The unauthorized biography of Fernando Kelley
January 26, 2004 | 12:00am
What we know of the presidential actor Fernando Poe Kelley is at best rudimentary, that he was born two years before Pearl Harbor, a veritable love child of Allan Fernando Poe Sr. and the American Bessie Kelley.
It is not certain if Fernando’s mother was named after the singer Bessie Smith, a legend in American folk music, but given that Bessie is a fairly common name in any country or language, being a contraction of Elizabeth or Isabel, such conjecture can tread on wild and perhaps unfounded ground.
Of the actor’s father a bit more can be dug up. When we were kids growing up in the still pristine UP Village in Diliman, and the smoke belching tricycles were not yet the order of the day and night on the steep incline that is Maginhawa St., our parents warned us not to tease pet dogs or cats, because these seemingly lovable and cuddly animals could be carriers of the dreaded rabies.
"Be careful, baka matulad ka kay Fernando Poe," was the constant admonition whenever we got a bit too familiar with our unvaccinated pets.
This was our first exposure to the father of Fernando Kelley, whose movies by then we were able to catch flickering on the black and white Magnavox TV screen, courtesy of Aninong Gumagalaw.
Such as it was, our child’s imagination ran wild with the awful possibilities of what might happen to us if our philosopher dog suddenly flew off the handle and in a fit of pique, curiosity, or plain boredom, bit us.
Visions of dryness in the mouth, fear of water, and a voiceover in the background saying, "huwag tularan, death by dog bite." And a grim puppy reaper it was too.
Our next encounter with Poe Sr., if it can be called that, was years later, when a news report mentioned that Fernando Kelley’s father was, in fact, the model for the UP Oblation, the naked statue looking up to the sky and with arms spread, symbolizing all things UP. For those of us who spent our formative years in Diliman, this informational tidbit proved even more of a revelation than the statue’s nakedness, and we can picture the oblation weathering storms, earthquakes and floods, but not a rabid dog.
For this reason alone, it is said, the State University embarked on one of the strongest vet met courses in the country, but like the brewing citizenship question surrounding the oblation model’s son, that is neither here nor there.
Enter the action star Fernando Kelley, with the rapid punch fists and the mumbling demeanor, the shy smile and the gallant stance. Sometimes we see him drinking beer, or is it all the time? In the commercials, he is seen drinking beer, which is all the time. We don’t know if he continues quaffing the stuff after the shoot, when the ad director yells cut, good take, just remember, iba na ang may pinagsamahan.
In the commercials, the theme is usually the bayanihan, the common tao helping one another, then after a hard day’s work, time to savor that malt, hops and cereals made from the best possible ingredients the world over, wopak! wopak! with cameos by some familiar faces from the neighborhood ihawan, Recah, Dalena, Pepito Aguila, Chris Michelena.
We remember first running into Fernando Kelley, live as it were, at the book launch of Erwin Castillo’s Firewalkers in the early 1990s, held at a swanky bar at Mile Long in Makati. There he was, larger than life, or a bit smaller than the big screen, yet with that characteristic beatific smile. A movie based on Firewalkers seems forever on the drawing boards, but when it is finally made, don’t be surprised if Kelley plays the title role.
Or is the firewalking being done now, in the run up to elections? Castillo, during one such San Miguel ad shoot directed by Michelena in the ruins of Intramuros some years ago, was non-committal about Kelley’s candidacy. FPJ stands for Peace and Justice. FPK for Prose of Kaleidoscopes. And to think that the scheming nightmares of the Mawanays, Mahusays and Manapats were not even a gleam in the eye of the secret dirty tricks department then, not a trace of any white paper or confetti having to do with the action star in the wake of people power.
Our other sightings of Machinegun Kelley were mostly confined to either the TV or movie screen. There was Aguila directed by National Artist Eddie Romero, who said he would vote for Kelley because he’s different from Erap, another actor who was ousted as president.
Alamat ng Lawin directed by Kelley himself under a different name, was reviewed in this same space a couple of film fests ago.
Of course we never tire of relating how the first baby in the family, when she was growing up in flooded Conchu St. in Singalong, remarked upon seeing the Kelley character talk in one of his TV movies, "Nagsasalita pala siya, akala ko pipi."
The contention about Kelley’s citizenship is that he might not be Filipino, just as Taulava, Hatfield, Pennisi, may not be Filipino, though they sure as tikoy played for the national basketball team and almost beat champion South Korea in the latest Asian Games.
It is said that Poe Sr. eventually married Bessie a year after FPK was born, making his Pinoyness perhaps retroactive.
If it’s any consolation, Fernando Kelley can always return to making movies and finally come out with that long awaited blockbuster, "Firewalkers." Or he can stick it out and complete the movie left unfinished by his bosom buddy, at whose inauguration he was conspicuously hovering about, as if sensing it was his duty to retrieve something before it was lost forever.
