Win Oo
Win Oo (; , 13 March 1935 – 14 December 1988) was a two-time Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards winning Burmese actor, singer, director, writer and publisher. He became publicly known for his acting, singing and directing. Win was considered one of the most important actors in history of Burmese cinema. He died of colorectal cancer in 1988. Youth. Win Oo was born as Hla Myint in Yangon to his parents U Ba Nyunt (Chit-Dukkha) and Daw Hnin Yi. He studied at TTC Teacher Training College. In 1952, he left his university education and joined the Burmese Army. He  was honourably discharged from the army as a captain in 1962. Career. His first starring movie was "Hna-Yauk Hte Nay-Gyin-De", adapted from a novel of his with the same name. But this movie was not his first film in Cinema. " Chit-Thaw-Thu-Ta-Yout" was his first film in cinema but this movie was not successful. He both directed and starred in Saung Einmet and Hmon Shwe Yee. He founded the Sanda movie company, established first "color offset printer" in Burma, established "Sanda Magazine Office" and published "Sanda Magazine". He won numerous Myanmar Academy Award for  his performances, including Best Actor for 'Hmon Shwe Yee' in 1970. He starred in 27 films, before passing away in 1988. He wrote 31 novels. His most famous book is "Main ma Hla Ah Mone". Legacy. He is best known for his image, acting, unusual voice, and way of speaking and singing, which some artists often imitate as a fun way of entertainment, especially in traditional live performances on the stage. The BBC (Myanmar) described that in Myanmar, not many artists have great success beyond their age and grave, and that Win Oo is one of the few whose success  and influence extend till these days. The late Hla Htut, a famous Myanmar pianist and composer, remarked that his use of low-pitched, nasal and legato voices in several songs like ""Maung Do Cherry Myay"" ( Our Cherry Land) and his voices of interjection in such songs as ""Mee Pon Pwe"" (bonfire) and ""Ma Ma Moe"" (Lady Moe) were quite distinct and earned his place in the category of remake-western songs in Myanmar. He directed and appeared as an actor in many films; in ""Ah Twe Ah Tar"", an unusual film for that time because no actress appeared; the main  roles are a child-actress and him only, and in a self-directed film, ""Chit Thu Yway Mae` Chit Ware Le`"" he acted in an octa-role with many actresses, which he even made it successful in spite of lack of high film-technology for that period. ""Hmon Shwe Yi"" is one of his prominent works, through which some elements and aspects of Myanmar Stage Performance and Entertainment can be observed. Last but not least, his love for songs by Myoma Nyein and participation in Mandalay Thingyan festival over a decade is still considered to be a cultural  icon in Myanmar.