Lou Salvador
| Lou Salvador | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Luis Salvador July 7, 1905 Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands |
| Died | March 1, 1973 (aged 67) |
| Other names | Chipipoy, Van Ludor |
| Occupation | basketball player, film and stage producer |
| Known for | Scored 116 points in a single basketball game |
Luis "Lou" Salvador (July 7, 1905 - March 1, 1973) was a Filipino basketball player, stage actor and talent manager. As a player for the Philippine national basketball team during the 1923 Far Eastern Games, he scored 116 points in a single game. He later became a leading figure in Philippine show business as a talent manager and a stage show impresario. Several of his 58 children became notable personalities in the Philippine entertainment scene.
Salvador was born in Tacloban, Leyte, to a Spanish father and a German mestiza mother.[1]
Basketball career
Salvador first played for the Philippine men's national basketball team at the age of seventeen, in the 1921 Far Eastern Games held in Shanghai.[2] He also represented the Philippines in the 1923 and the 1925 Far Eastern Games, where his team in both instances won the gold medal. Salvador also played collegiate basketball for the Jose Rizal College Heavy Bombers, leading them to a national championship in 1924.[2]
116 point game
Salvador's most notable basketball achievement came in May, 1923, during the Far Eastern Games in Osaka, Japan when he scored 116 points during a match against China.[2][3] With this feat, he became one of only few basketball players to have scored over 100 points in a single game. Salvador would later attribute his achievement to excellent conditioning, recounting that for a whole year prior to that game, he had practiced daily at the YMCA compound in Manila, using a medicine ball which he would throw repeatedly to acclimatize his body.[2] He confessed to finding ease at his achievement during the game itself, owing to his daily practice routine.[2]
Bodabil and film career
Beginning in 1925, Salvador would make appearances in the Manila bodabil stage under the name Chipipoy, and also as Van Ludor .[1] His sister Miami was also a bodabil performer.
It was after World War II that Salvador attained the most influence in the Philippine entertainment scene. He became the most successful stage show impresario in the Philippines, organizing bodabil troupes that toured the country.[4] Dubbed as "The Master Showman",[2] he was credited with discovering and fostering the careers of such noted singers and comedians as Chiquito, Bentot, Cachupoy, Canuplin, Pepe Pimentel, Diomedes Maturan, and Eddie Peregrina.[4]
Salvador also dabbled in films and established his own production company, Master Films.[4] He was a featured cast member of Manuel Conde's Genghis Khan (1950), which was entered into competition in the Venice Film Festival in 1952.[4] Salvador also directed the feature films Bad Boy (1957) and Barkada (1958), which both starred his son, Lou Salvador, Jr.
The Lou Salvador Sr. Memorial Award is handed out by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences in his honor.
Family
Salvador fathered 97[5] children and reputedly had 49 mistresses.[2] Apart from Lou Salvador, Jr., he also fathered the actors Alona Alegre, Leroy Salvador,the eldest of the Salvador family, director, producer and politician. Mina Aragon, Phillip Salvador, Ross Rival and Jumbo Salvador.[1][2] The actors Maja Salvador and Jobelle Salvador, she well recognized actress and daughter of Leroy Salvador, are his granddaughters.
See also
Notes
References
- Galileo Zafra (1994). "Philippine Film". In Nicanor Tiongson. CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art VIII (1st ed.). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines. pp. 315–316. ISBN 971-8546-31-6.
- Bocobo, Christian; Beth Celis (2004). Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball. Philippines: Christian Bocobo. p. 131. ISBN 0-9763202-0-7.