Jose Mari Hontiveros Avellana (May 6, 1941 – June 26, 2011) was a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
actor, screenwriter, director, and production designer.
Biography
Avellana was the son of
National Artists
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
director
Lamberto V. Avellana
Lamberto Vera Avellana (February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991) was a prominent Filipino film and stage director. Despite considerable budgetary limitations that hampered the post-war Filipino film industry, Avellana's films such as ''Anak Dali ...
and actress
Daisy Avellana
Daisy Avellana (January 26, 1917 – May 12, 2013) was a Filipino stage actress and theater director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre productio ...
.
While still in college, he started out as a Radio announcer for DZFM Radio before turning to the stage and to acting. His first major movie role was that of evil drug lord Ming in
Cirio H. Santiago
Cirio Hermoso Santiago (January 18, 1936 – September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago and Leonard Hermes.
Life and career
Santiago was born on Janua ...
's
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...
epic ''
TNT Jackson
''TNT Jackson'', released in the Philippines as ''Dynamite Wong and T.N.T. Jackson'', is a 1974 American blaxploitation film produced and directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The script was originally written by actor Dick Miller, but Roger Corman had i ...
'' (1974).
This marked the beginning of a decade-long professional relationship with influential producer
Cirio H. Santiago
Cirio Hermoso Santiago (January 18, 1936 – September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago and Leonard Hermes.
Life and career
Santiago was born on Janua ...
, during which Avellana took on various responsibilities. In many productions, he worked simultaneously as an actor, production designer and assistant director. Some of the more notable productions in which he acted include successful action-adventure outings such as ''
Wheels of Fire
''Wheels of Fire'' is the third album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in the US in June 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It was released in the UK on August 9. It re ...
'' (1985), ''
Death Force
''Death Force'' (also known as ''Vengeance Is Mine'') is a 1978 martial arts exploitation film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film is an international co-production of the Philippines and the United States, an ...
'' (1978) and ''
Bloodfist II
''Bloodfist II'' is a 1990 American martial arts action film directed by Andy Blumenthal and starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Kris Aguilar, and Ronald Asinas. It was written by Catherine Cyran.
Plot
The film opens with Jake Raye as he fight ...
'' (1990). In these movies made for an international audience he was mostly playing
antagonists
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
.
Avellana also directed movies in Tagalog for the local market such as the family drama ''Kung Mawawala Ka Pa'' (1993) that won Best Picture at the 1993 Metro Manila Film Festival and the patriotic revolution tale ''Damong Ligaw'' (1997) that was awarded the FAMAS Centennial Award.
But he never gave up his love for the theater. Until shortly before his death, he was seen on stage at the
Repertory Philippines
Repertory Philippines Foundation Inc. (REP) is a Filipino theater company dedicated to showcasing English-language productions.
History
Repertory Philippines was established in 1967 by Zenaida Amador and Baby Barredo. Its first production was a ...
as
Morrie Schwartz
Morris S. "Morrie" Schwartz (December 20, 1916 – November 4, 1995)Mitch Albom
Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the ...
's book ''
Tuesdays With Morrie
''Tuesdays with Morrie'' is a memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz gradually dies of ALS. The book topped the ''New York Times'' Non-Fiction Bes ...
'' and in
Nick Joaquin
Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin (; May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquin was conferr ...