Eduardo "Edu" Manzano (; born September 14, 1955) is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

actor, fashion model, TV commercial model, comedian, politician,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

veteran and television game host. He was previously the host of game shows ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'', '' Pilipinas, Game KNB?'', '' 1 vs. 100'' and '' Asar Talo Lahat Panalo!''.

Early life

Eduardo Manzano was born on September 14, 1955, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, USA to Filipino parents. Due to his parentage (''

jus sanguinis ( , , ; 'right of blood') is a principle of nationality law by which citizenship is determined or acquired by the nationality or ethnicity of one or both parents. Children at birth may be citizens of a particular state if either or both of th ...

'') and the place of his birth (''

jus soli ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in cont ...

''), he is a dual citizen of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, as per the laws of both countries. Edu Manzano studied at

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

in Manila.

Acting career

Manzano moved to the Philippines to pursue a full-time career with the local film industry. He was president of the actors’ group ''Katipunan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino'' in the 1990s. He was part of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

's roster of contract actors until he took leave to run as Vice-President of the Philippines in the 2010 general elections. However, he declared a loss and change of interest in and from show business to hosting current affairs programs After losing the elections, Manzano signed a contract and returned to

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

. In 2010, he hosted the pre-noontime game show '' Asar Talo Lahat Panalo!'' and two more game/talent shows in 2011. After months of hiatus from TV, he hosted ''Family Feud: The Showdown Edition'' from April to July 2011. But Edu later defected to TV5 for a new TV show called ''

Game 'N Go ''Game 'N Go'' (lit. ''Game and Go'') is a Philippine noontime game show, variety show broadcast by TV5.

''. In 2012, he joined the morning show called ''

Good Morning Club ''Good Morning Club'' was a morning television program shown on TV5. The show debuted on February 6, 2012. replacing ''Sapul sa Singko'' and ''Kumare Klub'', this show aired every Mondays to Fridays, 5:30 to 7:00 AM ( PST), and was also simulca ...

''. In June 2017, Manzano returned to

to appear in ''

Celebrity Bluff ''Celebrity Bluff'' is a Philippine television comedy game show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Eugene Domingo, it premiered on November 17, 2012. The show originally featured Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola as the original "Gangnammms" (also ...

'' as a Master Bluffer. In 2018, he also returned to

for his role in '' FPJ's Ang Probinsyano''. In January 2020, Edu is now officially a celebrity inductee winner for Eastwood City Walk Of Fame 2020 for contributions as a presenter, actor, comedian, endorser, and politician.

Sporting career

Aside from acting and political career, Manzano was also appointed as the executive vice-president of the Philippine Amateur Judo Association and the executive board member of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Political career

Manzano entered politics in 1998 when he ran for Vice-Mayor of

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

. He garnered a majority of votes in the election, but his proclamation was suspended due to a case filed which alleged that he was not a Filipino citizen because he was born in the United States. The

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(''Mercado v. Manzano'') eventually ruled that he was indeed a Filipino citizen, clearing the way for his proclamation as Vice-Mayor. Following a three-year term, he lost his bid for campaign for Mayor of Makati in 2001 to

Jejomar Binay Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan Binay Sr. (born Jesus Jose Cabauatan Binay; November 11, 1942) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 13th vice president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, under President Benigno Aquino III. A h ...

. In February 2004, Manzano became the first chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB), a government agency tasked with combating optical media piracy. He resigned from the position in August 2009. Manzano ran as the Lakas–Kampi's candidate for

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in the May 2010 election as the running mate of presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro. He lost again to Makati Mayor

, placing fifth. Manzano is the co-founder of the non-profit advocacy organization called Ako Mismo. In 2016, Manzano ran in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, as he was part of

Partido Galing at Puso The Partido Galing at Puso coalition ( PGP), was the political multi-party electoral alliance of the political parties and coalition opposition in the Philippines during the 2016 Philippine general election, 2016 general elections.The coalition ...

coalition of presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe. He lost, finishing 21st overall in the

COMELEC COMELEC or Comelec may refer to any of the following: * Commission on Elections (Philippines) The Commission on Elections ( fil, Komisyon sa Halalan), abbreviated as , is one of the three constitutional commissions of the Philippines. Its pri ...

's partial and official senatorial tally. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Manzano ran for Representative of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

under the

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino The Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (), formerly ''Partido ng Masang Pilipino'' (), is a populist political party in the Philippines. It is the political party of former Philippine President Joseph E. Estrada. In the May 1998 presidential elect ...

. However, he was disqualified and lost to incumbent representative Ronaldo Zamora.

Filmography

Television

Movies

Discography

*Edu Manzano: Dancer Of The Universe (Universal Records, 2008) *World's Greatests Dance Steps (Universal Records, 2007)

Personal life

He is married to

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (, born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, producer, and politician. She served as a House Deputy Speaker since 2019 to 2022 and as the Representative of Batangas' 6th district sinc ...

from 1980 to 1982 and they only have 1 child named Luis. He was married to Maricel Soriano in 1989 and they have 2 children. They divorced in 1991.

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manzano, Edu 1955 births Living people 21st-century American comedians American male actors of Filipino descent Arroyo administration personnel De La Salle University alumni Filipino actor-politicians Filipino male comedians Filipino game show hosts Filipino male film actors Filipino male television actors Filipino military personnel Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino television talk show hosts Heads of government agencies of the Philippines Internet memes Lakas–CMD politicians Male actors from Iloilo Male actors from Metro Manila Male actors from San Francisco People from Makati Politicians from Metro Manila United States Air Force airmen University Athletic Association of the Philippines players Candidates in the 2010 Philippine vice-presidential election Visayan people Politicians from Iloilo Filipino people of American descent ABS-CBN personalities GMA News and Public Affairs people GMA Network personalities ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people TV5 (Philippine TV network) personalities Viva Artists Agency