Mario Montenegro (born Roger Collin Macalalag; July 25, 1928 – August 27, 1988) 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 ...

film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

best known for his heroic leading roles.

Early life

Montenegro was born in

Pagsanjan Pagsanjan (pronounced ''PAG-sang-han''), officially the Municipality of Pagsanjan ( tgl, Bayan ng Pagsanjan), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,327 peop ...

, LagunaCCP Encyclopedia, p. 279 Montenegro was a Fine Arts student at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

upon the invasion of the Philippines by Japan during

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 opposing ...

. At the age of fourteen, he joined the armed resistance against the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

as a member of the Hunters ROTC guerilla unit. He was only sixteen when he, along with the Hunters ROTC, participated in the famed raid on the Japanese internment camp at Los Baños, Laguna on February 23, 1945. He received multiple medals for distinction before he rejoined civilian life in 1946.

Film career

In 1949, Montenegro was cast in his first film role in the World War II drama ''Capas''. The following year, he was cast by director

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 ...

in his first leading role, in ''Apat na Alas'' (1950). During the 1950s, Montenegro was among the mainstays of LVN Pictures studio headed by Doña Sisang de León. He was often cast in

costume drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

s and action films, dabbling occasionally in comedy roles. He portrayed heroic leads in such historical films as ''Dagohoy'' (1953), ''Lapulapu'' (1955), ''Kilabot ng Makiling'' (1959) and ''Alyas Sakay'' (1959). Throughout his career, Montenegro would be nominated for a total of three FAMAS acting awards, including two Best Actor nominations. As he aged, Montenegro found himself cast in character roles. Among his more notable later roles was in Mike de Leon's ''Itim'' (1976), for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

. His last movie was ''Madonna: Ang Babaeng Ahas'', filmed in 1988, but it was released posthumously in 1991.

Death

Montenegro died of a heart attack on August 20, 1988 in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines.

Legacy

His surviving granddaughter

Valeen Montenegro Valeen Montenegro Vicente (born June 10, 1990) is a Filipino actress, comedienne and model. Career Montenegro started her acting career as one of the new talents launched by ABS-CBN's talent management arm Star Magic in 2006. Her first acting r ...

is also an actress following the footsteps of his legacy.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montenegro, Mario 1928 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Filipino male actors Filipino male film actors Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino people of French descent Male actors from Laguna (province) Paramilitary Filipinos