What’s in a name (and other showbiz trivia)

Said the poet, A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.

Of course, no word is sweeter to one’s ear than the sound of his name. Remember the memorable scene in West Side Story where Richard Beymer as Tony traipses down the streets after he meets Natalie Wood as Maria and sings for the whole world to hear…Maria, I just met a girl named Maria. And suddenly I found how wonderful a sound can be. Maria, say it loud and there’s music singing; say it soft and it’s almost like praying…?

While some showbiz denizens would rather use screen monikers, others stick to their real names for a good reason — familiarity breeds popularity, especially if the (sur)name is a famous one.

Among the most popular surnames in showbiz, in case you haven’t noticed, are Padilla, Salvador, Santos, Reyes, Garcia, De Leon, Gutierrez and Cruz.

Let’s call the roll.

 The Padillas —  Pilar Padilla, Carlos Padilla Sr., Carlos Padilla Jr., Jose Padilla Jr., Robin Padilla, the late Rustom Padilla (resurrected as BB Gandanghari), Rommel Padilla, Royette Padilla, Queenie Padilla, Kylie Padilla, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Dencio Padilla, Bela Padilla, Dennis Padilla and Daniel Padilla (Amado Cortez was actually a Padilla.).  

 The Salvadors — Lou Salvador Sr., Lou Salvador Jr., Leroy Salvador, Jumbo Salvador, Phillip Salvador, (Augusto Salvador (director), Jobelle Salvador and Maja Salvador. (Salvadors who use screen names: Alona Alegre, Edward Gomez, Susan Henson, Ross Rival and Mina Aragon.)  

 The Santoses — Fred Santos, Tony Santos Sr., Tony Santos Jr., Charo Santos, Malou Santos, Vilma Santos, Judy Ann Santos, Jimmy Santos, Leni Santos, Jeffrey Santos, Rhea Santos, Kevin Santos, Erik Santos, Winnie Santos, Freddie Santos, Paolo Santos and Jon Santos.

 The Reyeses — Efren Reyes Sr., Efren Reyes Jr., Cristina Reyes, Elvira Reyes, Cristine Reyes, Cristina Reyes, Hector Reyes, Edwin Reyes, Johnny Reyes, Joey Javier Reyes, Eva Reyes, Ricky Reyes, Rina Reyes, Arnold Reyes, Dustin Reyes, Coney Reyes, Sherilyn Reyes, Didith Reyes and Gladys Reyes.

 The Garcias — Eddie Garcia, Gigi Garcia, Bino Garcia, Jose Garcia, Boy Garcia, Serafin Garcia, Bobby Garcia, Ernie Garcia, Glenda Garcia, Dennis Garcia (of Hotdog), Jenica Garcia, Jigo Garcia, Joaquin Garcia (singer), Patrick Garcia, Cheska Garcia, Tanya Garcia, Jean Garcia, Joji Garcia (of Hagibis) and Emilio Garcia.

 The De Leons — Gerry de Leon, Melita de Leon, Gil de Leon, Van de Leon, Madel de Leon, Charito de Leon, Angelu de Leon, Christopher de Leon, Pinky de Leon, Bert de Leon, Joey de Leon, Keempee de Leon, Lara Melissa de Leon, Ian de Leon and Lotlot de Leon.

 The Gutierrezes: Eddie Gutierrez, Ruffa Gutierrez, Richard Gutierrez, Raymond Gutierrez, Tonton Gutierrez, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Janine Gutierrez, Juancho Gutierrez, Maritess Gutierrez, Rico Gutierrez and King Gutierrez.

 The Cruzes: Tirso Cruz III, Donna Cruz, Sheryl Cruz, Sunshine Cruz, John Lloyd Cruz, Abraham Cruz, Rayver Cruz, Bodie Cruz, Geneva Cruz and Rodjun Cruz. (The late Ricky Belmonte was Jesus Cruz in real life.)  

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 Unisex names: Kris Aquino, Kris Bernal and Kris Lawrence...Joey Albert, Joey Mead, Joey de Leon, Joey Generoso and Joey Marquez…Bong Revilla, Bong Coo and Bong Dimayacyac, Bong Quintana and Bong Alvarez…Sam Milby, Sam Concepcion and Sam Pinto....Alex Gonzaga and Alex Castro…KC Concepcion and KC Montero...Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Kitsch.

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Often misspelled names: Bembol Roco (only one “c”), Mitch Valdes (with an “s,” not a “z”), Rocco (two “c’s”) Nacino, Carmina Villarroel (double “r”), Phillip (double “l”) Salvador, Charlene Gonzalez (with a “z,” not an “s”), Vicki (with an “i,” not a “y”) Belo, Paulo (with a “u,” not an “o”) Avelino, Paolo (with an “o,” not a “u”) Bediones, Paolo (with an “o”) Contis and Paolo (same) Ballesteros, Gerald (with an “l” before the “d”) Anderson; Gerard (with an “r” before the “d”) Madrid, Verni (no “e” at the end) Varga, Cherry (double “r” and a “y”) Pie Picache, Cherie (with one “r”) Gil, Andi/Gabby Eigenmann (double “n”), Wenn (double “n”) Deramas, Alyssa (double “s”) Alano, Gretchen/Claudine/Marjorie Barretto (double “r” and double “t”) and Jackie (not with a “y”) Lou Blanco, and Jacky (with a “y”) Woo.

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 Filipino actors who have appeared in Hollywood movies: Rose del Rosario (American Guerilla in the Philippines); Luz Valdez (Merrill’s Marauders, with Jeff Chandler); Barbara Perez (No Man is an Island, with Jeffrey Hunter; Universal Pictures wanted to put Barbara under contract but she chose to marry Robert Arevalo instead); Fernando Poe Jr. (Walls of Hell, with Jack Mahoney); Tita Muñoz (in Flight of the Sparrow); Tetchie Agbayani (Emerald Forest and Money Pit); Ronald Remy (in Bus to Bataan and a few others); Alicia Vergel (Day of the Trumpet with John Agar, ex-husband of Shirley Temple) Pancho Magalona (in The Hook with Kirk Douglas); Bembol Roco (in The Year of Living Dangerously, with Mel Gibson); Charice (in Alvin & The Chipmunks and Here Comes the Boom with Salma Hayek); Gigi Duenas (in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now), Zorro David in Reflections in a Golden Eye (with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor), and John Arcilla, Lou Veloso et al (bit players in The Bourne Legacy). Trivia: Did you know that Lolita Rodriguez was considered for the lead role in Seventh Dawn (and it was Capucine who got it)? Also, that Luz Valdez, Daisy Romualdez and Charito Solis (who starred in the Japanese movie The Princess and I, which was about the life of Gumatha Buddha, with Kojiro Hungo) auditioned for the title role in The World of Suzie Wong (along with Hong Kong actress Nancy Kwan who bagged it)?

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 Stars who shot movies in the Philippines before making it big in Hollywood: Katharine Ross in Bus to Bataan (she later starred with Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate), Burt Reynolds (also in Bus to Bataan), Johnny Depp (in a supporting role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, shot during the People Power Revolution), Pam Grier (in Bird Cage with Rita Gomez, directed by Gerry de Leon) and Tom Cruise (Born on the Fourth of July).

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