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- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Physically imposing, intense Yaphet Kotto was one of the few actors of his generation to succeed in breaking racial stereotypes in Hollywood. He was born in Harlem, New York, the son of Gladys, a nurse and army officer, and Abraham Kotto, a businessman-turned-construction worker. His father was a Cameroonian immigrant, of royal ancestry (his great-grandfather had been a king in pre-colonial days), and his mother's family was from Antigua and Panama. Yaphet, whose first name means "beautiful" in Hebrew, was raised in the Jewish faith. After his parents divorced, he was brought up by his grandparents in the tough Bronx district of New York. He also had an aunt in showbiz who ran a dance academy. Among her alumni were Marlon Brando and James Dean. In fact, it was Brando's performance in On the Waterfront (1954) which inspired Kotto to go into acting.
He began acting on stage in 1958 with little theatrical experience, making his debut in the title role of Othello, a role he eventually reprised on screen in 1980. He also appeared on Broadway as understudy to James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope. After joining the Actor's Studio, Kotto commenced his screen career and soon gathered critical recognition with several edgy performances across diverse genres. From playing a barkeeper in 5 Card Stud (1968) and a thief in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), he moved on to juicier supporting roles as the evil Kananga/Mr. Big in the James Bond thriller Live and Let Die (1973), Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the telemovie Raid on Entebbe (1976) and the ill-fated Nostromo engineer Parker in Alien (1979). Kotto also starred as a street-smart Detroit car worker in Blue Collar (1978) and had a recurring role as a senior detective on television's long-running crime series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) (in addition to penning several scripts for the show). He was even on a Paramount shortlist for the coveted role of Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), alongside Mitchell Ryan and Roy Thinnes). He apparently spurned the role for fear of being typecast, but came to rueing that decision in later years. For the same reason Kotto had also turned down the part of Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise (which went to Billy Dee Williams).
Kotto died on March 15 2021 in Manila, Phillipines at the age of 81.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Gerardo de Leon was born on 12 September 1913 in Manila, Philippines. He was a director and actor, known for Noli me tángere (1961), Huwag Mo Akong Limutin (1960) and El filibusterismo (1962). He died on 25 July 1981 in Manila, Philippines.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Lino Brocka was born on 7 April 1939 in Pilar, Sorsogon, Luzon, Philippines. He was a director and writer, known for Gumapang ka sa lusak (1990), Bayan ko: Kapit sa patalim (1984) and Tubog sa ginto (1970). He died on 22 May 1991 in Quezon City, Philippines.- Rico Yan was born on 14 March 1975 in the Philippines. He was an actor, known for Mula sa puso (1997), Got 2 Believe (2002) and Kay tagal kang hinintay (1998). He died on 29 March 2002 in Palawan, Philippines.
