Luis "Lou" Salvador Sr. (July 7, 1905 – March 1, 1973) was a Filipino basketball player, stage actor, and talent manager. Salvador was born in

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, to a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

father and a ''

mestiza (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...

'' mother.Zafra, p. 315 As a player for the

Philippine national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...

during the 1923 Far Eastern Games, he scored 116 points in a single game, being one of the few basketball players to have scored over 100 points in a single game. He later became a leading figure in Philippine

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...

as a talent manager and a stage show impresario. Several among his 102 children became notable personalities in the Philippine entertainment scene, beginning with his son Lou Salvador Jr., who was dubbed "The

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

of the Philippines".

Basketball career

Salvador first played for the Philippine men's national basketball team at the age of seventeen, in the 1921 Far Eastern Games held in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

.Bocobo, p. 131 He also represented the Philippines in the 1923 and the 1925 Far Eastern Games, where his team in both instances won the gold medal. Salvador also played collegiate basketball for the Jose Rizal College Heavy Bombers, leading them to a national championship in 1924.

116 point game

Salvador's most notable basketball achievement came in May, 1923, during the

Far Eastern Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

when he scored 116 points during a match against China. With this feat, he became one of only few basketball players to have scored over 100 points in a single game. Salvador would later attribute his achievement to excellent conditioning, recounting that for a whole year prior to that game, he had practiced daily at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

compound in Manila, using a medicine ball which he would throw repeatedly to acclimatize his body. He confessed to finding ease at his achievement during the game itself, owing to his daily practice routine.

Bodabil and film career

Beginning in 1925, Salvador would make appearances in the Manila ''

bodabil Vaudeville in the Philippines, more commonly referred to as bodabil, was a popular genre of entertainment in the Philippines from the 1910s until the mid-1960s. For decades, it competed with film, radio and television as the dominant form of Filip ...

'' (vaudeville) stage under the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

Chipipoy, and also as Van Ludor . His sister Miami was also a ''bodabil'' performer. It was after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that Salvador attained the most influence in the Philippine entertainment scene. He became the most successful stage show impresario in the Philippines, organizing ''bodabil'' troupes that toured the country.Zafra, p. 316 Dubbed as "The Master Showman", he was credited with discovering and fostering the careers of such noted singers and comedians as Chiquito,

Bentot Arturo Vergara Medina (13 July 1920 – 19 June 1986), better known by his stage name Bentot or Ben Cosca, was a Filipino comedian and vaudevillian who spent most of his career under LVN Pictures. He had many box office hits with another fame ...

, Cachupoy,

Canuplin Canuto Francia (January 28, 1904 – September 4, 1979), better known as Canuplin, was a Filipino stage performer and magician who gained fame for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin in Filipino movies and the local bodabil circuit. Biography C ...

Pepe Pimentel José "Pepe" Gonzáles Pimentel, Sr. (April 30, 1929 – January 25, 2013) was a Filipino game show host, television personality, actor and singer. He rose to fame as the first champion of the original ''Tawag ng Tanghalan'' (1955). Pimentel lat ...

Diomedes Maturan Diomedes Maturan (August 16, 1940 – April 7, 2002) (tagged the "Perry Como of the Philippines" and "The Golden Voice") was an actor who played in ''Botika sa Baryo'' (1960) and a grand champion in ''Tawag ng Tanghalan''. Early life Diomedes wa ...

, and

Eddie Peregrina Edgard Villavicencio Peregrina (November 11, 1944 – April 30, 1977), better known as Eddie Peregrina, was a Filipino singer and matinee idol of the 1970s. Dubbed as "The Original Jukebox King", he was most famous for hit songs such as "What ...

. Salvador also dabbled in films and established his own production company, Master Films. He was a featured cast member of

Manuel Conde Manuel Conde (born Manuel Pabustan Urbano; October 9, 1915 – August 11, 1985) was a Filipino actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. Early ca ...

's ''Genghis Khan'' (1950), which was entered into competition in the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

in 1952. Salvador also directed the feature films ''Bad Boy'' (1957) and ''Barkada'' (1958), which both starred his son, Lou Salvador Jr. The Lou Salvador Sr. Memorial Award is handed out by the

Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (also known as the FAMAS Awards) are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of award-winning writers and movie columni ...

in his honor.

Personal life

Salvador fathered 102 children and reputedly had 48 women. Apart from Lou Salvador Jr., he also fathered the actors

Alona Alegre Maria Lourdes Jalandoni Salvador (January 1, 1948 – December 9, 2018), better known by her stage name Alona Alegre, was a Filipina actress. She was a daughter of Lou Salvador and LVN actress Inday Jalandoni. She was among the 102 children f ...

, Leroy Salvador (director, producer and politician), the eldest of the Salvador siblings, Mina Aragon,

Phillip Salvador Phillip Mikael "Ipe" Reyes Salvador (born Felipe Reyes Salvador; August 22, 1953) is a three-time FAMAS award-winning Filipino film and television actor. Acting career Salvador made his film debut in 1971 with ''Adios Mi Amor''. He toiled in m ...

Ross Rival Rosauro Reyes Salvador (October 7, 1945 – November 16, 2007), known professionally as Ross Rival, was a former actor and father of JonJon Hernandez, Joseph Salvador, Rosauro Luis G. Salavador, Luchi Salvador-Joson, Sahara Shyla G. Salvador a ...

, Emil Salvador, and Jumbo Salvador. Jobelle Salvador and Deborah Sun (daughters of Leroy Salvador), Ethan Salvador (son of Emil Salvador), Joshua Aquino (son of Phillip Salvador and

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), professionally known as Kris Aquino (), is a Filipino television host, actress, producer, socialite and businesswoman. Dubbed as Philippine's "Queen of All Media", Aquino has hos ...

), and

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (; born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress, performer, television host, occasional producer, and talent manager. Referred to as the “Majestic Superstar”and the "''Queen of Revenge Drama''", Salvador is ...

(daughter of Ross Rival) are his grandchildren. Analain Salvador and Ashton Salvador (grandchildren of

) are his great grandchildren. Singer Juan Miguel Salvador (father of actress

Janella Salvador Janella Maxine Desiderio Salvador (; born March 30, 1998) is a Filipino actress and singer. Debuting in the hit morning drama ''Be Careful with My Heart'' (2012–2014), she followed with leading roles in ''Oh My G!'' (2015), Jun Lana's ''Haunte ...

) is the grandson of Lou Salvador's brother Pedro Salvador.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salvador, Lou 1905 births 1973 deaths People from Tacloban Basketball players from Leyte (province) Male actors from Leyte (province) Filipino film producers Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of German descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Asian film producers 20th-century Filipino male actors Lou Visayan people JRU Heavy Bombers basketball players