Entertainment: 33 years ago Joseph Estrada and Josephine met ....
Balita News
LUCENA CITY, Mar. 10 (PNA) - Joseph and Josephine (who are not
Estradas in real life) came from opposite parts of the country.
The former, who is an Ejercito, hailed from San Juan, Metro
Manila. The latter, who is a Brown, was from Basilan City in Mindanao.
However, they shared a lot of things in common. Both were lured
into the kleig lights early in their youth - thus forsaking their
college studies.
Joseph wanted to be an engineer like his father while Josephine
dreamed of becoming a doctor.
Both had large following, were well travelled, highly paid and
much sought after movie stars.
In spite of all this, however, they had never met - on the
silver screen.
Joseph Estrada had been teamed up with almost all leading ladies
at that time: Susan Roces, Amalia Fuentes, Charito Solis, Divina
Valencia, Perla Bautista, Maggie de la Riva, Diasy Romualdez, Imelda
Ilanan.
Josephine Estrada, on the other hand, had for leading men many
of the leading actors at the time: Eddie Gutierrez, Jose Mari Gonzales
(now a member of the Lower House), Romeo Vasquez (who lost his
gubernatorial bid May 11 last year), Tony Ferrer, Zaldy Zshornack,
Romano Castellvi.
Right after he achieved stardom in 1961, as Asiong Salonga,
Joseph already dreamed of making a picture with Josephine as his leading
lady.
But the latter was then tied to Sampaguita Pictures and being
built up as a possible sucessor to Amalia Fuentes and Susan Roces.
Early in 1996, when Josephine joined the free lancing ranks
after her contract with Sampaguita Pictures expired, Joseph and
Josephine's dreamed was almost fulfilled.
But it was delayed since Joseph was busy making two pictures for
his own outfit, while Josephine was making a movie with an independent
studio - her first stint as freelancer.
How the two top stars got similar names had always puzzled movie
goers and magazines readers. In 1961, when Joseph Estrada was making
Asiong Salonga (it was his 13th film but it proved his luckiest), a
blushing young beauty from Basilan was proclaimed Miss Luzon in a Miss
Philippines Contests. She was edged out by Editha Vital, a Bicolana
beauty from Sorsogon.
An executive of the Sampaguita studio, who was quick to see a
potential star in Josephine, lost no time in signing her to a long term
contract.
For sometime he kept the whole thing under wrap. So while Joseph
Estrada became the talk of movietowns as Asiong Salonga, there suddenly
popped up a lovely new comer named Josephine Estrada.
A year and a few films later, the beauty from Basilan won the
right to represent the country in Long beach, California.
In the middle of 1996, Joseph and Josephine Estrada finally met
and appeared together in Tatak: Double Cross, a big budget film directed
by Cesar Gallardo.
Gallardo recalled that Joseph had gone a long way from his
Asiong Salonga days.
The award winning megman noted that Joseph had become a hard
driving, hardworking man with two film outfits under his name: Emar
Pictures and JE Productions.
"As a producer, he made movies that educate and enhance the
Filipino culture," Gallardo said.(PNA) je/wpt/BL/ mmg
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