- Erford Gage was born on 5 April 1912 in Northfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Seventh Victim (1943), Hitler's Children (1943) and Gangway for Tomorrow (1943). He died on 17 March 1945 in Manila, Philippines.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
The young Poe, only 16 years old, had dropped out of second year high (the farthest he got in school) to work as messenger for a film exchange at php18 a week,. Some friends of his at Everlasting Studio thought of him during a scene where a knife had to hit on a tree. Knives are usually wired for such scenes; but Ronnie was called in when the director heard he could hit the target with an unwired knife. He did - and got treated to a beer blowout by the crew. Markmanship and horsemanship were really got him into the movies. Those childhood summers in Baguio when he rode the ponies on Burnham Park, all the riding lessons he ever had, stood him in good stead when he turned movie "double." It started when lead star Lilia Dizon, who was doing Simaron (1956) with co-star Johnny Moreiro, sprained an ankle and couldn't do a riding scene, Asked to do it for her, Ronnie put on a shirt, tied on a bandana, made like a girl on a horse, and exhibited such riding skill. He became a regular stuntman st Everlasting, where he doubled in riding and other action sense.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actress
Daisy H. Avellana was born on 6 January 1917 in Roxas City, Philippines. She was a writer and actress, known for A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1965), Pag-asa (1951) and Sakay (1939). She was married to Lamberto V. Avellana. She died on 12 May 2013 in Manila, Philippines.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Eddie Romero, who initially used the screen name 'Enrique Moreno' early in his directing career, was born July 7 1924 in Dumaguete City. He is the son of Pilar Cinco, a school teacher, and José E. Romero, a former congressman, Secretary of Education, and Philippine Ambassador to London. He was married to Carolina Gonzales, with whom he had three children, including film director Joey Romero; actress Chanda Romero is also a niece. He studied at Dumaguete Elementary School, Ateneo de Manila, University of the Philippines (UP) High School, and Siliman University High School in Dumaguete City. He earned his bachelor's degree in UP, completed the associate in arts (pre-law) program at Siliman University, and was conferred the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, by the Foundation University in Dumaguete City. A leader in the industry, Romero has served as deputy director of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), and Chair of the Sub-Committee on the Arts of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Romero's major influences were Gerardo de Leon and Yasujirô Ozu, a Japanese director. He observed production trends, film techniques and the work of noted directors in the United States and Europe. He was first involved in film when he wrote the script of Gerardo de Leon Ang maestra (1941), which starred Rogelio de la Rosa, Rosa Del Rosario and Sylvia La Torre. He joined Sampaguita Pictures, as scriptwriter of de Leon's Isumpa mo giliw (1947), then directed exclusively for Sampaguita Pictures from 1947 to 1953. Among his early films are: Ang kamay ng Diyos (1947); Hindi kita malimot (1948); Selosa (1948); Apoy sa langit (1949); Abogada (1949); 'Ang Asawa Kong Amerikana' (1953), with Oscar Moreno, Joan Page, Chichay, Boy Alano, Eddie Garcia and Bella Flores - this was the first Filipino movie to win an important award in an Asian Film Festival. During this period, Romero was also known as the director of the Pancho Magalona-Tita Duran movies: Always kay ganda mo (1949); 'Sa Piling Mo' (1949); Kasintahan sa pangarap (1951); Ang ating pag-ibig (1953). Romero became a producer-director with the film Buhay alamang (1952), which he adapted from a stage play by Gerardo de Leon. Under Hemisphere Productions, he produced films for international release which he himself wrote and/or directed, foremost of which was 'Day of the Trumpet' (1957), which starred Hollywood actors John Agar, Richard Arlen, Myron Healey and Jennings Sturgeon, alongside Filipino actors Pancho Magalona, Alicia Vergel, Cielito Legaspi, Vic Diaz and Max Alvarado. (This movie was released in the US as The Day of the Trumpet (1958).) Other English-language films Romero made were Man on the Run (1958) (originally titled 'Man on the Run'), with Hollywood stars Burgess Meredith', William Phipps, Paul Harber, Theodore Bikel, costarring Filipino actors Olivia Cenizal, Carol