Vic Vargas: Sex symbol & actor

In the mid-‘60s up to the ‘70s, Vic Vargas was one of the handsomest and sexiest actors in Philippine cinema. He was paired with the country‘s loveliest actresses in romance-drama, sex, action, comedy and period films. One of his early films was Prinsipeng Tulisan opposite Josephine Estrada, produced by VP Pictures, sister company of Sampaguita Pictures, where he started his career as a contract star.

In the mid-‘70s, his tandem (on and offcam) with 1969 Miss Universe Gloria Diaz excited the whole country. They first co-starred in Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa, which started the so-called wet-and-wild look.

Vic Vargas won a Best Actor award in Ishmael Bernal‘s El Vibora at the 1972 Manila Film Festival. He merited an Urian nomination (Best Actor) in Lino Brocka‘s In This Corner (1982). In the mid-‘80s, he starred in the monumental Lahi sa Lahi, shot on location by Eddie Romero in China. The film traced Filipino-Chinese relations before the Spanish time.    — RKC