It is not certain if Fernando’s mother was named after the singer Bessie Smith, a legend in American folk music, but given that Bessie is a fairly common name in any country or language, being a contraction of Elizabeth or Isabel, such conjecture can tread on wild and perhaps unfounded ground.
Of the actor’s father a bit more can be dug up. When we were kids growing up in the still pristine UP Village in Diliman, and the smoke belching tricycles were not yet the order of the day and night on the steep incline that is Maginhawa St., our parents warned us not to tease pet dogs or cats, because these seemingly lovable and cuddly animals could be carriers of the dreaded rabies.
"Be careful, baka matulad ka kay Fernando Poe," was the constant admonition whenever we got a bit too familiar with our unvaccinated pets.
This was our first exposure to the father of Fernando Kelley, whose movies by then we were able to catch flickering on the black and white Magnavox TV screen, courtesy of Aninong Gumagalaw.
Such as it was, our child’s imagination ran wild with the awful possibilities of what might happen to us if our philosopher dog suddenly flew off the handle and in a fit of pique, curiosity, or plain boredom, bit us.
Visions of dryness in the mouth, fear of water, and a voiceover in the background saying, "huwag tularan, death by dog bite." And a grim puppy reaper it was too.
Our next encounter with Poe Sr., if it can be called that, was years later, when a news report mentioned that Fernando Kelley’s father was, in fact, the model for the UP Oblation, the naked statue looking up to the sky and with arms spread, symbolizing all things UP. For those of us who spent our formative years in Diliman, this informational tidbit proved even more of a revelation than the statue’s nakedness, and we can picture the oblation weathering storms, earthquakes and floods, but not a rabid dog.
For this reason alone, it is said, the State University embarked on one of the strongest vet met courses in the country, but like the brewing citizenship question surrounding the oblation model’s son, that is neither here nor there.
Enter the action star Fernando Kelley, with the rapid punch fists and the mumbling demeanor, the shy smile and the gallant stance. Sometimes we see him drinking beer, or is it all the time? In the commercials, he is seen drinking beer, which is all the time. We don’t know if he continues quaffing the stuff after the shoot, when the ad director yells cut, good take, just remember, iba na ang may pinagsamahan.
In the commercials, the theme is usually the bayanihan, the common tao helping one another, then after a hard day’s work, time to savor that malt, hops and cereals made from the best possible ingredients the world over, wopak! wopak! with cameos by some familiar faces from the neighborhood ihawan, Recah, Dalena, Pepito Aguila, Chris Michelena.
We remember first running into Fernando Kelley, live as it were, at the book launch of Erwin Castillo’s Firewalkers in the early 1990s, held at a swanky bar at Mile Long in Makati. There he was, larger than life, or a bit smaller than the big screen, yet with that characteristic beatific smile. A movie based on Firewalkers seems forever on the drawing boards, but when it is finally made, don’t be surprised if Kelley plays the title role.
Or is the firewalking being done now, in the run up to elections? Castillo, during one such San Miguel ad shoot directed by Michelena in the ruins of Intramuros some years ago, was non-committal about Kelley’s candidacy. FPJ stands for Peace and Justice. FPK for Prose of Kaleidoscopes. And to think that the scheming nightmares of the Mawanays, Mahusays and Manapats were not even a gleam in the eye of the secret dirty tricks department then, not a trace of any white paper or confetti having to do with the action star in the wake of people power.
Our other sightings of Machinegun Kelley were mostly confined to either the TV or movie screen. There was Aguila directed by National Artist Eddie Romero, who said he would vote for Kelley because he’s different from Erap, another actor who was ousted as president.
Alamat ng Lawin directed by Kelley himself under a different name, was reviewed in this same space a couple of film fests ago.
Of course we never tire of relating how the first baby in the family, when she was growing up in flooded Conchu St. in Singalong, remarked upon seeing the Kelley character talk in one of his TV movies, "Nagsasalita pala siya, akala ko pipi."
The contention about Kelley’s citizenship is that he might not be Filipino, just as Taulava, Hatfield, Pennisi, may not be Filipino, though they sure as tikoy played for the national basketball team and almost beat champion South Korea in the latest Asian Games.
It is said that Poe Sr. eventually married Bessie a year after FPK was born, making his Pinoyness perhaps retroactive.
If it’s any consolation, Fernando Kelley can always return to making movies and finally come out with that long awaited blockbuster, "Firewalkers." Or he can stick it out and complete the movie left unfinished by his bosom buddy, at whose inauguration he was conspicuously hovering about, as if sensing it was his duty to retrieve something before it was lost forever.
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