An intimate portrait of Tessie Agana’s life and times

“She started out when she was about six years old, and (she did) ‘Roberta,’ the big movie when she was eight years old. From eight to 14, it was when she made a lot of her movies as a child star.”

That was Mylene Richardson speaking about the first foray of her mom, Tessie Agana, also known as the “Shirley Temple of the Philippines,” into acting in a recent virtual press conference.

Tessie is among the child stars that the local tinseltown produced in the ‘50s. In the chapter article titled A History of Philippine Cinema, written by Mario Hernando, from the book, The Golden Years: Memorable Tagalog Movie Ads 1946-1956, from the collection of Danny Dolor, (1994) edited by Ronald Constantino and Ricardo Lo, Tessie was described as “a child star virtually rebuilt the razed Sampaguita studio from the ashes” with her 1951 movie, “Roberta.”

Mario added that the other child stars at that time were “Boy Alano, Bebong Osorio, Boy Planas, Precy Ortega, Baby Zobel, Nora Dy, and Ike Jarlego, Jr.”

Mylene, during the online interview, shared that her mother’s journey in acting commenced more than seven decades ago and Sampaguita Pictures “was one of the big movie producers back in the 1950s.” Tessie was cast in “a low-budget movie called ‘Roberta,’” and “while filming, tragedy struck and Sampaguita Pictures studio burned to the ground.”

The filming of “Roberta” pushed through, and it had its gala premiere on Feb. 28, 1951. The movie became a blockbuster that led to Tessie’s stardom and solidified her child star status.

“My mother was credited as the child actor who gave Sampaguita the miracle to not only survive the catastrophe with this movie but come back bigger and stronger,” shared Mylene in a statement.

This and more perhaps constitute the child star’s professional journey as told in the book, titled The Legend of Tessie Agana: Beloved Child Star of the Philippines, written by Mylene.

Tessie Agana, the child star, and actress-mother Linda Estrella.

Part of the narrative is the time when Tessie took a breather from show business.

“They did move to the United States when she was only 14,” said the author, “and then when they came back for her teenage years, she did movies with Jose Mari.” The latter is the matinee idol-actor-turned-politician who starred with Tessie in the film, “Amy, Susie and Tessie,” with, as the title suggests, veteran actresses Amalia Fuentes and Susan Roces.

Some interesting tidbits about Tessie, who has done some 20 movies, include the idea that “she was also deemed as the ‘Take One’ actress, so other actors need to be ready for the emotional scenes as the directors knew she only needed ‘one take,’” according to her daughter.

However, the book doesn’t only focus on Tessie and her craft, but also on her life beyond the klieg lights or showbiz. This includes her struggles “as a young adult,” her dreams, and her “transitioning” to a married life, as one might glean from Mylene.

The cover of the book.

According to the author, The Legend of Tessie Agana, a passion project, began 15 years ago when they celebrated the first birthday of her eldest son Chapman with the intention of telling their family history revolving around Tessie and the latter’s mother, Linda Estrella, also an actress. The author walked down memory lane by checking out “old photo albums dating back to the 1930s and 1940s,” which served as her roadmap. She also interviewed her mother and grandmother, relatives, and friends to get a clearer picture of the unfolding story. The author had to wrap her head around themes emerging from hours of conversations.

From there, Mylene came up with “an intimate portrait,” a line from the book’s cover, about her mother, Tessie, which is waiting to be read and be discovered.

The book is available in hardbound paperback and ebook formats. To explore the story, visit https://bookshelf.com.ph/ or https://www.mylenerichardson.com/. You can also find the book on Shopee and Lazada.