| Christy Leonard Perera ක්රිස්ටි ලෙනාඩ් පෙරේරා | |
| Birth Date: | 27 July 1932 |
| Birth Name: | Madurawela Arachchilage Christy Leonard Perera |
| Birth Place: | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Death Place: | Maligawatte, Colombo |
| Nationality: | Sri Lankan |
| Years Active: | 1949–1982 |
| Spouse: | Mary Loretta Rachal Perera (m. 1982) |
| Awards: | Kalabushana |
| Occupation: | Actor, singer |
Kala Keerthi Madurawela Arachchilage Christy Leonard Perera (born 27 July 1932 – died 23 December 2015 as ක්රිස්ටි ලෙනාඩ් පෙරේරා) [Sinhala]), popularly known as Christy Leonard Perera, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema as well as a musician and comedian.[1] [2]
Perera was born on 27 July 1932 in Colombo.[3] He completed education from St. Lucia's College Colombo 13 .[4] His father worked as a port checker. He has two sisters. After the sudden death of his father, his mother worked as a midwife at Suleiman Hospital. In the meantime, his older sister died suddenly. The other sister also died with that sadness.[5]
He was married to Mary Loretta Rachal Perera, a trained teacher.[6] Perera married Rachel at St. Lucia Cathedral in Kotahena on 7 August 1982 at the age of 43. At that time, Perera was working at the Polythene Factory in Kotahena.
He was a devoted Roman Catholic and regularly attached with St. Lucias Catherdral, Kotahena. He died on 23 December 2015 at the age of 83.[7] His remains were brought to his residence at Maligawatte housing scheme.[8] His final rites were held on 26 July 2015 at Borella Cemetery.[9] [10]
In 1946 he participated in an amateur program at Radio Ceylon coordinated by Thevis Guruge. He imitated comedian Eddie Jayamanne and won the contest.[11] In 1948, Perera joined as a comedian in Radio Ceylon. He learned music under renowned composer B. S. Perera. Then he worked as a musician and playback singer. His first song was Kullen Pola Pola. Some of his popular songs are Mama Badapissa, Amma Kiyana Kiyatha Haki andAduru Walawe Punsada, recorded for HMV labels.[12] [13] He sang the duet Hitha Yana Atha Yannata Heka with Gamini Fonseka and then sang the song Tikiri Lande Ali Nawathina Colomba Nagare with H. R. Jothipala.[14] His song Sakala Sirin Piri Siri Lankawe was an integral part of music shows back then.[15]
His classmate Prem Jayanth was the main actor in the film Sujatha. With the guidance from Jayanth and fellow actor Dommie Jayawardena, Perera entered cinema.[16] He started cinema career in 1954 with the film Warada Kageda directed by T.R. Sundaram. The film was released at Gamini theatre, Colombo and became highly popular. Then he acted in the film Adata Vediya Heta Hondai produced at Hendala Wijeya studio, Sri Lanka's first production house. He continuously established as a prominent comedian of early 1960s and played popular roles in the films Chandiya, Sukumali, Suneetha, Sundara Birinda, Allapu Gedara and Hondama Welawa.[17] His only television acting came through Athma Pooja directed by Ajith Perera. But the teledrama was not aired.
His last film was Onna Mame Kella Panapi, which premiered on September 3, 1976. He quit from acting after the death of his mother in 1979. The song Amma Kiya Kiyatha Haki Ekama Landakatai was written by Karunaratne Abeysekera for Perera's mother. In 1994, he directed the film Aragalaya.
On 17 August 2002 Perera was honored with a festive ceremony.
| Year | Film | Role | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Warada Kageda | Gobo | ||
| 1954 | Radala Piliruwa | Thomas | ||
| 1954 | Duppathage Duka | |||
| 1956 | Suraya | |||
| 1957 | Sukumali | Nikama | ||
| 1957 | Salli Malli Salli | |||
| 1958 | Suneetha | |||
| 1958 | Sepali | |||
| 1958 | Sirimali | Penda | ||
| 1960 | Sundara Birinda | |||
| 1960 | Veera Vijaya | |||
| 1963 | Adata Vediya Heta Hondai | [18] | ||
| 1963 | Udarata Manike | |||
| 1964 | Dheewarayo | |||
| 1964 | Sithaka Mahima | |||
| 1965 | Chandiya | Kavi Kola Karaya | [19] | |
| 1965 | Yata Giya Dawasa | |||
| 1965 | Allapu Gedara | Musician | ||
| 1966 | Maha Ra Hamuwu Sthriya | [20] | ||
| 1967 | Okkoma Hari | [21] | ||
| 1967 | Sura Chauraya | |||
| 1968 | Wanasara | |||
| 1968 | Ataweni Pudumaya | |||
| 1969 | Oba Nathinam | |||
| 1969 | Kohomada Wade | |||
| 1970 | Athma Puja | |||
| 1970 | Penawa Neda | |||
| 1971 | Kalana Mithuro | |||
| 1973 | Hondama Welawa | |||
| 1974 | Duppathage Hithawatha | Ananda's friend | [22] | |
| 1976 | Onna Mame Kella Panapi |