The Philippine movie industry is neither Mount Olympus nor a monarchy but it has gods and goddesses and kings and queens, albeit with feet of clay.

One of them was Gloria Romero, who died last Jan. 25 (the Feast of St. Paul, as reminded by showbiz fixture and Nora Aunor fan Marie Cusi) at the age of 91. 

Even at her death, Gloria, born Gloria Anne Borrego Galla, was billed as the “Queen of Philippine Movies.” During her reign, she was the demigoddess—young, gorgeous, statuesque, with a face that could draw a thousand suitors.

I first saw Gloria (whom I would eventually address as “Tita Gloria” when I became a movie reporter) in fanzines and komiks mags like Sixteen and Darna but most especially in human interest magazines like Graphic, Nation, and Pilipino Free Press, among others, and in black-and-white movies shown in our small town’s theaters along with other Sampaguita Pictures titles, and also on black-and-white TV starting in the early 1960s.

Together with Susan Roces and Amalia Fuentes, Gloria Romero was a big star, but distant, in fact unreachable, far from the maddening crowd of the common people. Where could she have been living? Perhaps in a castle? She was, after all, the constant Movie Queen in the popularity contests sponsored by fan mags.

Gloria’s producer, Dr. Jose R. Perez of Sampaguita Pictures (where she was finally signed up after being launched as a bit player doing cameos at Premiere Productions), was also her handler and manager. At that time, individual talent managers of the likes of Douglas Quijano, Boy C. de Guia, Ethel Ramos, Ronald Constantino, among their league of veterans, and Johnnys come lately like Boy Abunda, Angge, Popoy Caritativo, etc., were unheard of yet.

Perez renamed her Gloria Romero (the surname of the then upcoming director Eddie Romero, now National Artist for Film). Under the physician-starmaker’s guidance, she developed into the well-mannered woman of the movie sphere—a unique, special and graceful talent, her image framed as the classic mestiza molded from Hollywood’s mythical deities and Western beauties.

Gloria’s mother, May, was American. That made her a Vivien Leigh or a Grace Kelly incarnate, although her father was a true-blue Filipino from Pangasinan who may have been one of the earliest workers or students to travel from the Philippines to the United States.

Because of her chaste mien, Gloria was put on a pedestal and exalted. Almost always she essayed the role of the Virgin Mary during Lenten presentations, which established her trademark as a pious person on- and off-camera, making her exceptional among her peers, a cut above the rest.

Even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., commenting on her passing, referred to her as “a fine lady, a true star.” (Could that impression have stemmed from Gloria’s portrayal of his mother, former first lady Imelda R. Marcos, in the movie “Iginuhit ng Tadhana,” a biographical film released in 1965, in time for the presidential candidacy of his father and namesake?)

Ideal girlfriend 

Gloria was the ideal girlfriend to the movie star Juancho Gutierrez—loving, level-headed, intelligent, and patient, as she was described by the late entertainment writer Arthur Quinto. The Filipino public, especially the women, considered the couple a perfect match, seeing in them the ideal foil to the failed marriages which had started to manifest in society at that time.

As a matter of fact, their wedding was celebrated and hyped as the “Wedding of the Year.” It was said that Juancho was Gloria’s love at first sight.

They were idolized along with such showbiz unions that endured, like Barbara Perez and Robert Arevalo and Susan Roces and Fernando Poe Jr.

Sadly, not all marriages are made in heaven. After 12 years of marriage, Gloria and Juancho headed for Splitsville; their unica hija, Maritess Gutierrez, remained in her custody.

The world of the Gloria-Juancho fans crumbled. As Arthur Quinto reported in one fanzine, many of their fans wept over their separation. 

It was made clear that even showbiz deities are not spared from human frailties.

At the start of the millennium, Juancho had a diabetic stroke. As a dutiful wife and upon their only child’s request, Gloria took her husband in and looked after him until his death in 2005.       

But while Gloria-Juancho was the real and reel love team, Luis Gonzalez was also Gloria’s perennial and more sought-after screen partner. They made up a successful duo that gave the creators of “Iginuhit ng Tadhana” the idea to pair them off again in the Marcos biopic.

Again, Gloria was edified, becoming increasingly royal. 

Reticence    

When I came face to face with Gloria again, on the set of Viva Films’ “Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig?” in an antique house somewhere on Legarda Street in Sampaloc, Manila, she was seated in a corner, waiting for her cue. She was contained in the stillness of the set, where only the low voice of Eddie Garcia, the director, could be heard. 

She was reticent. Or perhaps she was internalizing the script, burying herself deep in her role. 

I just looked at her, nay, looked up to her, as she was as tall as her stature: a monument, a heroine. She didn’t have to speak; her achievements did it for her.

I rarely spoke with her, even on the set of NV Productions’ “Condemned,” in which she played a villainous crime boss.

But a revelation of her down-to-earth nature came during her long stint with “Palibhasa Lalaki” at ABS-CBN. As a “Star News” reporter for “TV Patrol,” I always hung around the set of the sitcom in one of the Lopez network’s studios.

Oh, boy, the other side of Gloria Romero would emerge—friendly, funny, boisterous even. 

She told stories during breaks, about her experiences, personal and otherwise, and about some people she knew—amazing, amusing, inspirational stories. She sometimes broke into a guffaw, momentarily making her one of us ordinary mortals.

Arthur Quinto and I conversed with her for hours on practically anything, whether on or off the record. We discovered that she had no medical condition except occasional vertigo. Until her last days, she was never diagnosed with any illness. It was old age that finally claimed her. 

Awarded artist 

Gloria Romero was an active member of Balik-Samahan, a group of retired and semi-retired actors and actresses. Only last year, she was feted with a bash on her 90^th birthday. She was wheelchair-bound but well, still bubbly and expressive of love and care for her colleagues like Helen Gamboa, Marita Zobel, Liza Lorena, Nova Villa, Imelda Ilanan, Marissa Delgado, and Pepito Rodriguez, among others.

She was a complete artist who was recognized with many awards such as Famas: Best Actress, “Dalagang Ilocana,” 1955, Best Actress, “Tanging Yaman,” 2001, Best Supporting Actress, “Nagbabagang Luha,” 1989; Gawad Urian of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino: Best Supporting Actress, 2004, and Natatanging Gawad Urian; and Metro Manila Film Festival: Best Supporting Actress,“Rainbow Sunset,” 2014.