Mark Samaranayake

He was born on 8 April 1914 in Weliveriya, Gampaha, as the fifth child in a family with eight siblings. He received his primary education at the Sinhala School in Weliweriya and then went to Saint Joseph's College, Colombo, for secondary education. Famous actor Laddie Ranasinghe was his classmate. In their youth, Mark and Laddie attended St. Aloysius Seminary, where his father dedicated Mark to the church. She was a mother of three who made a minor role in the film Duppathage Duka as a child artist in 1956. Her funeral took place on 15 February 2014 in Paris. He died on 4 June 2000 at the age of 86 after a severe illness. ==Career==

At the age of 14, the college held an open singing competition, where Mark became the winner and Laddie became the runner-up. After school, Mark worked as an assistant agricultural inspector in the Army. During this period in 1945, he met Laddie by accident in Pettah. Laddie invited Mark to join in his stage drama. In 1956, he made his most dramatic character 'Inspector Jayasinghe' in the film Duppathage Duka. In the film, his friend Laddie acts as the main antagonist 'Baladeva' and his wife, Pearl, as 'Baladeva's sister.' In his last years, he played several characters of an elderly father in film such as Thushara, Sahanaya, Me Desa Kumatada, and Aege Adara Kathawa. As an assistant director, he was involved in Siriyalatha, Daivayogaya, and Magul Poruwa films. His portrayal of the elderly ascetic 'Ruchika' in Daivayogaya was critically acclaimed. He last acted in the film Viyaru Minisa in 1992. Later, in 1997, he was honored with the "Swarna Jayanthi" Award for contributing to Sinhala cinema at the 11th Presidential Award. ==Filmography==