Gerardo de Leon
Biography
Gerardo de León (September 12, 1913 - July 25, 1981) was a Filipino actor turned film director, who made his acting debut in the 1934 movie Ang Dangal. De León, who was born as Gerardo Ilagan, was a member of the Ilagan clan of Philippine motion pictures, which includes Robert Arevalo, Liberty Ilagan and Ronaldo Valdez, and musical scorer Tito Arévalo. De León was a medical doctor by profession, but his ultimate love for film has won him over. He made eight more films as an actor before he became a director. He made his directorial debut in 1939's Bahay-Kubo, starring Fely Vallejo (who he later married). One of his unfinished projects was in the late Fernando Poe, Jr.'s Juan de la Cruz in 1972. Nicknamed "Manong", de León holds the sole distinction of being the most awarded film director in the history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences' FAMAS Awards, the Philippines' Oscars. From 1952 to 1971, he was awarded seven FAMAS Awards, three of them he received three years in a row. All of the films in which he won for Best Director also won for Best Picture at the FAMAS: Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo (1952), Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig (1958), Huwag Mo Akong Limutin (1960), Noli Me Tangere (1961, adaptation of the novel Noli Me Tangere ), El Filibusterismo (1962), Daigdig ng mga Api (1965), Lilet (1971).
Personal Details
Movies (42)
Banaue: Stairway to the Sky
Director (Directing)
1975
Fe, Esperanza, Caridad
Director (Directing)
1974
Women in Cages
Director (Directing)
1971
Lilet
Director (Directing)
1971
Mad Doctor of Blood Island
Director (Directing)
1969
Brownout
Director (Directing)
1969
Brides of Blood
Director (Directing)
1968
Curse of the Vampires
Director (Directing)
1966
Wanted: Johnny L
Director (Directing)
1966
Ang Daigdig Ng Mga Api
Director (Directing)
1965
The Blood Drinkers
Director (Directing)
1964
The Walls of Hell
Director (Directing)
1964
Anak ni Dyesebel
Director (Directing)
1964
El Filibusterismo
Director (Directing)
1962
Noli me Tángere
Screenplay (Writing)
1961
The Moises Padilla Story
Director (Directing)
1961
Huwag Mo Akong Limutin
Writer (Writing)
1960
Terror Is a Man
Director (Directing)
1959
Aawitan Kita
Director (Directing)
1959
Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig
Director (Directing)
1958
The Day of the Trumpet
Director (Directing)
1958
Bicol Express
Director (Directing)
1957
Saigon
Director (Directing)
1956
Sanda Wong
Director (Directing)
1955
Pedro Penduko
Director (Directing)
1954
Ifugao
Producer (Production)
1954
Dyesebel
Director (Directing)
1953
Ang Bagong Maestra
Director (Directing)
1953
Ang Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo
Director (Directing)
1952
Sisa
Director (Directing)
1951
Diego Silang
Director (Directing)
1951
Kamay ni Satanas
Director (Directing)
1950
48 Hours
Director (Directing)
1950
Padre Burgos
Director (Directing)
1949
Ikaw Ay Akin
Director (Directing)
1947
The Dawn of Freedom
Director (Directing)
1944
Tatlong Maria
Director (Directing)
1944
Ang Maestra
Director (Directing)
1941
Ama at Anak
1939
Ruisenor
1939
Bahay Kubo
Director (Directing)
1939
Ang Pagbabalik
1937