Joe Abeywickrama

Deshabandu Gammana Patabendige Don John "Joe" Abeywickrama (Sinhala:ජෝ අබේවික්‍රම) (22 June 1927 – 21 September 2011), known as Joe Abeywickrama, was an award-winning Sri Lankan actor. He began acting in 1955 and achieved fame as a comedic actor. Since 1965, Abeywickrama has also done dramatic roles. 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 (English: Death on a Full Moon Day), a first for a Sri Lankan. He is considered by many to be the finest character actor the country has produced He is also widely known as a Crowned king of Sri Lankan cinema history and he was the second to die of the three crowned cinema heroes. (the first cinema king to die was Gamini Fonseka and last of three to die was Tony Ranasinghe. He is the first Sri Lankan actor to ever participated for Filmfare Film Festival, where he participated in 1966.