Entertainers
* Regine Velasquez
Her full name is Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez and through the suggestion of good friend, “Concert King” Martin Nievera, she went on to use the stage name, Regine Velasquez. Her parents played a major role in honing her singing craft during childhood. They supported her through singing competitions in local areas. Her father trained her to have longer breathing by letting her sing submerged neck-deep in the sea. Her mother would sew her gowns used for competitions using her own hands. Regine achieved the grand championship win in an international singing competition called “The Asia Pacific Singing Contest” in 1988. This win marked the beginning of her celebrity status. She had collaborated with a variety of international artists such as Mandy Moore, Ronan Keating, 98 Degrees, and David Pomeranz, to name a few. She is the first Filipino to stage a concert at the Carnegie Hall in line with their Centennial Celebration at the young age of 21. Various albums since the launch of her singing career had garnered multi-platinum status. Singles such as “In Love with You” a duet with Jacky Cheung, have reached the MTV Asia and Channel V music charts. She is called Asia’s Songbird due to her smooth and flawless singing style. Throughout the years, she has subsequently held concert tours around the globe. Having ventured into acting too, she won the Best Actress in Star Awards for Television in 2002 for playing a retarded woman in an episode of Maala-ala Mo Kaya. She has started her own weekly variety show called “Songbird” that can be watched at GMA-7. Presently, she continues to balance her acting, singing, producing, hosting, and advertising careers, as well as loving girlfriend to fellow multi-awarded singer, Ogie “Da Pogi” Alcasid.
* Dolphy
His real name is Rodolfo Vera Quizon. He is the King of Comedy in Philippine Cinema because of his ability to crack jokes with seemingly no effort at all. He has eighteen acknowledged children by five different women. His showbiz career has now spanned to more than five decades. Starting out early in his career, he had struggled to be recognized as a good comic actor. He was given his first break by the late Fernando Poe Sr., as a character actor. This paved the way for other projects and consequently launched him to the mainstream. He has Chinese descent through his mother’s side. Golay and Pidol are the names he had used before when he was with Sampaguita Pictures. Dolphy, together with his comedy partner Panchito, did the opening number for the Beatles concert at the Rizal Stadium in Manila. His comedy sitcom that has lasted for 17 long years, John En Marsha, with Nida Blanca as her partner, is well-remembered, with his character, John Puruntong. In 2001, through the film “Markova: Comfort Gay” which he played along with his two sons, Eric and Eppy Quizon, all won the Prix de la Meilleure Interpretation which is equivalent to a Best Actress Award in Brussels, Belgium. To the younger generation, he is well-known as Kevin Kosme in ABS-CBN’s sitcom, Home Along Da Riles, which also included another son, Vandolph. Aside from his sons mentioned here, others are well-known Philippine actors too. His playboy image when it comes to women has become quite a usual controversy following him, until his relationship with his present domestic partner ZsaZsa Padilla, also an actress and foremost a singer. He is known to lend a hand to struggling comedians and help those friends who have retired from acting, even offering financial assistance to their families. Dolphy is a big personality in the Philippine showbiz industry and is a pillar in the comedy genre.
* Gary Valenciano
Also known as Mr. Pure Energy of Philippine Showbiz for his smooth, energetic dance moves, Gary V. is a Filipino singer (a Gospel singer too), actor, composer, and producer. His career is managed by no less than his wife Angeli Pangilinan Valenciano through their own talent agency “Genesis”. He was born to Vicente Valenciano and Grimilda Santiago Ortiz, a Puerto Rican, and of Italian descent, so it is from her where he got his mestizo looks. His mother was a popular opera singer during the 1960s, and this is where Gary got his singing talent too. During his high school days, he joined a group called Kundirana which inspired him in deciding to focus his time on music. His performances in the TV shows “Germspesyal” and “Penthouse Live” finally led him to be noticed locally. His first major concert was in 1984, held at the Araneta Coliseum, and jampacked with fans. Twenty-one albums followed with three international releases including “Out of the Dark”, a Christian-inspired album. Throughout his singing career, he has held countless concerts here and abroad. His international concert tours proved that he is indeed a great singer. He is also one of the main hosts of ASAP ‘08 noontime weekly show in ABS-CBN. He has three children, Juan Paolo Martin, Jose Angelo Gabriel, and Kristina Maria Mikaela. The two sons are into show business too. Through living a true Christian life together with his family, he is a continuing role model for the young and for all Filipinos.
* Boy Abunda
Aside from being a PR man & a local talent manager, Boy Abunda is also a popular TV personality, having hosting jobs in four TV shows with his current home network, ABS-CBN. Born in Borongan City, then a poor municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, he tried odd jobs there when his father died and which also prompted him to stop schooling at an early age. He later worked as an assistant to Conching Sunico who taught him about Public Relations. He later came to regard her as one of the most significant benefactors that paved the way to his success in the Press Relations industry back when he was still starting out. After a few years, he eventually succeeded to put up Backroom, Inc., his very own PR company. He had produced a best-selling album entitled “Melodic Conversations”. He was also able to attend Ateneo de Manila University, but choosing survival over education, he wasn’t able to get a diploma. He won his first award for hosting from the STAR Awards for Television and says it felt like winning in a beauty contest. He has always been open with being gay and with the fact that he has been living with his male partner for a number of years now. Speaking from his seemingly rags-to-riches experience, he says the best advice he could give in order to achieve success is not to be afraid to commit mistakes. “Don’t be afraid to bleed hard. Work hard. Play hard. Pray hard.” This exactly what makes him a dynamic force in his chosen field. Whether in press relations or in entertainment, this bloke is worth watching for.
Comments
this is great help for my son research!
great is this a biographies of filipinos good …gosh
Charice Pempengco and Lea Salonga should be in the list.