Varga, Amado Cortez, Zaldy Zshornack, Johnny Monteiro; Terror Is a Man (1959), topbilled by Francis Lederer, with Greta Thyssen, Richard Derr and Filipino actors Oscar Keesee, Peyton Keesee, Lilia Duran, and Flory Carlos; Espionage: Far East (1961) with Tod Andrews, Mila Del Sol, Leopoldo Salcedo, Diane Jergens, Manuel Conde, Shirley Gorospe and Joan Tabor; Escape to Paradise (1960), starring Bruce Baxter, Joe Dennis, Diane Jergens, Jennings Sturgeon with Filipino actors Rosie Acosta, Arsenio Alonzo, Johnny Monteiro, Renato Robles, Leopoldo Salcedo, Joe Sison; The Passionate Strangers (1966), with Michael Parsons, Valora Noland, Claude Wilson, and Filipinos Mario Montenegro, Celia Rodriguez, Vic Diaz, Butz Aquino and Cesar Aguilar; The Raiders of Leyte Gulf (1962), with Leopoldo Salcedo, Michael Parsons, Efren Reyes, Liza Moreno, Eddie Mesa, Oscar Keesee and Jennings Sturgeon; Manila, Open City (1968), with Charito Solis, Ric Rodrigo, Mario Montenegro, James Shigeta, Eddie Garcia, Vic Diaz, Lauro Delgado, Alex Nicol, John Ashley, Nova Villa, Rosa Mia and Norma Blancaflor. Starting with Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), with John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Ronald Remy, Alicia Alonzo, Tita Muñoz, Alfonso Carvajal and Johnny Long, a film closely resembling Island of Lost Souls (1932), Romero began a collaboration with Hollywood-based actors like John Ashley. This was followed by several other exotically-themed films, usually with Eddie Garcia, like Beast of the Yellow Night (1971), costarring John Ashley again and Leopoldo Salcedo, Mary Charlotte Wilcox, Vic Diaz and Ken Metcalfe; Beast of Blood (1970) costarring 'John Ashley (I) and Celeste Yarnall; The Twilight People (1972), costarring Ashley again, Charles Macaulay, Pat Woodell, Pam Grier and Letty Mirasol; Black Mama White Mama (1973), topbilled by Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Lynn Borden, with Zaldy Zshornack and Alona Alegre; The Woman Hunt (1972) with John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Charlene Jones (I)', Lisa Todd, Laurie Rose and Lotis Key; Savage Sisters (1974) with Gloria Hendry, Cheri Caffaro, Rosanna Ortiz, John Ashley (I)', Sid Haig, and Rita Gomez; Sudden Death (1977), with Hollywood stars Robert Conrad and Don Stroud, costarring Felton Perry, Angie Ferro and Ken Metcalfe'. In the mid-1970s Romero returned to the local scene with the now-famous Ganito kami noon... Paano kayo ngayon? (1976); Sinong kapiling? Sinong kasiping? (1977); Banta ng kahapon (1977); Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979); Aguila (1980); Kamakalawa (1981); Ang padrino (1984); and Hari sa hari, lahi sa lahi (1987). In 1992 he scripted and directed the 13-episode TV version of Jose Rizal's Noli me tángere (1961) for the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He has made over 20 films for international distribution and over 35 Filipino movies for local distribution. Romero's last directorial foray was Faces of Love (2007), starring Christopher De Leon, Angel Aquino, Alfred Vargas, Juliana Palermo, Bembol Roco, Chanda Romero, Ricky Davao, Mon Confiado and Rodel Velayo.
Romero has received a total of 22 awards; these include five Best Screenplay awards from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts & Sciences (FAMAS), for Buhay alamang (1952), The Passionate Strangers (1966), Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979), Aguila (1980) and Ang padrino (1984), elevating him to the Hall of Fame. He was chosen FAMAS Best Director for The Passionate Strangers (1966) and Aguila (1980). FAMAS eventually awarded him to the FAMAS Hall of Fame in 1986, the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, and the Presidential Award in 2000. In 1951 he won the Maria Clara Award for Best Director for Ang prinsesa at ang Pulubi (1950); the following year, yet another Best Director Award for Diego Silang (1951). Romero is a recipient of the Dr Ciriaco Santiago Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Movie Industry for 'Day of the Trumpet' (1957), the first coproduction with a foreign film company; this film was released in the US as The Day of the Trumpet (1958). At the Gawad Urian Awards, he won Best Direction and Best Screenplay for Ganito kami noon... Paano kayo ngayon? (1976), as well as the Dekada Award (Best Film of the Decade) for the said film, given in 1981; he garnered Urian nominations for Best Screenplay for Sinong kapiling? Sinong kasiping? (1977) and Best Screenplay and Best Direction for Banta ng kahapon (1977), and again for Best Screenplay and Best Direction for Aguila (1980). Gawad Urian gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. He won the Festival Prize (Best Direction and Best Screenplay) for Ganito kami noon... Paano kayo ngayon? (1976), at the Metro Manila Film Festival. He received a Papal Award as Film Director of the Decade, 1971-1980, at the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA). At the FAP Awards, he won nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Direction for Faces of Love (2007). He was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cinemanil International Film Festival in 2000. Romero passed away on May 28, 2013- causes cited were blood clot and prostate cancer. (He would have
