Reggie Candappa was born in 1919 to father Arkansas The young Reggie Candappa was given away by his father after the death of Dona Alice when the infant Reggie was just three months old on the grounds that the cause of her death was the infant according to his horoscope.
Candappa studied at Saint Joseph"s Catholic College, where his creative talent was recognised by the influential teacher J. P. de Fonseka. He subsequently studied architecture, getting work with the local architect South. Shanmuganathan on the strength of his portfolio of drawings.
Fonseka got Candappa work as an illustrator in the school magazine and of books by a Catholic priest. During World World War II his family moved to Eheliyagoda, where he worked as a freelance artist and illustrator, soon becoming a prolific designer of advertisements. After the war, he decided to set up his own office.
His business rapidly expanded, and he soon had several artists working under him.
He quickly developed contacts with the British administration, and was asked to design a crest for the Royal Air Force. He also helped to set up and run the magazine Lanka.
He later stated,
lieutenant was a great opening for medical I was trained in printing, print production, wrote articles, drew political cartoons, and illustrated the Sunday Observer.
In 1957 he got a scholarship to work in America and to learn the latest techniques of American advertising and design.
At the same time, he was offered a job with Grant Advertising which he took up while working his scholarship at the Grant offices in Chicago and Hollywood. He was given the job of setting up a new branch of Grant"s in Colombo. He quickly built up the business, which he later bought, running it as an independent advertising agency under the name Grant McCann Erickson.
In addition to his business activities Candappa was also a painter.
He held four one-man shows. In 1993 he was awarded the "Deshabandu", a national honour.
He is a trustee of the Ceylon Society of son
