Fernando Poe Jr. Profile
scf...@lycos.com
Nov 27, 2003
From mansion to apartment
RONALD Allan Kelly Poe, who uses the screen name Fernando Poe Jr., is
a school dropout like his pal, deposed president Joseph Estrada.
Poe dropped out of the University of the East when he was in second
year high school to support his family.
"When my father died, we lost everything," Poe said in an interview in
1995. "From a mansion [on Del Monte Avenue in Quezon City], we moved
to a small apartment also within the area."
Fernando Poe Sr. died in 1951 after he let rabid puppies lick his
wound. A movie star, who appeared in such films as "Palaris" and
"Zamboanga," he was the model for National Artist Guillermo
Tolentino's "Oblation" statue that serves as a main symbol of the
University of the Philippines.
Poe Sr. and Elizabeth "Bessie" Kelly, an American, had six children,
including the late Fernando Jr., a former bit player in the movies
known as Andy Poe.
The surname was originally spelled "Pou" from Poe Sr.'s grandfather
Lorenzo Pou, a playwright who migrated from Mallorca in Spain.
Aside from taking the screen name Fernando Poe Jr., the new
presidential aspirant is also a movie director who uses the names
D'lanor and Ronwaldo Reyes. Reyes is his paternal grandmother's
surname.
Poe, 64, first worked as a messenger for a film exchange office for 18
pesos a week. At age 15, he got a starring role from director Mario
Barri in the movie "Anak ni Palaris" with Rosita Noble. That was when
he first used his father's name.
He later appeared in stunt scenes and supporting roles.
Poe's first taste of fame and stardom came with the release of Larry
Santiago Productions' "Lo Waist Gang" in July 1956.
Aside from setting the trend for low-waist pants, the movie brought to
people's attention Poe's acting. His next movie, "Kamay ni Cain," gave
him his first acting award nomination as a villain to lead star Zaldy
Zshornack. In 1957, he appeared in his first solo movie, "Tough Guy."
Other action movies came Poe's way but the movie "Markado" in 1960
made him a major action star. Hollywood-Far East Productions produced
the movie. Box office hit movies came one after another. It was during
this decade that Poe appeared in one of his best films, "Ako ang
Katarungan," directed by National Artist Gerry de Leon.
In 1963, Poe and Estrada exposed the "Big Four" criminal syndicate
that extorted money from movie stars and threatened them with
disfigurement. Both actors refused to give any money to the dreaded
group. He also found the courage to put up his own company FPJ
Productions, and sister companies D'lanor, Jafere, and Rosas
Productions.
In 1965, Poe made the movie "Daigdig Ko'y Ikaw" with Susan Roces,
Jesusa Sonora in real life. He later married Roces in civil
ceremonies. A church wedding was held in December 1968. They are
blessed with a daughter, Mary Grace.
Poe was known to millions as fast on the draw, deadly with his fists
but less than articulate, particularly with women.
He played a soldier, a cop, a priest, a Muslim, and a boxer, among
other roles. Most of his portrayals showed him battling tremendous
odds in protecting and defending the welfare of the oppressed.
Perhaps one of the most popular roles Poe played was that of Flavio,
the main protagonist in the movie "Ang Panday" [The Blacksmith]. The
movie was such a big hit that the magical sword-wielding hero of the
masses appeared in three sequels.
Poe has won five Best Actor trophies from the firm academy FAMAS for
the movies "Mga Alabok sa Lupa" (1967), "Asedillo" (1971), "Durugin si
Totoy Bato" (1979), "Umpisahan Mo, Tatapusin Ko" (1983) and "Muslim
Magnum .357" (1986).
These awards elevated him to the FAMAS Hall of Fame. Three of his
movies were declared FAMAS Best Picture for their respective years of
release: "Sigaw ng Digmaan" (1963), "Mga Anghel na Walang Langit"
(1970), and "Ang Padrino" (1984).
Poe was last seen in the 2003 movie "Pakners" together with billiards
great Efren "Bata" Reyes.
With his fame, Poe has been tapped to endorse products like San Miguel
beer. San Miguel Corp. chairperson Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. reportedly
gave him 100 million pesos and a two-million-peso Land Rover as talent
fee.
Murkier world
POE on Wednesday prepared to enter an even murkier world of political
intrigue as he joined the race for the presidency.
Unlike Joseph Estrada, who rose through the ranks of public office,
Poe has no such political grounding.
Unlike Estrada, who flaunted his womanizing, gambling and drinking to
the public, Poe has kept his private life secret, rarely granting
interviews except to talk about his movies.
The public believes an image unmarred by the sex scandals and
controversies that have dogged other movie stars.
Few also know where Poe stands on issues in the real world. It was
widely rumored he was running for president mainly so he could pardon
his old friend, Estrada, once he gets elected.
Asked if he had promised Estrada a pardon if elected, Poe said: "That
case is still in court and you cannot pardon someone who is not yet
convicted."
Poe acknowledges that people know little about his private life,
especially his youth.
He admits that he had been wrong before. When asked by an
entertainment writer about writing a book that could explain certain
misconceptions about him, he replied, "It will even include my
mistakes, from which I hope the readers can learn."
One of these mistakes could be a mauling incident in his teens.
Sebastian Palanca Jr. and brother Roberto of the Palanca clan sued Poe
at a Mandaluyong court for allegedly attacking them.
The brawl supposedly happened during the silver wedding anniversary
celebration of actor Bob Soler's uncle and aunt. Poe apparently
approached Roberto to ask if he could dance with Roberto's partner.
Roberto told Poe that if he wanted, he could ask the girl directly.
This reply irked Poe and thought it was embarrassing. Reports said he
waited outside and later tried to pick a fight. When the siblings and
their companions went out, Poe and his gang allegedly attacked them.
Wartime
POE said his mother could help him in writing a book, especially about
his early years.
"There are many things about my early years that I don't know, like
what happened during the liberation of Manila [from Japanese
occupation in 1945] or during World War II," he told an entertainment
writer in 1995. "I was only two years old then. My mommy said, while
we were trying to escape from Malate [district of Manila, which
American forces ravaged in 1945], my aunt was hit by shrapnel.
"My mother thought that I was killed also because 'yung tama sa tuhod
ng auntie ko sumabog sa mukha ko' [blood from my aunt's wound blew to
my face]. My face was full of blood. It took us hours just to cross
the bridge on our way to Avenue Theater (on Rizal Avenue) to look for
my father who was doing stage shows there, only for us to discover
that he had left for Malate to look for us. Nagkasalisi kami [We
missed each other]. There was bombing all around."
Poe says he unwinds by going to the hills. "I walk in the mountains or
keep to myself by the sea. I don't have to go abroad to relax or
unwind."