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Producer/director Cirio H. Santiago is the son of Dr. Ciriaco Santiago, who founded Premiere Productions in Manila in 1946. He has two siblings. After starting out as a producer he started directing English-language movies in the early 70s. Santiago became one of the pioneers of the "Blaxploitation" genre by being one of the first to cast black actors and especially actresses as strong action heroes. Movies like TNT Jackson (1974) became instant cult classics. In the 80s, Santiago became known for his numerous low-budget Vietnam war movies such as Firehawk (1993) which gave him a reputation as the "master of the Vietnam war genre". A long running partnership with Roger Corman assured proper distribution of his movies in the USA. Many of today's hottest filmmakers such as Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante or Carl Franklin got their first directing jobs with Santiago. In 1995 he was named president of the Philippines Film Development Funds by President Ramos. The organization strives to uplift the quality of Filipino filmmaking to new, higher standards and to encourage production of foreign movies on location in the Philippines. Premiere Productions, headed by Cirio H. Santiago, still remains one of the biggest studios in the Philippines and went public in 1997.- Pepsi Paloma was born on 11 March 1966 in Manila, Philippines. She was an actress, known for Virgin People (1984), Krus sa bawat punglo (1982) and The Victim (1982). She died on 31 May 1985 in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
- Babalu was born on 29 June 1942. He was an actor, known for Oki Doki Doc (1993), Di bale na lang (1987) and Wanted: Perfect Father (1994). He died on 28 August 1998 in Antipolo City, Philippines.
- Actor
- Producer
Rudy Fernandez was born on 16 March 1952 in Manila, Philippines. He was an actor and producer, known for Bitayin si... Baby Ama! (1976), Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story (1991) and Pasukuin si Waway (1984). He was married to Lorna Tolentino. He died on 7 June 2008 in Quezon City, Philippines.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Manual Conde (born Manuel Urbano/ October 9, 1915 - August 11, 1985) was a Filipino actor, writer, director and producer. He was taking up geological engineering and entering the movies was farthest from his mind, It was a bit player, stuntman, laboratory a ventriloquist (a puppet named Kiko). He made his first film, "Mahiwaggang Biyolin" in 1935 then signed a contract for LVN Pictures, where he made almost three dozen films, both as an actor and director. As an actor, he used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s. His first directorial assignment was "Sawing Gantingpala" 1939. After the war, Conde directed "Orasang Ginto" 1946, considered the 'first post-war Filipino picture before and after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor'. Conde made his mark in 1950, with the landmark movies, "Genghis Khan", believed to best screen adaptation of the legendary Mongol conqueror, He directed other big-budgeted adventure movies -- "Seite Infantes de Lara"1950, "Sigfredo"1950 and "Krus na Kawayan"1956. He was also known for his "Juan Tamad" series which he lambasted and made fun of the politicians and society's ills and foibles. He was also best remembered on the several successful Nida Blanca - Nastor de Villa musical comedies be directed like "Ikaw Kasi" and "Bahala Na".- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Dolphy was born on 25 July 1928 in Manila, Philippines. He was an actor and producer, known for Espadang patpat (1990), John and Marsha (1974) and Omeng Satanasia (1977). He died on 10 July 2012 in Makati City, Philippines.- Charito Solis was born on 6 October 1935 in Manila, Philippines. She was an actress, known for Kisapmata (1981), El filibusterismo (1962) and Karnal (1983). She died on 9 January 1998 in Laguna, Philippines.
