P. A. Ediriweera
Piyadasa Ariyasena Ediriweera | |
---|---|
Born | October 1915 |
Died | 1985 |
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Occupation(s) | Travel agent, journalist, entrepreneur |
Piyadasa Ariyasena Ediriweera (1915–1985) was a
Journalism
Ediriweera was born in
Travel industry
Ediriweera formed the company Ceylon Tours in July 1946 with Justin Kotalawala (brother of Sir
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, leading to the movie Outcast of the Islands (1951) directed by Carol Reed being shot on locations in Ceylon in 1951 (the first British film to be shot in Ceylon). This was followed by The Planter's Wife by Ken Annakin 1952, The Purple Plain in 1954 directed by Robert Parrish 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 Sturges, and Kommissar X (1966) directed by Rudolf Zehetgruber. 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
References
- ^ "Remembering late Mr. P.A. Ediriweera's contributions towards tourism development". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012.
- ^ "Ceylon Tours". www.i-srilanka.com. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ Gunaratne, Natasha (11 July 2010). "Legend in tourism: The story of P.A. Ediriweera and Ceylon Tours". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Wer stirbt schon gerne unter Palmen?". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-01-22.