Categories
Hall of Fame - Og Ramos, Mr. Philippines 1951
Og Ramos, 'Tarzan’ of Philippine movies
May 30, 2003
By Juan Escandor, Jr.
Inquirer News Service
NAGA CITY - At 23, he had won the bodybuilding title Mr. Philippines in 1951. With his buff body as his ticket, he became a big star.
"When I was already a teenager, he told me that he retired from the movies because he hated it when his privacy was being invaded," recalls his daughter Maria Ana Karina, 32, who still lives in their native town, Tigaon in Camarines Sur.
Her father was the equivalent of today's movie hunks. Back then, the correct thing to do with actors who had buff bodies to show off was to make them play a Tarzan character. Thus, star-builders created a character named Og, the man from the jungle, and made Ramos play it in his first movie, "Og sa Mindanao." This was followed by, among others, "Og sa Visayas" and "Og sa Luzon."
To moviegoers, Ramos would always be Og.
The first Og movie was an instant hit. In his subsequent movies, "Og" was always inserted in his name. Eventually, Jesus was dropped and he became Og Ramos.
He married Leozarine Querubin from his town and their wedding was a celebrated one. Querubin, Miss Bicolandia in the early 1960s, is the daughter of a pharmacist.
Their families had been long-time friends. Ramos' father, Dr. Vicente Ramos,
dealt with the Querubin family which owned a big drugstore in Tigaon.
By the 1960s, lead roles had stopped coming for Ramos, and he was relegated
to cameo roles. Fernando Poe Jr. was the rising star in the movies.
But Ramos was ready to leave the movies. He established himself as a real
estate broker, although he would continue to do bit roles in movies.
Ramos and his wife had five children. When the children were going to college,
the Ramoses lived in Manila and would visit Tigaon only during the town fiesta
and Holy Week.
Maria Ana Karina, the youngest of the five children, described her father as charming and charismatic.
She recalls that while she was still a student at the Far Eastern University, she accompanied her father to a gym for his thrice weekly workout. He was already in his late fifties then. She says young women who were also working out would steal glances at her father while he did his bench press, his powerful legs planted on the floor.
Maria Ana Karina giggles as she shows this writer a faded photograph of Ramos receiving a cash prize for winning the title of Mr. Philippines 1951.
"He is so cute here," the daughter gushes, and then she adds with a sad smile, "Sayang."
She says her father was still in good shape when he died July 26, 1992.
Submitted by Robert Myers - 7/16/2003