- Dick Israel was born on 10 December 1947 in Porac, Pampanga, Philippines. He was an actor and writer, known for Kanto Boy 2: Anak ni Totoy Guapo (1994), Patrolman (1988) and Boyong Mañalac: Hoodlum Terminator (1991). He was married to Melinda Michaca. He died on 11 October 2016 in Makati City, Philippines.
- The 1981 Manila International Film Festival was designed by First Lady Imelda Marcos as an elaborate showcase of Filipino culture. To everyone's horror, the only film that sold to the world was a midget spy film - a miniature mockery of Western pop iconography, and a joyously naïve celebration of Filipino Goon Cinema - called For Y'ur Height Only. Its star, a two-foot nine primordial dwarf named Weng Weng, became the most famous Filipino celebrity of his generation both inside the Philippines and abroad, yet curiously, less than 30 years later, the real Weng Weng story has all but been forgotten even by those who worked alongside him. Blame faulty or selective memories, or a fad-driven culture that never pauses long enough to ask "who?", "what?" or "why?" - truth is, the story of Weng Weng has become one of the Philippines' greatest urban legends, and the wildest and woolliest of stories fill in the gaps. Stand-up comedian married to a porn actress, real-life secret agent, hit karaoke chanteur with Imelda, the flow is endless. Once the horsecrap hardens, it's almost impossible to extricate truth from fiction, the right from the rot.
It's taken me over a year, three visits to the Philippines and more than 40 interviews with the people closest to him, including his only surviving relative, brother Celing de la Cruz, to glean the following information. There are still enormous gaps, but this is the most detailed portrait of Weng Weng I am able to put together; my documentary The Search For Weng Weng is as complete as it ever will be.
Weng Weng was born Ernesto de la Cruz, the youngest of five brothers, on 7th September 1957 in Balacaran, a district of Pasay City (now part of the sprawling 17-city Metro Manila). A condition known as primordial dwarfism caused him to be born, in the words of his brother Celing, "no bigger than a coke bottle", and he spent the first 12 months of his life in an incubator. He was not expected to live. Naturally, it was declared a miracle when he did, and in a country that venerates miraculous acts of faith, it is no surprise that Weng Weng was dressed as the Christ-child figure at the head of Baclaran's yearly Santo Nino parade.
A cheerfully mischievous child, his family nicknamed him Weng Weng, an epithet usually reserved for toy dogs. He was obsessed with martial arts and trained almost daily, until his instructor contacted film producer Peter Caballes and said, "You just have to see THIS." Peter and his wife, the successful businesswoman Cora Ridon Caballes, took Weng Weng on the rounds of film producers, including Bobby A. Suarez, whose novelty kiddie films The Bionic Boy (1977) and Dynamite Johnson: The Bionic Boy Part 2 (1978) were already international hits. Suarez turned down the idea of Weng Weng as a midget Superman, but successful indie producer/director Luis San Juan, who specialized in kung fu films for the export market, cast Weng Weng in a cameo in a film whose name is now lost to the sands of time. Peter Caballes then introduced Weng Weng to the King of Philippines Comedy, Dolphy, who cast him as his kung-fu kicking sidekick in his spy caper The Quick Brown Fox (1980) and western parody Da Best In Da West (1981).
Weng Weng, meanwhile, was a frequent visitor of the Marcos family at the Presidential Palace, where he was made an honorary Secret Agent by future President General Ramos, and was presented with a badge and a 25-callibre pistol. This act may have been the direct inspiration for Weng Weng's first starring role as Agent OO in the James Bond parody For Y'ur Height Only, produced by Peter and written by Cora Caballes for their company Liliw Productions. Eddie Nicart, renowned stunt director for the SOS Daredevils, trained Weng Weng every day for three months to be a professional stuntman, and was given his first opportunity to direct.
