Don Ananda Weerakoon ( Sinhala:ආනන්ද වීරකෝන්; 20 September 1934 – 21 September 2022) was a Sri Lankan actor.

Life and career

Early life Ananda was born as only son in a family of five children to parents Don William Weerakoon and Amarawathi Kalansuriya. He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo and was also a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree holder. Since school days he had been keenly interested in history and arts. He first participated in a dance to welcome the Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's visit to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

together with

Shesha Palihakkara David Sydney Loku Palihakkara (June 5, 1928 – July 12, 2009), popularly as Shesha Palihakkara, was a Sri Lankan dancer, film actor, and producer. He achieved critical recognition with a starring role in Lester James Peries' masterpiece ''Rekava' ...

and Titus Thotawatte at the Colombo Regal Hall. Film acting He first started acting in a film as a young boy called "Harry" in one of the films directed by Sirisena Wimalaweera. Later on Ananda had been acting in many films directed by Sirisena Wimalaweera such as Asoka (1955 film) and

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, ...

Rekava ''Rekava'' (Sinhala language, Sinhala for "Line of Destiny") is a 1956 film based on village life and mythical beliefs in Sri Lanka (then Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon). It is the first Sinhala film fully shot in Ceylon and was shot outdoors in the ...

film. In 2021, he was honored with lifetime achievement award during the ceremony held for 21 artists who made an invaluable contribution to Sinhala cinema in the early decades of Sinhala Cinema. Stay in England In 1960, Ananda moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and since then he worked as an insurance agent in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for 29 years. Weerakoon died on September 21, 2022, at the age of 88.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weerakoon, Ananda Sri Lankan male film actors Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo 1934 births 2022 deaths