Mick Foley ‘live’ in Manila

Fans (this one definitely not included) of wrestling to whom the name Mick Foley rings a thousand bells will jump with joy to know that their heavyweight (literally and figuratively) idol is coming to Manila – "live!" – on Jan. 21 to 23 to promote the forthcoming WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Raw Live Tour slated at the Araneta Coliseum on Feb. 24 and 25.

During his three-day whirlwind visit, Foley will make the rounds of radio and TV stations, and make personal appearances in malls. Wrestling fans may also catch a glimpse of him during a special motorcade.

The Big Dome show (which also features wrestling stars like WWE Champion John Cena, Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair, World Tag Team Champions Big Show and Kane, and Women’s Champion Trish Stratus) is so popular that, I heard, tickets are already (well, almost!) sold out.

Here are more facts about Foley for the sake of clueless, non-wrestling fans like yours truly:

Foley, who became a professional wrestler in 1983, is known for three distinct gimmicks, namely: Cactus Jack, a maniacal and blood-thirsty Western outlaw; Mankind, a tortured soul who hides behind a leather mask and inflicts pain on his opponents to ease his memories of a dark past; and Dude Love, a swinging "hip cat" and weenie.

He formed "The Rock n’ Sock Connection," one of the most popular tag teams in WWE history, with The Rock (now a Hollywood star twice featured in this section’s Conversations with Ricky Lo). The duo went on to win the World Tag Team Championship thrice. Foley has captured the WWE Championship thrice (once in 1998 and twice in 1999).

Noted for hardcore matches, Foley has "souvenirs" to show for it, including eight concussions, part of his ear ripped off, second-degree burns from a C-4 explosion and more than 300 stitches/scars.

Don’t look now but Foley is also a successful author. His autobiography, Have A Nice Day, reached No. 1 on the New York Times’ best-seller list. He has also written two children’s holiday books, Christmas Chaos and Halloween Hi-Jinx. All the profits from another children’s book, Tales From Wrescal Lane, were donated by Foley to the building of a school in the Philippines. Since 1996, he has sponsored the education of two Filipino kids, one of whom graduated from the program in 2001.

You see, behind, rather inside, a hulk is a little boy.

More Pinoy achievers abroad

Here are additional names to Funfare’s broken series on Filipino achievers abroad, contributed by reader Fritzi Perona (no address given):

I must say I was delighted last year when you printed my tidbit about Fil-Norwegian Natassia Malthe, who played Typhoid Mary in 2005’s Elektra, on my birthday, no less! Just to give you an update, she is currently filming Skinwalkers, a horror flick, with Roswell’s Jason Behr and doing post-production work for DOA: Dead or Alive, together with Devon Aoki (Sin City, 2Fast2Furious), Jamie Pressly (Joe Dirt), singer Holly Vallance and Eric Roberts.

Here are more kababayan trying to make it or who have already made it – in Hollywood:

• X3’s (X-men 3) newest baddy on the block, Psylocke, will be played by 26-year-old Filipina actress Meiling Melancon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mei (as her family fondly calls her), who practises Wushu Kung Fu, has previously worked with X3 director Brett Ratner in Rush Hour 2. Her other notable TV guest appearances are in Kitchen Confidential, HBO’s Deadwood series, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

• Another note-worthy Pinay is Vanessa Minnillo, born on Nov. 9, 1980 in Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Her father, Vince Minnillo, was an Air Force air crew member (now retired) of Irish and Italian extraction; and her mother, Helen Berecero, is a Filipina he met while based in the Philippines. She and her family, which includes an older brother, Vincent, lived in California, Nevada, Florida, Germany and Japan before settling down in Charleston, South Carolina.

Vanessa attended seven different schools during this time, and participated in cheer leading and volunteer work for numerous different local charities. In 1996, Vanessa began to turn her attention to the Miss South Carolina beauty pageant. She had loved cheer-leading since she was a child, and was very keen on performing in front of an audience. With her unaffected style and natural ebullience, she easily won over the judges, sweeping all the categories before winning the crown.

Two years later, on Aug. 17, 1998, she competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant. She won the nod of the judges of the Miss Teen USA just like she had the Miss South Carolina judges two years earlier. It was her second pageant, and her second victory. In the three years since handing over her Miss Teen USA crown, Vanessa has concentrated on college, acting and modeling. She has a promising future, as she was one of the finalists in E!’s competition to find a replacement for Brooke Burke as the hostess for the show Wild On...

Though the job ultimately went to Cindy Taylor, Vanessa had made a big impression and the rest, as they say, is history! She is now one of the hottest MTV VJ’s, hosting TRL (a job she had to fill in for Carson Daly), and also a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, rubbing elbows with the biggest stars in Hollywood. She also used to date Mariah Carey’s ex-Mr. New York Yankee himself, Derek Jeter.

• Lastly, but definitely not the least, is Shannyn Sossamon, better known as Lady Jocelyn in A Knight’s Tale with Australian hunk Heath Ledger. In 2002, she starred opposite Josh Hartnett in 40 Days 40 Nights. In 2003, she reunited with Ledger and co-starred in The Order. Her other acting credits include The Rules of Attraction, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Chasing Ghosts and Undiscovered.

Shannyn, who credits her striking looks to an eclectic mix of French, Hawaiian, Dutch, Irish, Filipino and German blood, was born Shannon Marie Kahoolani Sossamon in Honolulu, Hawaii. When Shannyn was three, her family moved to a new exotic locale: Reno, Nevada. At 17, promptly after high school graduation, she left her small town for a career in dance in Los Angeles. While attending Dance Unlimited, Shannyn began her alternate career as a DJ in local clubs. Acting was not high on the young dancer’s priority list, aside from a series of commercials, not for lack of interest but for the fact that she was content with her life in L.A.

In 1999, a new chapter began in Shannyn’s life while she was helping a DJ friend at a birthday party for Hollywood royalty, Gwyneth Paltrow. That was where she met Francine Maisler, a casting director known for such films as The Usual Suspects. Shannyn continues to DJ every Tuesday night at a local club in L.A., but the rest of her time is filled with filming and travel. She’s also a devoted mom to her first son, Audio Science Clayton.

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