The durable Eddie Gutierrez

MANILA, Philippines - It is easy to spot a former Sampaguita actor in a crowd. He is well-groomed, impeccably dressed and generous with his smile. He is courteous and polite and ev- ery inch a gentleman. And just like Sharon Cuneta or Vilma Santos, he has a fantastic recall of first names.

Eddie Gutierrez is all these and more. He stands out because of his towering height. He is a six-footer.

Hours ago, I was watching Cinema Clas- sics featuring old Sampaguita movies. The movie of the day is Pitong Pagsisisi, an all- star cast. One of the stars is the lanky and exceedingly handsome Eddie. Together with Miss Number One winner Amalia Fuentes, they relived one of the last seven words of Christ. We presumed it was a Lenten presentation.

It was 1960 and look at Eddie today: Still as debonair as the day the late Dr. Jose R. Perez gave him a break. The actor who has been linked to many women but re- mained faithful to one has aged gracefully.

At the recent presscon of ABS-CBN’s Ina Kapatid Anak, Eddie welcomed the guests with an anecdote.

“You know, I feel very lucky. After someone called me an aging actor with no project, in less than a week, this teleserye offer came up. The chance of working again with Pilar Pilapil, Cherry Pie Picache and Janice de Belen ay isang bagay na hindi ko pwedeng palagpasin. I feel so proud and lucky to be part of the Book 2 of Ina Kapa- tid Anak,” he revealed.

Where serious acting is concerned, Eddie said he is a late-bloomer. “It was because I was being build-up as glamor boy which to some extent I enjoyed. Blame it on my youth. And another thing, kapag kadramahan na ang pag-uusapan, teritoryo na ito ni Dindo Fernando. Then I left for the States and stayed there for quite some- time. I even earned the tag Kaldero King because selling expensive kitchen wares was my job. As the saying goes, once an actor always an actor.

“When I returned to the Philippines for good, I decided to make a screen comeback. I felt good dahil may tiwala pa sa akin ang publiko. My friend (Phillip) ‘Ipe’ Salvador advised me to try character roles, which means accepting contravida parts. I followed his advice and got my first acting trophy. The rest is history.

“As an artist, I have lived a full life. I have played the good and the bad on screen. There are no more dream roles to aspire for and as long as I can memorize my lines I will be an actor. Look at Clint Eastwood who at 80-plus is still active. For the moment, doing teleseryes is fine with me. It energizes my mind,” he said.

How does Eddie assess the young cast composed of Kim Chiu, Xian Lim, En- chong Dee and Maja Salvador?

“They’re all very good. Kinakausap ko pa lang ay lumuluha na. Wala naman kasing act- ing workshop noong panahon namin. They are like my own children and I am proud of them.”

As the Star Magic talents say their part- ing shot, a thought came into my mind: Who among them would last long enough the way Eddie did and still smell yummy?