Ramon Zamora

Ramon Zamora (June 27, 1935 — August 26, 2007) was a Filipino film actor best known for his leading roles in local martial arts films and action movies of the 1970s. He was popularly dubbed as the "Bruce Lee of the Philippines".

Early Career:

Zamora was born in San Juan, Rizal. He began his entertainment career in 1953 as a stuntman and dancer for LVN Pictures. He persevered in the bodabil circuit, performing regularly at the Clover Theater and the Manila Grand Opera House. He also was a member of the Festival Dancers, a dance troupe which performed international tours regularly.

From his stage performances, he was contracted in 1969 to star as a mainstay of the ABS-CBN gag show Super Laff-In. Zamora's most popular stock character in the show was a military-clad figure that bore an unmistakable physical resemblance to Adolf Hitler, who spoke in bastardized German and spouted catchphrases such as "Isprakenheit". The role won him the "Best Actor Citizen's Award for Television".

Film Star:

When Super Laff-In's network ABS-CBN was closed upon the declaration of martial law in 1972, Zamora shifted gears and focused on a film career. He starred as the durable komiks character Pedro Penduko in the 1973 Celso Ad Castillo fantasy film Ang Mahiwagang Daigdig ni Pedro Penduko. The resulting success of the film boosted Zamora's popularity, and he soon became one of the top box-office draws in Philippine cinema in the 1970s.

Zamora was especially popular for a string of locally-produced martial arts films that emerged following the international success of Bruce Lee. Patterning his film persona around a Bruce Lee-type with a comedic twist, Zamora starred in such films as Shadow of the Dragon (1973), Cobra at Lawin (1973), Game of Death (1974), Return of the Dragon (1977), and Bruce Liit (1978).

Later Years:

By the 1980s, Zamora's career as a leading man petered out, and he returned to guest-starring in television programs, often in his "Hitler" guise. He also portrayed character roles in films, including one in the 1994 update of the Pedro Penduko saga now starring Janno Gibbs, Ang Pagbabalik ni Pedro Penduko. At the time of his death from a heart attack in his Antipolo City home, Zamora had completed one last film that had yet to be released, Ataul for Rent.

Christian Bautista

Christian Bautista is a Filipino singer, actor and Bench model. He was a finalist of the Philippine reality show Star in a Million shown on ABS-CBN.

Christian Bautista, Asia’s Pop Idol:

Christian Bautista is a multi-awarded recording artist and singing sensation in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

2003-2004: Star In A Million and Christian Bautista:

First thrust in the spotlight as ABS-CBN’s Star In A Million’s most popular non-winner, his future was sealed soon after with a recording contract with hit-making label Warner Music Philippines. The partnership produced the phenomenal hit “The Way You Look At Me,” and life was never the same again for the 25-year old Landscape Architecture graduate from the University of the Philippines. Christian’s self-titled album, which carried his first hit song reached Multi-Platinum status in the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Christian’s international success began with “The Way You Look at Me,” getting frequent airplay in Indonesian radio stations. The song became an instant hit among the country’s young music lovers, even if they had yet to see the artist behind the ballad.

The song, penned by American composers Andrew Fromm and Keith Follese, became so popular that record label Warner Indonesia decided to bring Christian there to the great delight of the fans whose support for the Filipino singer has been steadily growing and even spreading to neighboring countries.

2005: Completely:

“Completely,” Christian Bautista’s much awaited second album, received a Platinum Record Award on its first week of release in the Philippines. The album spawned hit songs “Everything You Do,” “Invincible,” and “She Could Be", a song which was later revived by teen idol Corbin Bleu, who is most known for his role in High School Musical, in his debut album, Another Side. Completely has also reached Platinum status in Indonesia.

In the Philippines, "Completely" was released in a different packaging. The first release of the album was on a DigiPack then on a standard version later on.

A special edition of the album “Completely,” which combines Christian’s English songs from his debut and second albums, was recently launched in Singapore. His signature monster-hit single “The Way You Look Me” also hit the no. 1 spot in popular radio stations in the Lion City.

In the first quarter of 2006, Indonesia’s largest TV station, RCTI, aired “Completely: Christian Bautista,” the young balladeer’s first-ever Indonesian TV special. Christian performed with the biggest names in the Indonesian music scene—the famous 40-piece Magenta Orchestra, the young musical genius Andi Rianto, and the country’s two female divas, Krisdayanti and Titi DJ.

