Past memorable shows on GMA 7

(Second of three parts)

GMA 7 is celebrating its 53rd anniversary with a big Araneta show to be telecast tonight and tomorrow night. In line with the network’s anniversary, I started recalling in this column the other day some of Channel 7’s most memorable programs in the past. Below is the continuation.

Penthouse 7. The 1960’s Dancetime With Chito was the first successful local show of Channel 7. But then the station felt that it was time to come up again with a dance program in the ’70’s. Chito Feliciano had already died in a helicopter crash. The station thus drafted another dance enthusiast, Archie Lacson, who was also a regular with Dancetime With Chito.

Penthouse 7 featured song and dance numbers but much awaited were the dance instructional portions from two regular groups: the young crowd made up of Ponci Quirino, Mike Monserrat, Pipo Liboro, Gina Valenciano, Marilyn Feliciano and Ida Henares and the older Latin group of Tito Garcia and company.

This dance program began airing in the mid-‘70s, but "mysteriously" disappeared from the air in early 1981.

Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko. This is the longest running public service show on television. Kapwa Ko began airing with Rosa Rosal and Orly Mercado in 1974. Eventually, they were joined by kidney specialist Dr. Antonio Talusan. Other hosts have come and gone through the years but Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko is still there, serving the poor and the needy.

Kahapon Lamang. Produced for GMA 7 by program Philippines, Inc., also the company behind Student Canteen, Kahapon Lamang is today’s equivalent of Maalaala Mo Kaya and Magpakailaman in the sense that it dramatized true-to-life stories as annotated by Eddie Ilarde. Kahapon Lamang lasted many years in spite of the fact that its first episode was banned by the censors. Its story was about incest (with Joey de Leon in the lead role) that was obviously way ahead of its time.

Tanghalan. Directed by Lino Brocka, Tanghalan was the Quality drama series of the mid-70’s. (It premiered on November 1975.) Its pilot telecast was Paraisong Parisukat, the story of sales clerks in a shoe store. It featured Laurice Guillen, Mitch Valdes, Bembol Roco, Lorli Villanueva and Melvi Pacubas. Paraisong Parisukat was eventually made into a movie a year later with Alma Moreno and Christopher de Leon in the lead.

Last year, it was remade for the big screen with Joyce Jimenez and Jay Manalo as lead stars.

Prinsipe Abante. Obviously a parody of Prinsipe Amante, this early evening comedy starred the late Bert Marcelo, Bayani Casimiro and Tina Revilla. It was funny, irreverent, but very, very wholesome.

Anna Liza. In the late ‘70s, a child star named Julie Vega became a box-office sensation with her big screen tearjerkers. Sometime in 1979, RPN-9 produced a nightly soap opera called Flordeluna and it was supposed to star Julie Vega in the title role. Unfortunately, the child star was tied down to a movie company and her film producer was not inclined to let her do television. Flordeluna still went on the air – but with Janice de Belen (who was supposed to play the contravida Wilma) elevated to the title role.

A year later, Julie Vega was released from her movie contract and a production company headed by Rey Benedicto and Freddie Garcia promptly produced for GMA 7 Anna Liza starring Julie Vega. The show became an instant hit and clobbered the more established Flordeluna in the ratings game. The soap only ended when Julie Vega died at a very young age in May 1985.

Discorama. A sister show of Student Canteen, Discorama was a variety program hosted by Bobby Ledesma and Tito, Vic and Joey. (Its opening billboard had Vivian Velez gyrating in very sexy dance number). Strangely enough the death knell was supposed to ring for this show when – on its supposedly last telecast – Tito, Vic and Joey suggested that they do the Tough Hits act, a countdown of popular songs parodied by the trio. It was an instant hit and the show was saved and went on for several years.

Two for the Road.This talk show started in the old ABS-CBN in the late ‘60s as a nighly program. It was hosted by Elvira Manahan and Eddie Mercado and was directed by Nestor Torre and Edmund Sicam. When it was revived in the late ‘70’s (with Nestor as Elvira’s co-host), it had a brief and unsuccessful stint on Channel 4 before it moved to GMA 7 where it became a very popular talk show with a lot of substance.

When Ninoy Aquino was killed on Aug. 21, 1983, Two for the Road dared to make a tribute to the martyr despite the fact that Marcos was still very much in power. But that was what made Two for the Road different from other talk shows of its time. It always dared to be different.

In October 1986, while Nestor Torre was away in China acting in a film (Eddie Romero’s The King and the Emperor), Elvira Manahan was brutally murdered in her Forbes Park home.

Elvira’s death also became the end of the road for this memorable late night talk show. (To be concluded)