It's hard to pin down the appeal of For Y'ur Height Only - whether it's the inadvertently genius deconstruction of both Western action films and their Pinoy counterparts, surreal pot-addled dubbing by American expats (and Apocalypse Now survivors) Jim Gaines and Nick Nicholson, or inspired casting of every Bad Guy (or "Goon") still alive at the time, and the James Bond of the Philippines himself, Tony Ferrer aka Agent X44, as Weng Weng's boss. It all adds up to an absurdist masterpiece of gloriously bad cinema, one which was sold all over the world and became one of the Philippines' most successful exports.
Weng Weng became an instant superstar, appearing on TV and at parties, film festivals, movie openings. Liliw Productions quickly cranked out a much less successful Agent OO sequel, The Impossible Kid (1982), and a modern Pinoy western D'Wild Wild Weng (1982), starring Weng Weng as a government agent known as "Mr Weng", which doesn't appear to have made it beyond the Philippines borders. There may be other Weng Weng film appearances, including a starring role in Agent OO (c.1981) and a guest cameo alongside the stick-thin Palito's character "James Bone", but even in the Philippines information is sketchy at best, if not non-existent.
As the profits diminished, Cora Caballes moved on to a political career and Liliw Productions folded. As a result, Weng Weng found himself no longer flavour of the month and without a film career. According to his brother, his family was poor before he became famous, and afterwards remained as poor as ever. In a bizarre twist of fate, General Ramos decided to put Weng Weng through paratrooper training; this time he was given a genuine Agent badge and was sent on infiltration missions where his size would been used to its maximum advantage. Thanks to the Caballes' connections at Manila Airport, Weng Weng was seen patrolling the Arrivals Lounge in the mid-Eighties in his blue uniform as the unlikeliest "Welcome To Manila" banner.
He continued to live in the family home in Baclaran, gained weight and, according to some reports, drank heavily, and developed hypertension after a severe reaction to eating crabmeat. His health declined steadily over the next twelve to eighteen months, and he died of heart failure on 29th August 1992, just short of his 35th birthday.
The Philippines' tiniest film icon is buried in a modest white marble tomb with his parents, grandparents and great-grandmother in Pasay City Cemetary. - Actor
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Van De Leon was born on 16 December 1920 in Manila, Philippines. He was an actor and director, known for Anghel sa aking balikat (1965), Taga sa bato (1957) and Kamandag (1959). He was married to Delia Macam. He died on 5 March 1980 in the Philippines.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Redford White was born on 5 December 1955 in Cebu, Philippines. He was an actor and writer, known for Kokey (2007), Johnny Rambotang-go Part III (1984) and Three Men and a Lola. He was married to Elena Cermeño. He died on 25 July 2010 in Caloocan City, Philippines.- Kristoffer King was born on 22 May 1982 in the Philippines. He was an actor, known for Verdict (2019), Oros (2012) and Kristo (2017). He died on 23 February 2019 in Pasay City, Philippines.
