Manuel Conde

Manuel Conde (born Manuel Urbano; October 9, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte – August 11, 1985) was a Filipino actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen films under LVN Pictures as a contract star. He later put up his own movie company, Manuel Conde Pictures, in 1947 which produced classic films, notably the Juan Tamad series (Si Juan Tamad (1947), Si Juan Daldal (Anak ni Juan Tamad) (1948), Juan Tamad Goes to Congress (1959), Juan Tamad Goes to Society (1960), Si Juan Tamad At Juan Masipag sa Pulitikang Walang Hanggan (1963)). Other movies Conde produced, directed and/or starred were Vende Cristo (1948), Prinsipe Paris (1949), Krus Na Kawayan (1956), Siete Infantes de Lara (1950) and its re-make in 1973, Molave (1961) and the internationally acclaimed Genghis Khan (1950).

Genghis Khan was the first Filipino film to be acclaimed at an international film festival in Venice in 1952. His Juan Tamad Goes To Congress is considered the best Filipino satire ever filmed. Some films intended for international release were planned by Conde but these were not pushed through because of some financial and production problems such as Saranggani, a film about the Ifugao rice terraces, a collaboration between James Agee as scriptwriter and Conde as the actor-director with United Artists as the distributor, the Rickshaw Boy and The Brown Rajah.

Manuel Conde died in 1985. He was honored posthumously in 2006 the Presidential Medal of Merit (for Films) by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for his contribution to culture and the arts. He was one of the recipients of that award together with visual artists Federico Alcuas, Oscar Zalameda and Mauro Malang Santos. From the words of Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, “This is the President’s gesture of giving rightful honor to various artists who showcased Filipino excellence in the arts and cultural traditions in the international scene, underscoring the wealth of talent and heritage in our country”. In 2007, he was awarded posthumously the Lamberto Avellana Memorial Award by the Film Academy of the Philippines.

Conde’s eldest son, Jun Urbano (aka Manuel Conde, Jr.), became himself a film director, actor, producer and writer. He is better known as Mr. Shooli in a television comedy series Mongolian Barbecue.

On December 26, 2007, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) announced the winners of the 25th anniversary presentation of the Luna Award before the actual awards night at the Club Filipino, San Juan City on December 27. The Lamberto Avellana Memorial Award will be awarded posthumously to Manuel Conde and Vic Silayan.

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