Banking on his massive following among young fans in Indonesia, Bautista has been tapped by San Miguel Corporation to endorse its new line of soft beverage products in the Asian region, starting with Indonesia. Christian also endorses a new mobile content provider based in Jakarta called Star SMS, and soon for Oishi food products in the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Locally, he has been the face for Bench clothing and body spray, St. Augustine School of Nursing, Smart telecommunications, Trumpets Musicademy, Bed Head products, Skechers, and Swatch watches.

Bautista debuts as an actor on the big screen in Regal Entertainment’s 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di.” In this film directed by Joel Lamangan and written by Abi Lam-Parayno, Dode Cruz and Andrew Paredes, Christian plays Timothy a.k.a. Felix Yan, an Asian pop star, providing support to the bankable love team of Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez. His ditty from his second album, “My Heart Has A Mind of Its Own,” is used as the film’s theme song.

2006-2007: Just A Love Song...Live! to present:

More recently, Bautista released his third major album “Just A Love Song…Christian Bautista Live! ” also under the Warner Music Philippines label. The album currently occupies higher echelon in retail charts nationwide. The album is mainly composed of covers of different old-time hit love songs and was recorded live in a bar with a small number of audience, majority of female audience.

He launched a 4-city tour in Indonesia on January 26 to February 2, 2007. The tour included visits in Jakarta, Makasarp, Surabaya, and Bandung.

In October 2007, he embarked a concert tour named "Inspired", a one-night show in the Cuneta Astodome with guest appearances by Gary Valenciano, Tricia Amper Jimenez, Joni Villanueva and Sam Milby.

Bautista re-released his latest live album "Just A Love Song...Live" that now includes a CD compilation of different Christmas Songs.

Personal Life:

Christian Bautista studied at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and took up Landscape Architecture, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the aforementioned course. before that he graduated high school and gradeschool at International Christian Academy which also hailed other philippine actors such as Ryan Eigenmann, Goeffrey Eigenmann, Rico Yan and Billy Joe Crawford. He was also a Table Tennis varsity player during college before focusing on singing and going into showbiz.

Christian Bautista admitted on an entertainment show called 'The Buzz' that he is currently dating fellow musician Rachelle Ann Go. He courted her for about two years and finally made their relationship public in 2006.

On November 11 2007, Christian announced that he and Rachelle are splitting up. Christian said in a full statement: "Both of us are friends now. We are in good terms. There is no third party. We tried to give our best to stay together but there were just misunderstandings and differences that we couldn't work out up to now. That is why we mutually decided to give the relationship a rest." Christian confirms break up with Rachel.
National Anthem Controversy:

In one of the most shameful acts, Christian Bautista who was singing the Philippine National anthem prior to a boxing match reportedly missed several lines in the song. The mistake repeatedly drew a lot of ire from Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.

Commercial Endoresments:

* Greenwich Pizza
* St. Augustine School of Nursing
* Bench

Trivia:

• He's a Born Again Christian.
• He was guest appearance in "Master Showman" on GMA-7 with "Kuya Germs".
• He joined Trumpets Workshop for stageplays like, "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe", "Joseph The Dreamer 10th Anniversary Stage Play", and among others.
• Kampanerang Kuba was his first TV show/fantaserye as Lorenzo.
• Anne Curtis was his first love interest (in a show) and first kiss on-screen.
• Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di (I Love You) of Regal Films was his very first film.

Pepe Smith

Joseph William Smith (drummer-singer-songwriter), known as Joey Smith, and more popularly as Pepe Smith, is the acknowledged founder of original Filipino rock music, or "Pinoy Rock".

Born to an American serviceman father and a Filipina mother at Subic Bay Naval Base, he grew up in the Kamuning district of Quezon City, with his maternal grandmother from the age of three. He formed his first rock 'n' roll band at the age of eleven.

A member of the nationalistic and the seminal Philippine rock group, the Juan dela Cruz Band. Along with fellow legendary musicians, Wally Gonzales and Mike Hanopol. "Juan dela Cruz" is the recognized term for the "everyman" in Philippine society. The Juan dela Cruz Band initiated the rock music revolution in the Philippines, veering away from covers of foreign hit songs and focusing on original songwriting. The trio has always been credited of spearheading the Pinoy Rock genre in the Philippine music industry.