- Director
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- Actor
Ishmael Bernal was born on 30 September 1938 in Manila, Philippines. He was a director and writer, known for Pagdating sa dulo (1971), Dalawang pugad... Isang ibon (1977) and City After Dark (1980). He died on 2 June 1996 in Manila, Philippines.- Lilia Cuntapay was born on 3 January 1935 in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippines. She was an actress, known for Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay (2011), Brokedown Palace (1999) and Juan Dela Cruz (2013). She died on 20 August 2016 in Pinili, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
- Dorothy Acueza Jones was born Jan 6 1936, the only child of Inocencia Acueza and American national John William Jones II. She finished high school at the Adamson University and took up Pre-law at the University of Sto Tomas (UST). She has a daughter, Kay Torres, by estranged husband Victorino Torres. Blanca was only 13 when she joined an amateur singing contest in Manila. Film star Delia Razon brought her to LVN matriarch Doña Sisang (Narcisa de Leon), who immediately cast her in Reyna Elena (1951). This was followed by Amor mio (1951), her first film appearance opposite Nestor de Villa, costarring Armando Goyena. Since then, she has appeared in numerous films, in various genres, but mostly with de Villa as a romantic and dancing partner. See Tumbalik na Daigdig (1953), Hijo de familia (1953), Waray-Waray (1954), the film which popularized her tomboyish, knife-wielding, man-battling persona; Ikaw Kasi (1955), Talusaling (1955), Darling Ko (1955), Ganyan Ka Pala (1956), Handang Matodas (1956), Bahala Na (1956), Turista (1957) and Tingnan Natin (1957). Still perpetuating her image as a tomboyish but lovable screwball, she also made Galawgaw (1956) opposite Jaime de la Rosa, who had earlier played leading man to her knife-wielding gamin in Batangueña (1953). Ms Blanca early on in her durable career could easily switch from screwball comedy to drama, as in Babaing Hampas-Lupa (1952), Rosalina (1957) and Limang Dalangin (1958). When LVN Studios stopped producing, Ms Blanca free-lanced, proving her mettle in a variety of films such as Shake, Baby, Shake (1966), Pag-Ibig, Masdan ang Ginawa Mo (1969), Forgive and Forget (1982), in which her popular love team with Nestor de Villa had a comeback, and My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1982), among many others. All in all, Ms Blanca made some 50 films with the dashing de Villa. Television proved to be very viable for Ms Blanca too. The "Nida-Nestor Show" and "John 'en' Marsha" became two of the longest-running sitcoms on Filipino television. In Fifty-Carats, O Di Ba? (1993), she shared top-billing with veterans Gloria Romero and the late Charito Solis. She also appeared in the television soap Mana-Mana. Ms Blanca has won 16 awards for her film work. She won the very first Best Supporting Actress award from the Film Academy of Movie Arts & Sciences (FAMAS) for her role as a tragic Korean woman, Lee Ming, who falls in love with Filipino soldier Boni Serrano in the film Korea (1952). She also won the best supporting actress award at the Metro Manila Film Festival for Batu-Bato Sa Langit (1975); Best Actress awards simultaneously from Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), Gawad Urian Awards and Catholic Mass Media Awards for Miguelito, Ang Batang Rebelde (1985); Best Supporting Actress awards from FAP and FAMAS for Magdusa Ka (1986); and Best Supporting Actress awards from FAP, FAMAS and CMMA for Kid, Huwag Kang Susuko (1987). She was also twice winner of the Citizens' Award for Television (CAT) for Best Female TV Performer for the Nida-Nestor Show; and three-time winner of the Pambansang Akademya ng Telebisyon sa Agham at Sining (PATAS) award in 1975, 1976 and 1978, as Most Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, for John 'en' Marsha. In 1997, she won Best Supporting Actress for Babae (1997), from the FAP and the Metro Manila Film Festival. Two years later, still proving her timeless mettle, she won Best Actress at the FAMAS ceremonies for her work in Sana, Pag-Ibig Na (1998). She was top-billed for this film-- no mean feat, considering she was 62 years old. In 2000 and 2002, the Gawad Urian Awards and the FAP, respectively, honored her with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms Blanca was horrendously murdered in a parking lot in November 7, 2001. Her gruesome murder remains unsolved to this day.
- Tony Carreon was born on 30 June 1926 in Manila, Philippines. He was an actor, known for Omeng Satanasia (1977), The Crazy Professor (1985) and A Dangerous Life (1988). He died on 27 May 2003 in the Philippines.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Actor
Ricky Rivero was born on 7 May 1972 in Manila, Philippines. He was an assistant director and director, known for Eva Fonda (2008), Magdusa ka! (1986) and Bakit may kahapon pa? (1996). He died on 16 July 2023 in Manila, Philippines.