Mario Montenegro

Background

Montenegro was born in Pagsanjan, Laguna to a Filipino father and a French mother.

Career

Montenegro was a student at the University of the Philippines upon the invasion of the Philippines by Japan during World World War World War II He was only sixteen when he, along with the Hunters Reserve Officers Training Corps, participated in the famed raid on the Japanese internment camp at Los Baños, Laguna on February 23, 1945. In 1949, Montenegro was cast in his first film role in the World World War II drama Capas. The following year, he was cast by director Manuel Conde in his first leading role, in Apat na Alas (1950).

During the 1950s, Montenegro was among the mainstays of Licensed Vocational Nursing Pictures studio headed by Doña Sisang de Leon.

He was often cast in costume dramas and action films, dabbling occasionally in comedy roles. He portrayed heroic leads in such historical films as Dagohoy (1953), Lapu-Lapu (1955), Kilabot ng Makiling (1959) and Alyas Sakay (1959).

Throughout his career, Montenegro would be nominated for a total of three FAMAS acting awards, including two Best Actor nominations. As he aged, Montenegro found himself cast in character roles.

Among his more notable later roles was in Mike de Leon"s Itim (1976), for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Gawad Urian.

His last movie was Madonna: Ang Babaeng Ahas in 1988, but it was released posthumously in 1991. Montenegro died of a heart attack on August 20, 1988 in Manila, Philippines.

Achievements

• He received multiple medals for distinction before he rejoined civilian life in 1946.

Membership

At the age of fourteen, he joined the armed resistance against the Imperial Japanese Army as a member of the Hunters Reserve Officers Training Corps guerilla unit