Jose Mari Gonzales


José Mari González, or José Mari, was a Filipino actor, executive, matinee idol and politician.

Career

Gonzáles entered the movies at the age of 17 in the late 1950s. He appeared in Ulilang Anghel, Tawag Ng Tanghalan, Mga Anghel Sa Lansangan, Handsome and Baby Face. He became a matinee idol in Sampaguita Pictures in movies such as Beatnik with Susan Roces, Joey, Eddie, Lito with Eddie Gutiérrez and Lito Legaspi, Operatang Sampay Bakod with Amalia Fuentes and Dolphy, Tindahan Ni Aling Epang with Liberty Ilagan, Kaming Mga Talyada where he played gay roles together with Juancho Gutiérrez, Dindo Fernando and Barbara Pérez among others.
In the 1960s, he was paired with Liberty Ilagan as a "loveteam" in Sampaguita Pictures movies. Larry Santiago Productions continued their team-up in the 1966 picture Dearest One.
In 1971, Gonzáles was elected the first president of the Philippine Association of the Record Industry.
Gonzáles produced the first single "Enveloped Ideas" of The Dawn in 1987.
In 2005, Gonzáles was inducted in the Eastwood City Walk of Fame in Eastwood City, Quezon City.

Personal life

Gonzáles was born in Manila. He studied in De La Salle College in Manila. His major was Electronics and Communication Engineering.
He was married to Charito Malarky, a former model of Spanish and British ancestry. Their paths first crossed when she was twelve and he, seventeen. He was the father of actresses Cristina Gonzáles and Ana Margarita Gonzáles.
During the term of President Cory Aquino, Gonzáles was made the director of the Bureau of Broadcast Services. In 1994, he was appointed as RPN 9's top honcho. As a TV executive, he reinvented the telenovela's Marimar and La Traidora, dubbed to Tagalog.
In 1998, he ran for Congress as an independent candidate and won in San Juan, Metro Manila. On November 13, 2000, Gonzáles was involved in a slapping incident of retired general Bayani Fabic, Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives, shortly after the House impeached Joseph Estrada. For the misdeed and after a lengthy court trial, the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court found Gonzáles guilty on criminal charges of grave slander by deed.

Selected filmography