Albums (Juan dela Cruz Band)

• Up In Arms (1972)
• Himig Natin (1973)
• Maskara
• Super Session
• Kahit Anong Mangyari (1981)

Trivia:

• Spent six months in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. His band, the Surfer, was contacted to play for American soldiers.
• Jailed for six month for alleged drug possession in 1993. One of his constant jail visitors in Quezon City Jail was Apa Ongping. After his release for lack of evidence, Smith held a concert inside the jail.
• At 11 he had his first band, composed of his friends and neighbors in Kamuning, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
• Released in 2005 his very first solo album titled Idiosyncrasies, on Alpha Records. The 14-track album was three-years in the making; he started recording the album in 2002. The album was released simultaneously with the Juan Dela Cruz's three-CD collection from rival Vicor Records.
• Despite having an American father, he has never set foot in the USA. It's his dream to visit America. His band, during their peak, only toured United Kingdom and Asi, but never made it in America.
• In 1994, survived a car accident that damaged his signature jaw.
• One of very few Filipino performers who did opening acts during the July 4, 1966 historic and controversial first and only concert of the Beatles in Philippines. His admiration to the Beatles further strengthened his love for music.
• First album with Juan Dela Cruz band is "Up in Arms" which was released in 1972. All songs in the album were in English. It was not until the following year that "Ang Himig Natin" (Our Sound) started the Filipino rock revolution. The band's last hit was "Kahit Anong Mangyari" in 1981.
• He and his band, Juan Dela Cruz, was part of the first open field rock festival in the Philippines which was held in Antipolo in 1970.
• Of Filipino-American descent.
• Born to an American father and Filipina mother in Subic Base (once an American base), he grew up at Kamuning with her maternal grandmother at age 3.
• Acknowleged as the Father of Filipino rock.
• One of his main hobbies is collecting toy planes. His childhood dream is to become a pilot.
• A member of the nationalistic and the seminal Philippine rock band, Juan Dela Cruz. Juan Dela Cruz is often regarded as the most common personal name in the Philippines, an equivalent to John Smith in UK and other English-speaking countries.
• With Wally Gonzales, Mike Hanopol and the late Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno in Juan Dela Cruz, they came up with seminal Filipino rock hit, "Ang Himig Natin" in 1972. Smith composed the song in 20 minutes while inside a comfort room of Araneta Coliseum where the band was having a concert.

Personal Quotes

If I am not into rock and roll... What I am, executive or executed?

Tetchie Agbayani

Visitacion Parado, who is better known by her screen name Tetchie Agbayani, is a Filipina movie and television actress, psychology instructor and former beauty queen and Playboy model.

Early Life:

Agbayani was born in January 29 1961 to a Roman Catholic family. She studied high school at the University of Santo Tomas before enrolling in the University's Bachelor of Science in Architecture program in 1979. She eventually dropped from the program due to showbiz commitments.

Philippine Showbusiness:

Agbayani joined and won in the Mutya ng Pilipinas beauty pageant in 1979. Then she landed acting roles in television and movies, as well as modelling stints locally and abroad. In 1982, Agbayani shocked the public when she posed nude in the German edition of Playboy magazine. Amidst her notoriety that time, she went to the United States to do some "soul searching" and reassessment of life goals.

Hollywood:

In the United States, Agbayani was able to pursue acting in Hollywood. She appeared in international productions, sometimes credited as Carol Roberts. Among her films include John Boorman's The Emerald Forest (1985) and an entertaining cameo in The Money Pit (1986). Like other Asian actresses, Tetchie found herself limited by stereotyping, leading her to accept parts in critically reviled productions such as Gymkata (1985). Critics would regard her best performance to be that of a geologist in the Australian film Rikky and Pete (1988), directed by Nadia Tass, in which she displayed a flair for comedy. Agbayani also appeared in an episode of the British television series Yellowthread Street.

Private Life:

In 1989, Agbayani returned to the Philippines and took time out from her career to give birth to her daughter, China. During this period, Agbayani devoted her whole time as a mother, living a quiet, private life for several years.
Academic Career:

In 1995, Agbayani resumed her interrupted education and enrolled in Saint Joseph's College, Quezon City. She finished her college studies and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2000. In 2001, she applied and was accepted into the Master of Arts in Psychology with concentration in Counseling Psychology program of the Ateneo de Manila University. She completed all academic requirements and is now working on her masteral thesis. She is also teaching Psychology at Saint Joseph's College, Quezon City, while doing occasional TV and film appearances.

Education Advocacy:

In 2006, Agbayani became the focus of the local media when her newfound role as actress-turned Playboy model-turned psychology teacher was revealed to the public. Graduating from college at age 39, teaching at age 43, and taking master's at age 44, Agbayani was seen as a living inspiration to people who were not able to finish college for some reason. Agbayani continues to appear in television programs, magazines, and newspaper dailies, giving motivational talks on how she managed to pull her life together despite all the odds. She has expressed intention to be a full-time psychology teacher while being a part-time actress. She also plans to obtain a Ph.D. in Psychology, start clinical practice, and write a column where she can give free psychological counseling to letter-senders and the general public.

