553. Is that Who I Think He Is? VICTOR WOOD, in Angel Face Ad, 1967

 

Before he became sensationally famous in the 70s as the undisputed “Jukebox King”, singer Victor Wood was a struggling showbiz aspirant looking for his own place in the sun. By 1967, diminutive singer Nora Aunor was starting to blaze trails, breaking barriers for small, brown, Filipino looking talents, who had been bypassed for fairer mestizos and mestizas. She paved the way for the rise of more-Filipino looking singing stars like Tirso Cruz, Edgar Mortiz, Manny de Leon, Perla Adea, Espie Fabon, and many more.

Refusing to be tagged as just another American mestizo singer-actor, Victor Wood joined the showbiz bandwagon, and took every available job he could find that would elevate his visibility. He started joining casting calls for advertising models and in 1967, actually bagged a supporting role for an ANGEL FACE print ad.

ANGEL FACE was a major brand of cosmetic products introduced successfully in the late 1950s in the Philippines. Its most popular brand was the ANGEL FACE Foundation Powder, and by the mid 60s, was one of the country’ best-selling brand, supported by bid advertising budget, and with advertising professionaly handled by leading ad agency J. Walter Thompson.

 “All set for an afternoon sail at the Yacht Club is Diane Berrier and friend Victor Wood on board the Trident”—so says the caption. The 21 years old Victor cut a lean, striking figure beside the American model—even if he seems fascinated more by the ocean view than the fresh natural look of her ANGEL FACE.

After this ad was launched, Victor Wood bagged a few small parts in 1968 films by Sampaguita pictures: “May Tampuhan Paminsan-Minsan”, “Magic Guitar”, “Donata”. In 1969, he did lightweight teenybopper films: Teenage Escapade, the Mad Generation, Born to be Wild, Paula.

But it was in his recordings that Victor Wood gained notice. In 1970, he launched his Vicor album “I’m Sorry My Love”, which became a hit. This was followed by “Mr. Loney” ,  “In Despair”, “Fraulein”, “Eternally”, “Lonely Teardrops’, “Vaya con Dios”, “Crying Time”—all certified monster hits. Suddenly, Victor Wood became a hot star, and soon he was ding movied in starring roles with his hit songs as titles: “Malaguena, (1972), “Innamorata”, and “You Are My Destiny” (1973).

He appeared in big movies like “Annie Batungbakal”, and he was in the title role in “Victor Wood, Disco King” (1979), and covered Freddie Aguilar’s international hit, “Anak” in Indonesian. When his career cooled off, he migrated to the U.S. with his family (he was married thrice). He made news again when Wood ran for the Senate of the Philippines in  2007 under the KBL, but lost. He died due to COVID-19 complications on 23 April 2021.

 SOURCES:

Victor Wood, wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wood

Victor Wood, Filmography: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1047421/

The Victor Wood Playlist: https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2021/05/12/2097497/victor-wood-playlist