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MISS RITA GOMEZ, for LIASAN Feminine Hygiene Wash & Spray, 1974 |
In 1974, LIASAN Feminine Wash was launched, the first intimate hygiene product in the market. It was one of the hygiene products of the German firm, Sagrotan, that was established in 1912. Appearing in the ad was the 39 year old RITA GOMEZ ( b. 22 May 1935 /d. 9 May 1990), a veteran actress, known for her strong, feisty female roles. Behind that façade, however, was “a woman who enjoys being a woman with elan and poise…an actress, a mother…whose femininity springs from the rituals of beauty she cultivates.” That of course includes feminine hygiene.
Gomez was a journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas when she was discovered for the movies by character actress Leonora Ruizi, who recommended her to the Santiagos of Premiere Productions. But it was when she moved to Sampaguita Pictures that her career picked up as a drama actress. In 1958, she won a FAMAS Best Actress award for “Talipandas”.
Turning into a freelance actress, Gomez appeared in variety of roles—which required her to be bold, controversial and daring. She appended “Miss” to her name amidst the Bomba scene, and thereafter was billed and addressed as Miss Rita Gomez. She won another Best Actress trophy in 1970 for “Bakit Ako Pa?”. Her association with director Ishmael Bernal produced the critically-acclaimed “Pagdating sa Dulo”, which further cemented her reputation as a fine, veteran actress.
Gomez was also looked at as an intellectual artist, a good writer, and an excellent English speaker. Son Ronald Bregandahl with Ric Rodrigo was a Caltex Spelling Bee runner up in the 1960s. She was a sought after speaker in schools, on TV talk shows and even judged a beauty pageant, known for her witty, but brutal frankness. The loud, eye-brow raising, cigarette-wielding, land opiniated actress easily became an icon of the gay community.
No stranger to advertising, RITA GOMEZ was one of the first beauties of Camay who appeared in print ads in the late ‘50s. It would take over decade for her to bag another only her second product endorsement with LIASAN. After doing some 80 movies, she retired in 1983 and moved to the U.S. with her children, until she passed away from cancer, just 2 weeks before her 55th birthday.