275. TESSIE TOMAS, CREATIVE GUILD HALL OF FAME AWARDEE 1990

On the 18^th of May 1990, at the star-studded Ad of the Year Awards held at Hotel Nikko Manila, the Creative Guild of the Philippines paid tribute to its very own--TESSIE HERMOSA TOMAS—by according her a Hall of Fame award.

The former agency creative-turned-show biz star, Tessie Tomas (b.31  October 1950), was to showbiz born. Her mother, Laura Hermosa was a famous radio personality, a much sought talent who voiced classic radio serials as well as radio commercials during the fledgling age of Philippine advertising.

14 YEAR OLD TESSIE modeling for PALMOLIVE with mother LAURA HERMOSA

Tomas finished Broadcast Communications at the University of the Philippines and opted to follow a different path—advertising.  She cut her teeth at Ace-Compton Advertising and then moved to McCann –Erickson where the gifted copywriter wrote successful campaigns for blue-chip client Johnson & Johnson products (Remember Johnson’s Baby Powder--“Ikaw Lamang, Wala ng Iba” campaign).

Tomas rose quickly up the corporate ladder; she was sent to London and New York for further training, and upon her return, she was named as the creative head of McCann-Erickson, the first Filipina creative director.

TESSIE TOMAS, the first Filipina Creative Director of a multinational ad agency.

But her showbiz genes impelled her to foray in stand-up comedy even as she conceptualized campaigns and wrote product slogans. Tomas joined a comedy troupe that included Subas Herero and Noel Trinidad (himself, an ex-agency man) and started performing at a popular bistro in Magallanes,”The Windmill”. 

She introduced  whole brand of humor to a willing audience--more cerebral, less slapstick, comedy that made funny commentaries on our social state, from the perspective of unforgettable characters. Tomas took a jab at corrupt politicians, and celebrated the resilience of Filipinos. Suddenly, Tomas became the talk of the entertainment circuit!

CREATIVE GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES CITATION

In early 1983, she did the unthinkable--she  resigned from her steady and stable corporate job and decided to plunge headlong into the dizzying, dazzling world of showbiz-- a world she was born in, and whose challenges she was now set to embrace.

Her first one-woman show—“Miss Margarida’s Way”—featured her as the demented, underpaid schoolmarm, which proved to be her first hit. Like a true creative, Tomas wrote most of her material, and created alter egos like social worker Charito Calubaquib, Boni Buendia “da bold star”, sex therapist Natassia Kinky, Saudi wife Mimay Timtiman, Japanese geisha Sakura Bitsu-Bitsu, Princess of Leyte Gulf Lady ‘Day, and Miriam Defensor Saanmanmagtago.

TESSIE TOMAS WITH CHAMPOY GANG, 1984

When she joined the hit comedy show “Champoy”, Tomas introduced the wacky umbrella-wielding weather girl “Amanda Pineda” who made dire observations about our social conditions under a repressive government, with her fearful forecasts for the nation, sugar-coated with her brand of seemingly-innocent humor and catchy punchlines.

TESSIE TOMAS as MELDITA

But her most famous perosna was “Meldita”, a deluded, larger-than-life  take on the First Lady. Each staging exposed Rizal Theater SRO crowds to the lurid madness that was Malacanang: from Meldita’s  stormy relationships with Macoy and rebel child Imee, her royal fantasies, her obsessive-compulsive drive to make the Philippines great again. But it was also a story about finding fulfillment and acceptance by all means and at all costs, which Meldita always sought but never gained.

HAKONE SARDINES AD,as Sakura Bitsu-Bitsu 1989

Tomas not only received accolades for her tour-de-force performance, but also death threats. But she couldn’t care less; it was her craft that spurred her on--her pioneering one-woman shows had given her the avenue.

It was just a matter of time that movie producers saw her talent. From the stage to the screen, Tomas proved to be an equally effective performer. Her first film was “Broken Marriage” in 1983.

TESSIE TOMAS MODELLING FOR CHIZ WHIZ, channeling Barbara Tengco, 1993

Then in 1987, she was cast in the international TV series “A Dangerous Life” based on the dying moments of the Marcos regime, where she bagged the coveted role of—who else?—Imelda Marcos. For this, she won an HBO Best Actress nomination.

She found another groove on television by becoming a TV host. For six years, Tomas hosted the popular morning talk show, “Teysi ng Tahanan”. At the same time, she was in the cast of the highly-acclaimed “Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata” as the rich, but paranoidal  Barbara Tengco. Her other critically-received movies include “Separada” (she wrote the screenplay) “Ploning” and “100”.

THE MANY FACES OF TESSIE TOMAS

Happily married to marine biologist, British Roger Pullin, Tessie Tomas is also a mother of an artist, U.S.-based deigner Robin Tomas. After playing a supporting role in the ABS-CBN soap opera The Blood Sisters, Tomas and her husband moved to the Isle of Man where the family is now quietly and happily settled.