Ridgeway Tillakaratne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 14 August 1931 |
| Died | 19 August 1981 (aged 50) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Education | Nalanda College Colombo |
| Occupation | Broadcaster & Civil Servant |
| Employer | Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation |
Ridgeway Tillakaratne was civil servant of repute & a broadcaster in Sri Lanka. He was chairman and Director-general of the then Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation [1] [2]
Ridgeway was educated at Nalanda College, Colombo. Two of his famous classmates at Nalanda were Chitrananda Abeysekera and Karunaratne Abeysekera and contemporaries being Henry Jayasena, Stanley Jayasinghe and Gunadasa Amarasekara . [3]
Ridgeway Thilakeratne also has held posts of being Government Agent of Pollonnaruwa, Hambanthota, Ratnapura Districts and Permanent Secretary to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting [4]
Vernon Corea was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. During his time he presented some of the most popular radio shows in South Asia, including The Maliban Show, Dial-a-Disc, Holiday Choice, Two For the Money, Take It Or Leave It, Saturday Stars, To Each His Own, Kiddies Corner, and Old Folks at Home. He was well known not only in Sri Lanka, but right across the Indian Sub-Continent from the late 1950s to the 1970s – this was in the heyday of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Radio Ceylon is a radio station based in Sri Lanka and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Department in 1923, just four years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.
Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP, known professionally as Clarence Wijewardena, was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician. Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s. Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the "father of Sri Lankan pop music".
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva, Tamil: இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் கூட்டுத்தாபனம், Ilangkai Oliparappuk Kūṭṭuttāpaṉam) came into existence on 5 January 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa and the Director-General of the CBC, Neville Jayaweera. The first board of Directors of CBC consisted of Mr Neville Jayaweera (CCS), Mr A. L. M. Hashim, Mr Dharmasiri Kuruppu, Mr K.A.G. Perera and Mr Devar Surya Sena. After the first board meeting, it was decided unanimously to appoint the chairman, Mr Jayaweera, as the new Director-General.
Radio broadcasting in Sri Lanka dates to 1923. Radio broadcasting, like other forms of media in Sri Lanka, is generally divided along linguistic lines with state and private media operators providing services in Sinhala, Tamil, and English language.
Karunaratne Abeysekera was one of Sri Lanka's most famous Sinhala broadcasters. He was also a poet and songwriter and was widely admired for his excellent command of Sinhala.
Leon Belleth was a popular announcer with Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. He presented a range of radio programs including Holiday Choice. Listeners enjoyed his free and easy style of broadcasting. Leon Belleth was educated at one of Sri Lanka's foremost educational institutions - Royal College Colombo. He was introduced to radio by the veteran broadcaster, Vernon Corea who mentored him while he was in Radio Ceylon.
Gunadasa Amarasekera is a prominent Sinhala writer, poet, and essayist from Sri Lanka.
Stanley Jayasinghe is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played for Ceylon prior to the country being renamed Sri Lanka, and prior to them receiving either Test of ODI status. He was a right-handed batsman and part-time offbreak bowler. In his first-class cricket career which began in 1949/50 he also played cricket in England for Leicestershire. In 1965 he publicly refused to play against the white-only South Africans who were touring England, after his own experiences of racism playing against the South Africans in 1960. He retired in 1968/69.
Mapatunage James "M. J." Perera was a Sri Lankan civil servant with nine members in his family in Udumulla, Padukka. He created broadcasting history by being the first Ceylonese Director General of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, taking over the helm from John Lampson of the BBC.
"Master Sir" is a Sinhala pop song written by Sri Lankan singer/songwriter Nimal Mendis for the film Kalu Diya Dhahara, in which it was performed over the title sequence by Neela Wickramasinghe.
Samaraweera Mudalige Don Premakeerthi de Alwis, popularly known as Premakeerthi de Alwis, was a Sri Lankan radio and television broadcaster and lyricist. Considered as an iconic figure in Sri Lankan radio television history, he was assassinated during the 1987–89 JVP Insurrection at the age of 42.
Kala Keerthi Dr Bastian Koralage Henry Rudrigo Jayasena, popularly known as Henry Jayasena, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. With a career spanning more than four decades, Jayasena is considered one of the best dramatists in Sri Lankan drama.
Wijayatunga Mudalige Harischandra Wijayatunga is a Sri Lankan author, translator, lexicographer, teacher, lawyer and politician. He held various offices in different institutions of the Government of Sri Lanka. At present he is the leader of Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Party. During the presidential elections of 1994 and 1999, he was the candidate of that party for this high office.
Chitrananda Abeysekera (1930–1992) was a veteran broadcaster, poet, writer and an administrator. He joined Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, then Radio Ceylon as a radio announcer and retired as the Director of Sinhala Services in 1989. He was also the President of Aganuwara Tharuna Kavi Samajaya for more than a decade and initiated a lot of programs that benefited poets and the public alike. He restarted Kavi Suwanda, the poetry newspaper for poets. Chitrananda dedicated his whole life to Sinhala poetry and literature, not forgetting Radio Journalism.
Nuvarapaksa Hevalage Asoka Mahanama Karunaratne was a Sri Lankan politician and philanthropist. As Cabinet Minister of Social Services, he dedicated most of his life to empowering the underprivileged people in Sri Lanka.
Sisira Senaratne, was a Sri Lankan singer and lyricist also worked as a playback singer in Sinhala cinema. A career spanned for more than six decades, Senaratne has sung several popular songs Olu Nelum Neliya, Seeta Diyareli, Nuhuru Nupuruda, Mage Puthuta Mal, and Gaya Geethayan Game. He along with wife Indrani Wijebandara played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era in Sinhala music in the 1950s.
Gamunu Mahinda Wijesuriya, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre, radio and television as well as a broadcaster, comedian, singer and radio program producer.
Kala Suri Koddul Arachchige Wilson Perera [Sinhala]), popularly known as K.A.W. Perera, was a director in Sri Lankan cinema. Considered as the pioneer of Sri Lankan public cinema, Perera was also a screenwriter, dialogue writer, lyricist and producer who contributed to Sri Lankan drama career for more than five decades.
Indrani Wijebandara, was a Sri Lankan singer, also worked as a playback singer in Sinhala cinema. A career spanned for more than six decades, she has sung several popular children's songs Vesak Kekulu, Sudu Sanda Eliye, Olu Nelum Neriya, Rathu Pata Mal and Mal Sutikko. She along with husband Sisira Senaratne played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era in Sinhala music in the 1950s.