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| LEO RABAGO, Naturelle Print ad, 1987. |
One of the most sought-after models of the 1980s was
discovered in a most unusual way. Leoncel Rabago, a gangly youth in his early
20s, was out skating at the famous Skatetown of Ali Mall in Cubao, when a talent caster passed
by and saw something special in the slim and agile looker.
Archie Corteza was then one of the leading talent casters
of the Philippine advertising industry, and he knew a raw talent when he saw
one.
After all, he had been successful in discovering and launching the careers
of so many commercial talents—from Camay girls, Close-Up teen couples, Cinderella fashion
models to San Miguel Beer babes and hunks.
He handled the likes of young Eric
Quizon, Lito Gruet, Lloyd Sammartino, Miguel Rodriguez, Cris Coburn, who all
had their start in commercials.
Corteza took the young skater—an adopted child-- under
his wing. He enrolled him in a gym, trained him in fashion camps, introduced
him to couturiers for their runway shows, and helped transform him into a new commercial modelling
sensation—Leo Rabago.
He first started appearing in fashion print ads, as these
were simple enough. By 1984, his schedule was full, bagging plum assignments from Cinderella department
store, Walker, and his biggest break yet—as a resident model for SM, the
biggest department store chain in the country.
In 1986, Leo Rabago entered the first ever Bodyshots
Modelling Competition, organized by the Fashion Designers’ Association of the
Philippines (FDAP).
This contest was the launching pad for the showbiz careers of such winners as John Estrada, Alain Sia, Richard Cepeda, and Zanjoe Marudo. Not surprisingly Rabago emerged as the top model of the Male Division,
Professional Category.
The victory clearly established him as the country’s
leading male model, boosting his stock and career to an all-time high.
He continued to model in fashions shows, appeared in
MTVs., but TV commercial assignments—which were more lucrative—eluded him; it
seems he could not go past beyond the
high-fashion image that he projected.
As a result, he was often seen as a
dashing escort, a secret admirer, or as a boyfriend—but never the lead.
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| LEO RABAGO AS SM SHOEMART SIGNATURE MODEL, 1984 |
With limited projects as he turned 30, Rabago left
modeling, got a new talent manager and tried his hand in acting. He debuted in the
Gabby Concepcion-Maricel Laxa headliner “Ayoko Na Sanang Magmahal” in 1993. His
next appearance was in the award-winning film “Wating”, a support to Richard
Gomez.
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| RABAGO, IN A WALKER BRIEFS Print Ad, 1984 |
He accepted whatever work was available, and even did sexy films with
such titles as “Hapdi ng Tag-init”
(1997), “Alipin ng Aliw”, “Campus Scandal”, “Bawal”, (1998) and “Alipin ng Tukso” (2000) and
“Lakas ng Pag-ibig” (2001). There would be no more film and TV assignments
beyond 2001.
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| LEO RABAGO, plays support to Suyen Chi in a LAGERLITE PRINT AD, 1986 |
Along the way, Rabago fathered several children; most were married and abroad. Misfortunes continued
to hound him; in 2000, he was jailed for assaulting the live-in partner of his
sister with a knife. In 2010, his adoptive mother, Froilanda Rabago, died of
aneurysm, a profound loss that deeply depressed and affected him. Not long
after, Rabago began developing what he thought was acute amoebiasis. It turned
out it was colon cancer.
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| LEO RABAGO, IN A MAGNOLIA YOGHOURT AD, 1987 |
Friends from the modeling industry took care of him in
his dying days. Leo Rabago, once the most in-demand model of the 1980s ,passed
away in the charity ward of the Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Medical
Center in Marikina City on 10 February 2011.
Former model actor Leo rabago dies of colon cancer: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/showbiz/content/212720/former-model-actor-leo-rabago-dies-of-colon-cancer/story/
FB Page "Remembering Archie Corteza" (1948-2015)
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