Gerardo de Leon

Directing·Sep 12, 1913·Manila, Philippines

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Gerardo de León (September 12, 1913 - July 25, 1981) was a Filipino actor turned film director, who made his acting debut in the 1934 movie Ang Dangal. De León, who was born as Gerardo Ilagan, was a member of the Ilagan clan of Philippine motion pictures, which includes Robert Arevalo, Liberty Ilagan and Ronaldo Valdez, and musical scorer Tito Arévalo. De León was a medical doctor by profession, but his ultimate love for film has won him over. He made eight more films as an actor before he became a director. He made his directorial debut in 1939's Bahay-Kubo, starring Fely Vallejo (who he later married). One of his unfinished projects was in the late Fernando Poe, Jr.'s Juan de la Cruz in 1972. Nicknamed "Manong", de León holds the sole distinction of being the most awarded film director in the history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences' FAMAS Awards, the Philippines' Oscars. From 1952 to 1971, he was awarded seven FAMAS Awards, three of them he received three years in a row. All of the films in which he won for Best Director also won for Best Picture at the FAMAS: Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo (1952), Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig (1958), Huwag Mo Akong Limutin (1960), Noli Me Tangere (1961, adaptation of the novel Noli Me Tangere ), El Filibusterismo (1962), Daigdig ng mga Api (1965), Lilet (1971).

Film	Credit
Banaue: Stairway to the Sky1975 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Fe, Esperanza, Caridad1974 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Women in Cages1971 · Director	Director
Lilet1971 · Director	Director
Mad Doctor of Blood Island1969 · Director	Director
Brownout1969 · Director	Director
Brides of Blood1968 · Director	Director
Curse of the Vampires1966 · Director	Director
Wanted: Johnny L1966 · Director	Director
Ang Daigdig ng mga Api1965 · Director	Director
The Blood Drinkers1964 · Director	Director
The Walls of Hell1964 · Director	Director
Anak ni Dyesebel1964 · Director	Director
El Filibusterismo1962 · Director	Director
Noli Me Tángere1961 · Screenplay, Director	Screenplay, Director
The Moises Padilla Story1961 · Director	Director
Huwag Mo Akong Limutin1960 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
Terror Is a Man1959 · Director	Director
Aawitan Kita1959 · Director	Director
Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig1958 · Director	Director
Cavalry Command1958 · Director	Director
Bicol Express1957 · Director	Director
Saigon1956 · Director	Director
Sanda Wong1955 · Director	Director
Pedro Penduko1954 · Director	Director
IIfugao1954 · Producer, Director	Producer, Director
Dyesebel1953 · Director	Director
Ang Bagong Maestra1953 · Director	Director
AAng Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo1952 · Director	Director
Sisa1951 · Director	Director
Diego Silang1951 · Director	Director
KKamay ni Satanas1950 · Director	Director
48 Hours1950 · Director	Director
Padre Burgos1949 · Director	Director
Ikaw Ay Akin1947 · Director	Director
The Dawn of Freedom1944 · Director	Director
Tatlong Maria1944 · Director	Director
Ang Maestra1941 · Director	Director
Ama at Anak1939 · Actor, Director	Actor, Director
Ruisenor1939 · Actor	Actor
Bahay Kubo1939 · Director	Director
Ang Pagbabalik1937 · Actor	Actor