The stars of the '80s: Where are they now?

Last of Three Parts)

In the 1980s, local films could still afford to thumb its nose up and dismiss television as lowbrow entertainment — the idiot box. And we can’t blame the Filipino movie industry for treating television that way. Philippine cinema truly had good years in during that decade — with 1982 having the best harvest of quality films: Oro, Plata, Mata, Himala, Batch ’81, Relasyon and Moral.

Most of the stars of these now-classic films are still around: Vilma Santos (now doing greater than ever), Nora Aunor (still doing shows in the US), Christopher de Leon (still maintaining his leading man status), Sandy Andolong (she does soaps from time to time). Cherie Gil (you still see her face endorsing beauty products and services), Mark Gil and Joel Torre (very active in indie movies). But what happened to the other stars of the ‘80s? This is the concluding portion of my series on the ‘80s. And so whatever happened to:

Baby Delgado — She was Mutya ng Pilipinas 1976 and third runner-up in that year’s Miss Asia Quest. Although she did guest co-hosting jobs after her reign in variety shows, this beauty queen from Cotabato went full-time as a movie actress in the ‘80s — and was good at her craft. She even won Best Supporting Actress (for Cain at Abel) in the 1982 Gawad Urian.

Marithez Samson — She was crowned winner in the search for Tondo Girl (part of the promo of the film that had Amy Austria playing the title role). Her first runner-up in the contest: Laarni Enriquez. Marithez did other films later and one was Basag ang Pula with Ace Vergel. But she disappeared from the scene by the mid-‘80s.

Luisa Muñoz (left) — I remember her as a mestiza actress who appeared in the Eddie Garcia movie, Atsay Killer.

Angela Perez — Another mestiza actress who starred in a variety of films: Bigats, Nang Maghalo ang Balat sa Tinalupan, Take-home Girls, Hayop sa Sarap, Kumander Kobra. But she was at her boldest in Alexandra.

Monette Rivera — She was sweet-faced and did a few films under Viva. One was Hotshots with Gary Valenciano.

Emily Loren — She had very light colored hair (this was before the era of highlights) and was in the films Dumalaga, Shake, Rattle & Roll I and Room 69.

Joey Hipolito — Tall and lean, he was introduced in Puri in 1984. His most significant role, however, was when he played psychiatrist to Vilma Santos in the 1987 movie Tagos ng Dugo.

Marilou Sadiwa — Another beauty queen-turned-actress. She appeared in the Eddie Garcia-Gloria Diaz sex comedy May Daga sa Labas ng Lungga.

Gino Antonio — From the start of his career (Mahilig), he was already cast as a stud. But he gained respect as an actor in Takaw-Tukso where he even got an Urian nomination.

Farida Yulo — Eternally cast in sex films (one of her movies was Makakating Hayop). On screen, she looked like an oversized walking doll.      

Olivia Ortiz — She was launched in Sariwa and by its very title, you know what the film is all about. No, it wasn’t a sales pitch for fresh supermarket produce.

Elsa Enrile — She played support to Olivia Ortiz in Sariwa. Tough luck for her, she was made to do all those sex scenes in all her other films (including Celso Ad. Castillo’s Perfumed Garden), but was always relegated to supporting roles.

Elsa Agana — Wasn’t she the winner in one of the star searches conducted by Student Canteen? If I remember correctly, the movie that she was supposed to do for winning that contest never took off, but she did other films and one was Lalakwe with Gloria Diaz, Tommy Abuel and Ronaldo Valdez. In her succeeding movies, she was leading lady mostly in action films.

Stella Suarez Jr. — Originally, it was said that she was the sister of Richard Gomez (they were supposedly even twins!). It must have been just a gimmick that time — I don’t know and I never got to ask the people concerned. Anyway, this sexy actress was launched in Naked Paradise with Jestoni Alarcon, which must have been a hit because the both of them still had acting careers separately after that.

Cristina Crisol — She was lovely — like a dusky Maritess Revilla. She did about a dozen films up to the latter part of the ‘80s, but she just disappeared along with Olivia Ortiz, Vida Verde (she was in Nene and Nude City), Glenda Araneta (one of the stars of Clarizza) and the other sex sirens of her generation.

Lito Gruet — A fashion model who joined the bold bandwagon. But I think he only did a couple of films — Sensual with Barbara Benitez and Hubo sa Dilim with Maria Isabel Lopez.

Rafael Roces — A mestizo actor who was also packaged as a screen stud.     

Amanda Amores — She was first seen in Scorpio Nights where she did a sizzling bathroom scene with Daniel Fernando. But nothing beats the rest of what she did in her succeeding movies.

Cherrie Madrigal — I’d just like to fill you in on her. She was a sexy star in the late ‘80s who did everything in the movies (no specification needed). In the late ‘90s, she reappeared — big as anything (sorry, but that really surprised moviegoers who knew her as a voluptuous bombshell). She was selling mangoes from Zambales. One time she went to the Startalk set and sold me a whole canastro (kaing in the vernacular). I swear those were the sourest mangoes I ever tasted and, hmm, a bit pricey. But when I saw the wide smile on her face when she found out (it was our first and last meeting) that I was buying that huge a quantity and wasn’t even haggling with her, those mangoes started to look sweet. I was just happy that she was starting a new life in a very decent manner. In time, she made a screen comeback and she is cast in the Adolf Alix movie Imoral where she plays the materialistic mother of Katherine Luna. Until I saw that film, I never thought that she had promise as an actress. I hope she is given more movies or TV projects — soon. Let’s show the world that everyone deserves a second chance — especially those who are trying to straighten out their lives.

Rudolf Yaptinchay — A La Sallite, he was a heartthrob of his generation. During the re-launch of Miladay’s jewelry shop in Jupiter St. in Makati a couple of years ago, I saw him there and he hardly aged. He is now into business and apparently is doing very well.

Brandy Ayala — If that generation had softdrink beauties, (Sarsi Emanuelle, Pepsi Paloma and Coca Nicolas) there were also those named after hard drinks and Brandy was one of them. There were also street beauties. I’m really curious — whatever happened to Aurora Boulevard? People of this generation, believe it or not, there was an actress with a name like that.