PA Ediriweera
Encyclopedia
Piyadasa Ariyasena Ediriweera (1915-1985) was a Sri Lankan Travel Agent, Journalist and Enterpreneur
) as Chairman, Ediriweera as Managing Director, with Directors DB Dhanapala
(who worked with him at the Times group as a reporter), Rosaline Koch and D.P Abeywardena.
His business interests expanded and diversified. In 1949, Ediriweera opened an office at the Queens Hotel in Kandy and operated vehicles in Colombo from the Colombo Swimming Club. In the latter part of that year, he leased a hotel in Anuradhapura called Grand Hotel and acquired the island resort at San Michelle in Bolgoda which belonged to Sir John Kotelawala
who leased it to Ceylon Tours. He later bought and operated the Mt Lavinia Hotel (where parts of Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed), Grand Oriental Hotel (Taprobane Hotel) and the Times of Ceylon where he became chairman of the Board.
which was the first British film being shot on locations in Ceylon in 1951 followed by 'Planters Wife' by Ken Anakinin 1952, 'Purple Plain' in 1954 directed by Robert Parish and starring Gregory Peck
, 'Elephant Walk' (1954) directed by William Dieterle, the Academy Award winning film 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' filmed in Sri Lanka in 1957 starring William Holden
and Sir Alec Guinness
, 'Never So Few' (1959) directed by John Sturgers, and 'Kommissarx (1966) directed by Rudolf Zehetgmber.. Ediriweera is said to have accompanied the film's director David Lean to meet Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to secure permission for the film to be shot in Sri Lanka.. His daughter Ranjini Suranimala (who married DB Suranimala son of his friend DB Dhanapala
and youngest son Chandra Ediriweera acted in the film Wer stirbt schon gerne unter Palmen? (1974) .
Journalism
Ediriweera was born in Ahangama Sri Lanka in October 1915. He left school to work as a 'cub' reporter in the 'Daily News' as provincial correspondent in Ahangama and later joined the Times of Ceylon Newspapers as a journalist in the Colombo office working his way up to being a war correspondent and making influential friends and contacts in the international press and in particular at The New York Times. His subsequent success is attributed to publicity stemmng from a cocktail party held to receive him by his American war correspondent friends at the Waldorf Astoria to which members of the American travel industry was invited. Ediriweera is reputed to have generated interest through his contacts at The New York Times writing articles on Sri Lanka targeting the American reader and an advertising campaign,.Travel Industry
Ediriweera formed the company Ceylon Tours in July 1946 with Justin Kotalawala (brother of Sir John KotelawalaJohn Kotelawala
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala, KBE, CH, KStJ, CLI was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician, most notable for serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956....
) as Chairman, Ediriweera as Managing Director, with Directors DB Dhanapala
DB Dhanapala
-Early life and career:Dhanapala was born in Tissamaharama and educated at Mahinda College Galle and Allahabad University India. After an early career as a teacher including a period spent as Principal of Dharmaloka Vidyalaya Kelaniya he took to Journalism as a career.-Jounalism:Dhanapala started...
(who worked with him at the Times group as a reporter), Rosaline Koch and D.P Abeywardena.
His business interests expanded and diversified. In 1949, Ediriweera opened an office at the Queens Hotel in Kandy and operated vehicles in Colombo from the Colombo Swimming Club. In the latter part of that year, he leased a hotel in Anuradhapura called Grand Hotel and acquired the island resort at San Michelle in Bolgoda which belonged to Sir John Kotelawala
John Kotelawala
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala, KBE, CH, KStJ, CLI was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician, most notable for serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956....
who leased it to Ceylon Tours. He later bought and operated the Mt Lavinia Hotel (where parts of Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed), Grand Oriental Hotel (Taprobane Hotel) and the Times of Ceylon where he became chairman of the Board.
Film Industry
Ediriweera visited Los Angeles in 1954 and met with executives of Universal Studios, United Artists and Horizon pictures who were persuaded to visit Ceylon to consider it a venue for film shoots. He also visited the United Kingdom with the movie 'Outcast of the Island' (1951) directed by Carol ReedCarol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
which was the first British film being shot on locations in Ceylon in 1951 followed by 'Planters Wife' by Ken Anakinin 1952, 'Purple Plain' in 1954 directed by Robert Parish and starring Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, 'Elephant Walk' (1954) directed by William Dieterle, the Academy Award winning film 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' filmed in Sri Lanka in 1957 starring William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
and Sir Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
, 'Never So Few' (1959) directed by John Sturgers, and 'Kommissarx (1966) directed by Rudolf Zehetgmber.. Ediriweera is said to have accompanied the film's director David Lean to meet Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to secure permission for the film to be shot in Sri Lanka.. His daughter Ranjini Suranimala (who married DB Suranimala son of his friend DB Dhanapala
DB Dhanapala
-Early life and career:Dhanapala was born in Tissamaharama and educated at Mahinda College Galle and Allahabad University India. After an early career as a teacher including a period spent as Principal of Dharmaloka Vidyalaya Kelaniya he took to Journalism as a career.-Jounalism:Dhanapala started...
and youngest son Chandra Ediriweera acted in the film Wer stirbt schon gerne unter Palmen? (1974) .