Antonio Dising Laxa (June 12, 1934 – January 23, 2021), better known by his stage name Tony Ferrer, was a Filipino actor, film director and producer. He was tagged as the James Bond of the Philippines for his films in which he played a spy named Tony Falcon in the Agent X-44 movie series.
He won Best Actor at the Quezon City Film Festival for Sapagkat Sila'y Aming Mga Anak (1970) with Boots Anson-Roa and Vilma Santos. He received the nominations for FAMAS Award Best Actor in Sabotage (1966) and I Love Mama, I Love Papa (1971).
Career
Laxa was born in Macabebe, Pampanga, Philippines to Sofronio Laxa and Eufrocina Dising.
He starred in Marcong Bagsik (1964) with Divina Valencia. He starred as Tony Falcon, Agent X-44 in Sabotage (1966), directed by Eddie Garcia. He did drama films like Living Doll (1970) and The Golden Child (1971) with Snooky Serna. He did action films like Walang Duwag Sa Kayumanggi (1975) with Lotis Key, Mission: Get The Killers On The Loose (1975) with Gina Pareño, Alat (1975) with Chanda Romero, and Jailbreak! (1976) with Alma Moreno.
He was also paired with Niño Muhlach in Wonder Boy (1976). Ferrer was paired with Nora Aunor in Sa Lungga ng Mga Daga (1978).
On the July 2, 1981, Ferrer's directorial debut the musical film Legs... Katawan... Babae! premiered, it's a film vehicle for the disco group Hagibis.[1] The film co-stars Myrna Castillo, Laarni Enriquez, Dinah Dominguez Val Iglesias, etc.[2]
Ferrer had special participation as Tony Falcon in the remake of Agent X44 (2007), an action-comedy, played by Vhong Navarro.
He appeared in more than 155 films, including the 21-film series Agent X-44.
Personal life
Ferrer was the younger brother of Espiridion Laxa, producer of Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Pictures and EDL Productions.
He was paired with Mutya ng Pilipinas Alice Crisostomo in The Golden Child (1971), and subsequently married her a year later. They had two kids, actress Mutya Crisostomo and Falcon. He had a daughter with actress Imelda Ilanan, Maricel Laxa. He also had a son, Mark by Pinky Poblete. Ferrer lived with his sister and brothers in Pasig in his last years. He had a non-showbiz partner.
^Leavold, Andrew (2017). "Discos, westerns, and disco westerns". The Search for Weng Weng. Australia: The LedaTape Organisation. pp. 119–121. ISBN9780994411235.
^Leavold, Andrew (2017). "Weng Weng filmography". The Search for Weng Weng. Australia: The LedaTape Organisation. p. 233. ISBN9780994411235.