Marvin Edward Gardner (July 7, 1907 – November 17, 1955), professionally known as Eduardo de Castro, was a Filipino

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

of American descent.

Early life

Eduardo de Castro was born Marvin Edward Gardner in Sampaloc,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on July 7, 1907 to William Henry Gardner, a police officer in Manila and to Ceferina De Castro. His father was an American soldier who fought in the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

who decided to settle in the islands after the conflict and worked as police officer in 1901. Marvin's parents had six children, two whom died at infancy with two boys and two girls being the remaining children. In the 1920s, de Castro worked as a seafarer who worked in a freighter which sails to the United States before starting his acting career in the 1930s.

Career

De Castro is known for directing the 1937 film '' Zamboanga'', which is among the first studio-type film production in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was also a noted actor during the Philippines'

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era. Among the films he starred was ''The Moro Pirate'' by Malayan Movies, the ''Brides of Sulu'' (1937) by Universal Pictures, and ''Andres Bonifacio'' by Manila Talkatone.

Later years and death

De Castro fought as a guerilla against the Imperial Japanese forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and was interned by the Japanese at

Fort Santiago Fort Santiago (; ), built in 1571, is a citadel or castle built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is located in Intramuros, the walled ci ...

. When he was released, he was in poor health. His last directorial film was ''Mutya ng Paaralan'' in 1954. He died on November 17, 1955, at the Baguio General Hospital after suffering from a stroke while resting in his residence in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. At the time, he was unemployed and working on a script for a new film, entitled ''Maskara''.

Personal life

De Castro was of American descent through his father. He was married to actress Rita Rica, whose real name was Florence Little, with whom he had two sons. He also had a son with

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

, another Filipino actress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Castro, Eduardo 1907 births 1955 deaths Filipino film directors Filipino male silent film actors Filipino people of American descent Filipino prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan