Paul Xuereb writes:

Though a distinguished civil servant, Joe Izzo will most probably be remembered as a leading figure of the Maltese stage in the last decades of the last century.

The comic duo of Joe Izzo and Charles Thake during one of their theatrical performances.

He inherited his love and talent for the theatre from his father Charles who was an actor and scriptwriter. He started acting early on with the Salesians and his skills were evident.

By the early 1970s, he and Charles Thake became a fine comic duo. I was glad to have them both in the cast of Bugħawwieġ when I directed it for the Manoel Theatre in 1971.  The Izzo-Thake duo had made such a mark that the duo was snapped up by the new company Atturi for whom they played in several of the company’s light comic productions.

He and Charles achieved great popularity with Malta’s audiences. It was great fun for me when I performed in the same cast as Joe in the French farce Hotel Coq d’Or.  

When, in 1980, I performed in Shakespere’s Measure for Measure, I was impressed by the effectiveness of his playing in a comic role and in a style different from the one he used in contemporary comedies. In later years, Joe’s acting skills appeared once more in the popular TV series Dejjem Tiegħek Becky.

My sympathy goes to his widow, Bernadette, his son Paul and his sister Connie who had a brief but fine career many years ago.