", and in Sadol Kandulu as "dumb servant". For his role in the film Sadol Kandulu, he later won the Sarasaviya Award for the Best Actor. He won forty awards including both international and local film festivals. He also acted in many television serials such as Andu Kola, Vanas Pathi, Gamperaliya, Sakisanda Eliyas and Esala Kaluwara. He also made the script for the popular comedy serial Sabada Pabilis. In the serial, he also wrote the theme song, "Una Puruke Balu Walige" sung by lead actor Anton Jude. Meanwhile, he also sang the song "Wel Eliyata' in the tele drama Thahanchi. one of his television production. In 2004, he wrote the script of television serial Sakisanda Eliyas. ==Author work==

Abeywickrama published his first novel Maha Bambata Muhunu Dekai in 1972. ==Legacy==

On 21 September 2020, a special commemorative event was held on the ninth death anniversary of Joe Abeywickrema. It was organized by The National Film Corporation and was held at the NFC Auditorium at 6 pm. After the event, one of his popular film Thun Mang Handiya was screened. == Filmography ==

===Sarasaviya Film Award=== ===Presidential Film Awards=== ===Singapore International Film Festival=== ===Presidential Film Awards=== Sri Lankan National Honours ==References==