Robin Tampoe
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29 December 1930
Robin Tampoe රොබින් තම්පෝ | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rabindra Coomaraswamy 29 December 1930 Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 22 March 2000 (aged 69) |
| Education | Jaffna Central College |
| Alma mater | Madras Christian College Sri Lanka Law College |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | Rita Carmelyn Fernando (m. 1960) |
| Children | 6 |
| Father | William McGowan Sellasamy |
Rabindra Coomaraswamy (29 December 1930 – 22 March 2000), popularly known by his stage name Robin Tampoe, was a film maker of Sri Lankan cinema. One of the earliest pillars in Sinhala cinema, Tampoe hailed from the Sri Lankan Tamil community but most of his movies were made in the Sinhala language. He was the son of another pioneering filmmaker, W.M.S Tampoe.[1][2][3][4]
Tampoe was born on 29 December 1930 in Jaffna to a family of lawyers. The baby was named Rabindra in memory of renowned Indian dramatist Rabindranath Tagore's visit to Ceylon. His great-grandfather Tamodan Pillai McQueen Tampoe was a retired magistrate and judge. Robin's grandfather Gurusami Thananiel Hunt Tampoe was a lawyer in the District Court. Robin's father William McGowan Sellasamy was a lawyer, film producer and a director. William was known in Sinhala cinema as the W.M.S Tampoe or 'Pappa Tampoe'.[5]
Robin was first educated at Jaffna Central College, Jaffna. Then he went to India and studied at the Madras Christian College. Upon his return, he attended the Sri Lanka Law College.[5]
In 1960 he married an ethnic Sinhalese, Rita Carmelyn Fernando, from Ja-Ela whom he had met during his law college days. They had six children, born between 1961 and 1969: four daughters, Vilasnee, Thiranee, Dulanee, and Yuanee and two sons Sanjeeva and Robin. Their eldest daughter Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin is Full Professor at the University of La Réunion. Vilasnee Tampoe authored the biography of Robin Tampoe in 2008:[6] Sanjeeva manages his father's business in the name of R.T film studios in Colombo Sri Lanka having its offices in Chennai India and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. He is also involved in importing foreign language films for television, dubbing television programs and children's movies for Sri Lankan television stations, with his own recording and dubbing studios. He is also a registered sound engineer under the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Rita died on 16 July 2018, whereas Robin Tampoe died on 22 March 2000, at the age of 69.[5]
