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Gerardo de León
Gerardo de León
	Gerardo de León on a 2013 stamp of the Philippines
Born	September 12, 1913; Manila, Philippine Islands
Died	July 25, 1981 (aged 67); Manila, Philippines
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director
Years active	1934–1976
Spouse	Fely Vallejo
Children	2 daughters
Awards	Order of National Artists of the Philippines

Gerardo de León (September 12, 1913 – July 25, 1981) was a Filipino film director and actor. He was posthumously conferred as a National Artist of the Philippines for Film in 1982.

Biography

De León, who was born Gerardo Ilagan, was a member of the Ilagan clan of Philippine motion pictures, which includes Robert Arevalo, Conrado Conde, Angel Esmeralda, Eddie Ilagan, musical scorer Tito Arévalo, and his daughter Liberty Ilagan. De León was a medical doctor by profession, but his ultimate love for film won him over.^[1] He made his acting debut in the 1934 film Ang Dangal.^[2] He acted in eight other films before becoming a director. The first film he directed was Bahay-Kubo (1939), starring Fely Vallejo, an actress whom he later married.

De Leon produced a number of anti-American propaganda films during World War II, in collaboration with the occupying Japanese forces and Japanese director Yutaka Abe, who personally chose De Leon for the projects. De Leon was arrested and charged with treason after the Japanese were defeated, and was almost executed by the Filipino government. But at the last minute, he was pardoned when evidence came to light that all during the war, he had secretly assisted the Filipino resistance as well.^[3]

Nicknamed "Manong", de León is the most awarded film director in the history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences' FAMAS Awards. From 1952 to 1971, he was awarded seven FAMAS Awards, three of them received consecutively.^[4] His 1961 film The Moises Padilla Story was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 32nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.^[5]

All of the films for which he won Best Director also won Best Picture at the FAMAS, namely Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo (1952), Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig (1958), Huwag Mo Akong Limutin (1960), Noli Me Tangere (1961, adapted from the novel of the same title), El Filibusterismo (1962), Daigdig ng Mga Api (1965), and Lilet (1971). One of his unfinished projects was Juan de la Cruz (1972) with Fernando Poe Jr.

He is known to fans of cult horror films for the handful of 1960s horror movies he directed, some co-directed with his friend Eddie Romero and co-financed with American money. These films included Terror Is a Man (1959), The Blood Drinkers/ Blood Is the Color of Night (1964),^[6] Curse of the Vampires/ Whisper to the Wind (1966), Brides of Blood (1968), and Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969).^[3] Roger Corman hired him in 1971 to direct his gritty Women in Prison film Women in Cages (1971), featuring Pam Grier as a sadistic prison warden ^[3] and Philippines sex symbol Sofia Moran. De Leon died on July 25, 1981, at age 67.

Personal life

He was married to Fely Vallejo (1918–2013). She outlived him by 32 years, dying at age 95 in 2013. Vallejo was a pre-war era actress who played a starring role in his directorial debut movie Bahay-Kubo (1939). Together they have 2 children, Liberty Ilagan (July 6, 1943–2020)^[7] and Maria Fe "Baby" (born 1949), the widow of actor Ronaldo Valdez. Liberty was also an actress (but has since left showbiz) and was married to former actor/famous restaurateur, Rod Ongpauco (screen-named Rod Evans) (born 1945), who is also a paternal uncle of actress Heart Evangelista, with whom she has 3 children.^[8]^[9] Whilst her sister, Marife Ilagan was married to actor Ronaldo Valdez (1947–2023) with whom they had two children, Janno Gibbs and Melissa, who are also both actors in their own right.^[10]

Filmography

Film (as Director)

Year	Title	Notes	Production company	Ref(s):
1938	Bahay Kubo		Parlatone Hispano Filipino
1938	Mga Sugar ng Puso		Parlatone Hispano Filipino
1938	Makiling		Parlatone Hispano Filipino
1940	Estrellita
1941	Ang Maestra
1943	Dawn of Freedom
1947	Mameng, Iniibig Kita
1950	48 Oras
1951	Sisa
1951	Diego Silang
1952	Bagong Umaga
1952	Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo
1953	Dyesebel
1954	Pedro Penduko
1954	Ifuago
1955	Sanda Wong
1956	Saigon
1957	Bakya Mo Neneng
	Kamay ni Cain
	Bicol Express
1958	Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig
1959	Terror Is a Man	a.k.a. Blood Creature		^[11]
1960	Viuda de Oro
1960	Huwag Mo Akong Limutin	Also writer
1961	The Moises Padilla Story
	Noli Me Tángere
	Apollo Robles
1962	El filibusterismo	Also writer
1962	Ako ang Katarungan
1964	Anak ni Dyesebel
	The Walls of Hell	a.k.a. Intramuros
	The Blood Drinkers	Original title: Kulay Dugo ang Gabi a.k.a. Blood Is the Color of Night, The Vampire People.		^[12] ^[13]
1965	Magandang Bituin
	Ang Daigdig ng Mga Api	Possibly a lost film^[14]
	Tagumpay ng Mahirap	Segment "The President"
1966	Curse of the Vampires	Original title: Ibulong Mo sa Hangin		^[15]
1966	The Brides of Blood Island	co-director with Eddie Romero
1967	The Gold Bikini
1969	Brownout
1969	The Mad Doctor of Blood Island	a.k.a. Tomb of the Living Dead co-director with Eddie Romero		^[16]
1971	Playpen
1971	Women in Cages
1972	Lilet
1975	Fe, Esperanza, Caridad (translation: Faith, Hope and Charity)
1975	Banaue: Stairway to the Sky
1976	Juan dela Cruz (unfinished)

References

^ "Order of National Artists: Gerardo "Gerry" de Leon". gov.ph. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
^ Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 209. ISBN 9781844035731. OCLC 1347156402.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mark Holcomb. "de Leon, Gerardo". Sensesofcinema.com. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
^ Did you know? National Artist for Film Gerardo de Leon. Newsinfo.inquirer.net (September 11, 2014). Retrieved on June 25, 2016.
^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
^ White, Mike. "Cashiers du Cinemart - Issue 18 - Strong Coffee with a National Treasure : An Interview with Eddie Romero". Cashiers du Cinemart Magazine.
^ "Former Sampaguita star Liberty Ilagan dies at 76". PEP.ph. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ "Liberty: No regrets having quit showbiz". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ Lo, Ricky. "What was Liberty's biggest regret?". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ Wang, Nickie (December 18, 2023). "Ronaldo Valdez tackles love in twilight years in last film". Manila Standard. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ "Terror Is a Man (1959) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.com. TCM. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
^ "Kulay dugo ang gabi". Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
^ "Kulay dugo ang Gabi". Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^ Soliman, Michelle Anne P. (April 12, 2022). "Preserving the memories of a film". BusinessWorld. BusinessWorld Publishing. Retrieved June 21, 2024. ...Ang Daigdig ng mga Api (The World of the Oppressed) is now lost because effective and efficient archiving facilities were not available at the time it was made.
^ "Ibulong mo sa hangin (Blood of the Vampires)(Creatures of Evil)(Whisper to the Wind) - Movie Reviews". Rottentomatoes.com.
^ Arena, Jim (2002). Mad Doctor of Blood Island (Media notes) (Liner notes). Image Entertainment. ID146211DVD.