Ronald Allan Kelly Poe was born on August 20, 1939. He was better known as Fernando Poe Jr colloquially known as FPJ, Da King and as movie director, Ronwaldo Reyes. Acclaimed undisputedly as the King of Philippine Movies, he constantly score box-office hits for more than 4 decades dating back from the mid-1950's until his last movie in 2013.
There were a lot of pretenders to the throne - Action King - earning temporary place to rival Da King but they never take the limelight for long. It was always a pyramid of greatness with FPJ on top. To most Filipinos who followed his career, he was more than just a movie-star, he was an embodiment of justice for the oppressed, and a champion of righteousness.
FPJ was the son of pre-war movie actor Fernando Poe, Sr. , a native of San Carlos, Pangasinan. His mother was an Irish-American mestisa named Elizabeth "Bessie" Kelly. He took the name of his brother, Fernando "Andy" Poe, to bank on the name in launching his career in the 1955 movie, "Anak ni Palaris". The movie was a mild hit at the box office, and later followed by 29 more movies, before he "smashed" the box office with the movie, Markado in 1960. It was the start of his reign as the "King of Philippine Movies."
Metro-Manila was then know as the " The Wild Wild East " in the 1960's. Guns was so prevalent during that time there's not a day where the tabloids does not headline shootings. Gun-toting individuals are a common sight in the streets, and rival gangs established control on territories where they lord over gambling and extortion activities. Even the movie world was not spared from the violence causing some of the brutal killings of big name stars such as Romasanta, Oscar Roncal, Alberto Alonzo, Bernard Belleza, and one of FPJ's closest friend, Jess Lapid.
Owning a gun was every boy's obsession, and being able to shoot and fight ala-FPJ was in their fantasies. Like everybody else, as a boy in the 60's, I fantasized being a fast-draw dead shot killing bad guys who oppress the poor and the powerless. My dad himself, owns a Smith and Wesson six-shooter, as well as all his "barkada", so each time there's an occasion in our hometown such as weddings and fiesta, hundreds of shots erupts in the air to celebrate. Every boy's cause of envy was the other boy being able to gather more bullet casings than the other.
" Ang Mananandata" paired FPJ with Barbara Perez. Movie critics say that once you've seen one FPJ movie, you've seen them all. Like most of his cowboy movies, the story revolves around a gunfighter who came to the aid of a local sheriff when the town was taken over by lawless elements. But as a movie-fan, I'd say "who cares". The critics and the bashers don't really know what they are talking about. They could not make it so they just become critics and bashers, just like the proverbial greedy bastards who burn their neighbor's house thinking that it would make their house more beautiful.
Movie-going is an art, you go to the movie-house to watch your movie-idols to fantasize that you're the guy who's doing the killings and other heroic acts. The reason why FPJ is idolized by the masses is that hardly none of them are given a fair share by our society. The rich oppressing the poor, the politicians abusing their positions, and the powerful taking advantage of the weak, was a reality that most of the masses had experienced, and they want some taste of revenge - FPJ does it for them.
" Ang Dayuhan ", a 1968 blockbuster goes by the same plot but it added something more. Every man dreams of being loved by beautiful women, and in the 1960's wooing the object of your love was not that easy. You have to write them love letters or propose to them face to face - something that scare the hell of every serious lover. So FPJ portraying a shy hero who gets the woman's affection without even trying was a "dig in" for secret lovers. Things were a lot, lot different then, it takes a lot more courage to face up to a woman than to go against a band of bad guys with guns.
Bandido Aguilar showed that even bandits could have a golden heart.
But here's one movie that really established his name as a living legend. Daniel Barrion, the legendary gunfighter who comes to the rescue of a town threatened by ruthless bandits. It is probably the best known of his established legend starting a series of movies using the same character. It also paired him with the young actor Jay Ilagan who grew up like a son to Da King until his untimely death due to a motorcycle accident in 1992.
The 1964 movie later had its sequel in 1968,
" Ang Pagbabalik ni Daniel Barrion "
Another western movie shown in 1967 with Helen Gamboa.
One good thing about having a diary is that you could have a clear recollection of your past. The first FPJ movie -( Fandong Asintado )- I saw on the big screen. It says that the movie was shown in 1964, but my Dad and I were able to watch it a year later on the second class fully-ventilated Noli Theater in Avenida. The movie house shows double program movies at almost half the rate of a first run theater. But for a boy newly transplanted to the city, it was an unforgettable experience. It was a weekly affair for my Dad and I, until I was enrolled for my first grade a year later.
Except for movies, I never have much of a childhood. Even when I was still in the province, I rarely venture beyond our yards boundaries and I was used to playing by myself. I was a cry-baby being the first boy after 3 girls and a favorite whipping boy of neighbor bully. I fought the bully at least three times but I hardly landed a punch and got tired of rolling on the ground that feared treading the unfriendly ground. Maybe one of the reason why I adored FPJ so much, he gets beaten up at first but then he bounces back and kill the bad guys one by one.
Those beatings I guess changed my life's horizon. I started training my self to fight with imaginary foes, and later took up formal martial arts training. I always dreamed of meeting that bully once again in my later years so I could have my revenge but when I got to meet him in my teen years, he was a nice guy after all and we never had any reason to fight. So I went back to FPJ movies and those imaginary villains.
