K. S. Ashwath

Ashwath had been suffering from Vertebrobasilar insufficiency. On 11 January 2010 he was admitted to the B. M. Hospital, Mysore following his return from Kashi where he had developed urinary tract infection. His health deteriorated and he subsequently died at 2:15 a.m. on 18 January following a cardiac arrest. He was cremated at the foothills of Chamundi hills in Mysore.

In 1960, he played the role of a Swami in Kittur Chennamma with B. Saroja Devi in the lead role. In the same year, he played Narada in the hit Bhakta Prahlada. His role in Gali Gopura gave him an edge and helped shape his career as an artiste of immense calibre. Ashwath then got a role in the English film Seven Wonders of the World and even became the first Kannada actor to appear in a colour film.

Ashwath's acting began when he started participating in radio plays produced by Mysore All India Radio. His theatre career thus took off and played major roles in plays of A. N. Murthy Rao, Parvathavani and others. Film director K. Subramanyam, who saw him in one of these plays, selected him for a role in Streerathna in 1956, which was Ashwath's debut as a film actor. He was associated with a theatre group shripita .

Karaganahalli Subbaraya Ashwathanarayana (25 March 1925 – 18 January 2010) was an Indian veteran actor who appeared in Kannada films He appeared in over 370 films during his five-decade-long career. His only memorial in the whole of Karnataka, India is in the Kengeri satellite town, Bengaluru. Memorial name - "K. S. Ashwath Memorial Children's Park".

Ashwath was born on 25 March 1925 in Mysore city in the Kingdom of Mysore of British India as Karaganahalli Subbaraya Ashwathanarayana. He completed his primary education from Dalvoy School, Mysore. He then attained the Bachelor of Commerce degree from Maharaja's College, Mysore with seventh rank in the university. His formal education came to an end in 1942 as he joined the Indian freedom struggle. Two years later, he got a job as a Food Inspector. He later became a stenographer in the Deputy Commissioner's office and spent ten years in Government service.