Untold Celebrity Story #4

At a tender age of 17, Marcial was a war correspondent for The Manila Times. Marcial's war experience provided him with a treasure chest of stories which inspired him to write a movie screenplay. His screenplay was made into a movie, starring Jaime de la Rosa and a 16- year old actress named Dorothy. Helmed by renowned director Lamberto Avellana, the movie was a huge success. During the first FAMAS award ceremony in 1952, Dorothy received the first FAMAS trophy for best supporting actress for her role in the movie.

The only child of a US soldier and a Filipina, Dorothy was also a
semi-finalist in the 1952 Miss Philippines beauty contest. It was
therefore not surprising that Marcial got so enamored with Dorothy that he did everything to court her. Marcial even carried Dorothy's make-up kit during movie shootings. Marcial became Dorothy's dakilang alalay.

Dorothy studied pre-Law at the University of Santo Tomas but her booming movie career made it impossible for her to continue.

Likewise, Marcial took up Law at the University of the Philippines
but the lure of journalism ended his dream of becoming a lawyer.

Marcial became known for his gift of gab and political skill. This
led to his victory as a town mayor at a young age of 22. Meanwhile,
Dorothy became popular for her acting prowess and dancing skill. This led
to her victory in several acting derbies. Marcial's younger sister was the
director of the movie which won for Dorothy her last FAMAS best supporting
actress award.

But while Philippine politics and show business naturally intertwine,
political kingpin Marcial and movie queen Dorothy were not destined to be
together.

Dorothy married a man named Victorino who fathered her only daughter.

But their union did not last. After a series of unsuccessful
relationships, Dorothy finally tied the knot again with an American
B-movie actor-singer. In contrast, Marcial remained faithfully married all
his life to an American-educated woman who bore his only son and four
daughters.

But while Marcial survived the Korean War which he covered, he did not
survive the war on the home front. Likewise, Dorothy did not survive her
own war at home.

Both Marcial and Dorothy suffered violent deaths. Marcial was shot.

Dorothy was stabbed several times.

Committed 18 years apart, the separate murders of Marcial and Dorothy made
headlines several years ago. However, both murders remained unsolved to
this day. Some say that identifying their killers is not the issue because
everyone, except the authorities, seems to know the identity of their
respective killers. Rumors even abound that the masterminds in the murders
of Marcial and Dorothy were related to them by affinity. But the real
mystery lies in the fact that the perpetrators of these high-profile
crimes remain scot-free to this day, despite the enormous clout which the
victims' respective family wields.

Some say that Marcial's death was a result of his being branded a
communist by the government. This is ironic because the screenplay which
Marcial wrote and which won for Dorothy her first FAMAS trophy was the
second in a trilogy of anti-communist movies which were produced by LVN
Pictures in support of the government's efforts to fight communism.

Dorothy's shocking death led to embarrassing revelations about her painful
personal battle. Marcial's equally shocking death led to well-deserved
recognition of his heroic political battle.

Dorothy was killed amid rows of cars in the covered and dark parking lot
of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board(MTRCB)
building. Despite his escorts, Marcial was killed amid rows of airplanes
in a wide open space in broad daylight while descending down the tarmac of
what was then known as the Manila International Airport (MIA).

Of course, we all know Dorothy as Dolphy's TV wife, Marsha.

And we all know Marcial as Cory's real-life husband, Ninoy.

Yes, Dorothy Jones was the real name of Nida Blanca.

And yes, Marcial Bonifacio was the fictitious name on the passport of
Benigno Aquino, Jr. on the day that he was murdered.

And you know the rest of their stories.