In the ’50s, muscleman Cesar Ramirez (Mr. Philippines) was the resident action star of Sampaguita Pictures, then married to the studio’s action queen, Alicia Vergel.
One of Cesar’s action starrers was Tres Ojos, where he played a three-eyed champion of the oppressed. Sampaguita ‘borrowed’ Nena Cardenas from Premiere to play Cesar’s mother. Myrna Delgado and Van de Leon co-starred.
But Cesar was not limited to action roles. He also appeared in dramas like MN, Uhaw na Pag-ibig and Lupang Kayumanggi.
Outside Sampaguita, Cesar co-starred in Gerardo de Leon’s controversial Huwag Mo Akong Limutin, FAMAS Best Picture in 1960. — RKC