Background
He is the son of another pioneering filmmaker West.M.S Tampoe. Roman Catholic Tampoe was born in Jaffna and was the director of over 20 Sinhalese movies released between 1959 and 1974.
He is the son of another pioneering filmmaker West.M.S Tampoe. Roman Catholic Tampoe was born in Jaffna and was the director of over 20 Sinhalese movies released between 1959 and 1974.
He hailed from the Sri Lankan Tamil community but most of his movies were made in the Sinhala language. Highly acclaimed by the Sri Lankan public for his entertainers, Robin Tampoe was also known for his frankness with regard to the way the film industry functioned during the 1970s. Robin Tampoe married Rita Fernando, an ethnic Sinhalese from Ja-ela.
They had six children, born between 1961 and 1969.
Their eldest daughter Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin is currently senior lecturer at the University of Louisiana Réunion. She authored the biography of Robin Tampoe in 2008: Tampoe-Hautin, Vilasnee (2008).
Last of the Big Ones. Colombo: Tower Hall Foundation Institute. p.
239. Not only does the book trace the career of Robin Tampoe but also reveals the deeper issues that underpinned the film industry during its formative phase (1947 - 1967).