Nida Blanca

Dorothy Jones, who is more popularly known by her stage name Nida Blanca (January 6,1936 – November 7, 2001)

A Filipino actress. She has starred in over 163 movies and 14 television shows and has received over 16 awards for movies and 6 awards for television during her 50-year film career.

She was stabbed to death in a parking lot in Manila on November 7 2001.

Biography:

Born Dorothy Jones in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija to a US soldier father and a Filipina mother, she appeared in her first film at age 14. She was screen tested on October 6 1950 by LVN Pictures where she reigned as queen for more than a decade, doing mostly comedies opposite the late Nestor de Villa. In the movies, she has played everything from a guy-punching tomboy to a nun. She also starred in the hit TV comedy series John En Marsha where she played the wife who sticks by her poor husband despite her rich mother's constant harping.

Blanca was married twice. She separated from her first husband, Victorino Torres when their daughter Kaye was only two years old. She later married her second husband Roger Lawrence Strunk, an American actor in Las Vegas in 1979 and the couple moved and relocated to Manila. They were childless.

Death:

On November 7, 2001, Blanca was found murdered, beaten and stabbed 13 times in the back seat of her Nissan Sentra in the parking lot of Atlanta Center in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila where she worked for MTRCB.

The prime suspect was Blanca's husband Rod Strunk whom the prosecutors said had hired a hitman to kill her because Strunk was upset with his wealthy wife over property and money. The case rests on the statements of witnesses and Philip Medel, a self-confessed killer who told them that Strunk had hired him to kill Blanca. Strunk was in the U.S. in 2003 to help care for his sick mother when he was charged with the murder of Blanca. He's currently fighting off extradition to the Philippines to face trial for the murder charges.

Best Actress Awards:

• 1985 Urian,FAP,CMMA - Miguelito, Ang Batang Rebelde
• 1998 FAMAS Sana Pag-ibig na Nga
• Best Supporting Actress Awards:
• 1986 Urian, Famas, Fap, Star Awards - Magdusa Ka 1950 Famas - Korea

Trivia:

• Nida Blanca competed in the 1952 Miss Philippines contest (the winner represented the country in that year’s Miss Universe Pageant) where she finished one of the 12 semi-finalists
• That same year, Nida was named Best Supporting Actress by the FAMAS for her performance in the LVN war-drama Korea (directed by Lamberto Avellana) which was written by a youngManila Times reporter named Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino who gamely carried Nida’s makeup kit because he was courting her.
• She was an active member of the Movies and Television Regulatory Classification Board (MTRCB), attending screenings and rating movies twice a week, at the time of her death.
• She was named one of 15 Best Actress of all Time by YES Magazine chosen by GDPI.

Henry Sy Sr.

Henry Sy Sr.
Born: December 25, 1923

Henry Sy, Sr. (born December 25, 1923) is the founder and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s "Retail King," he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with 30 malls throughout the Philippines.

Biography

He is the Philippines' richest man, gaining 1.4 billion dollars in 2007, amid the global financial crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corp., which has interests in Banco de Oro Universal Bank, inter alia. Forbes magazine's 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family's net worth was 3.1 billion dollars. Earlier, he was the 2nd wealthiest individual in the Philippines, next to Lucio Tan and (as of 2008) 843rd in the world.[Sy is considered a Tai-Pan or tycoon of Asia. As of 2006, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 14th richest person in Southeast Asia; "Henry Sy and family" is ranked the 74th richest in the "Asia and Australia" region, and 512th richest in the world. (In the absence of evidence to support such higher claims, the Forbes numbers should taken as a "best-guess" estimate for the time being.)

Sy is the owner of Banco de Oro Universal Bank and China Banking Corporation. In 2006, he bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines 3rd largest lender, in which he already had a 34% stake, and merged it with Banco de Oro Universal Bank in 2007. The merger created the Philippines's second largest financial institution with resources of close to $17billion dollars. The Sy family has a personal stake of $4 billion in these 3 banks.[citation needed] Mr. Sy has recently sold his 11% stake in San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage conglomerate for $680 million.

Henry Sy, Sr., was named "Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University-Manila in January 1999. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged but promising young Filipinos.

Sy's retail chain is SM Prime Holdings, known as "Shoe Mart" or simply "SM". Several of his children now hold senior management positions in his companies, although he has groomed daughter Teresita Sy-Coson and his grandchildren Hailey Sy-Coson, Darcie Sy and Josiah Sy as his successors.

Sy's holding company, SM Investments Corp., has consistently been cited as one of the Philippines best-managed companies. On May 20, 2006, The SM Mall of Asia, built in the reclamation area of Pasay City, was opened to the public. It is the sixth-largest mall in the world.