Mary Walter
Encyclopedia
Mary Walter was a Filipino
actress whose 8 decade-long film acting career saw her transformation from a romantic lead in the silent film
era into a wizened fixture in horror movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For her body of work accomplished in an especially long career, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences and the Gawad Urian
.
father in what is now Sorsogon City
, Sorsogon
. As a teen, Walter appeared on the Manila bodabil
circuit as a chorus girl in the stage shows of Katy de la Cruz
. She began her film career as a bit player
. Walter first came into fame in 1927, when she starred in Ang Lumang Simbahan, staged from the popular novel by Florentino Collantes
. Her leading man in that film was Gregorio Fernandez, with whom she would be romantically paired in a succession of silent film
s, constituting perhaps the first "love-team" in Filipino cinema.
After appearing in many silent film
s, Walter easily made the transition when sound film
emerged in the Philippines
in the mid-1930s. She was among the stars who appeared in the 1942 LVN
film Prinsipe Teñoso, the only film produced by a Filipino film studio during the Japanese Occupation.
In 1939 she appeared in the movie "Mariposang Berde" with then up and coming actress Malou "Chumams" Nocedo.
In 1948, after a 21-year film career, Walter retired to her hometown in Sorsogon
. Ten years later, she was induced to act again, and she appeared in LVN's
Kastilaloy. Now in her forties, she was cast as matrons or mothers. As she further aged, Walter became one of the most identifiable character actresses in Philippine cinema. Fair, petite and gaunt, she became inalienably identified in grandmother roles. A chain-smoker
, her gravelly voice made her ideally cast in villainous roles, most prominently in the 1974 Lino Brocka
film Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa. By the 1980s, she was a memorable presence in popular horror film
s such as Shake, Rattle and Roll (1984) and Tiyanak (1988).
In 1980, Walter received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award. A similar award, this time from the Gawad Urian, was given to Walter in 1992.
In 1985 she married 15 year old Eric Rafael in a simple wedding ceremony at Sampaguita Pictures garden in Quezon City.
Contrary to what is published in her IMDB biography, Walter was not the actress engaged in the first kissing scene in Philippine cinema (that distinction falls to Dimples Cooper
). Walter never retired again after returning to film in 1958. She died on February 25, 1993.
The Remaining members of her family live in batangas,Balete in the barangay of Palsara and Caloocan
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
actress whose 8 decade-long film acting career saw her transformation from a romantic lead in the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era into a wizened fixture in horror movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For her body of work accomplished in an especially long career, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences and the Gawad Urian
Gawad Urian Awards
The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Film Critics Circle....
.
Biography
Walter was born to a GermanGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
father in what is now Sorsogon City
Sorsogon City
Sorsogon City is a 2nd class city in Sorsogon, Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Sorsogon The city is located at southernmost tip province of Luzon. This city was formed by merging the Bacon and Sorsogon towns. The city serves a trans-shipment point from the Visayas and...
, Sorsogon
Sorsogon
Sorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region; it is the southernmost province in Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north...
. As a teen, Walter appeared on the Manila bodabil
Bodabil
Bodabil was a popular genre of entertainment in the Philippines from the 1910s until the mid-1960s. For decades, it competed with film, radio and television as the dominant form of Filipino mass entertainment. It peaked in popularity during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines from 1941 to 1945...
circuit as a chorus girl in the stage shows of Katy de la Cruz
Katy de la Cruz
Katy de la Cruz was a leading Filipino singer who specialized in jazz vocals and torch songs in a performing career that lasted eight decades. Hailed as "The Queen of Filipino Jazz" and as "The Queen of Bodabil", she was, by the age of 18, the highest paid entertainer in the Philippines...
. She began her film career as a bit player
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
. Walter first came into fame in 1927, when she starred in Ang Lumang Simbahan, staged from the popular novel by Florentino Collantes
Florentino Collantes
Florentino Collantes was a Filipino poet who was among the writers who spearheaded a revival of interest in Tagalog literature in the Philippines in the 20th century.-Early years:...
. Her leading man in that film was Gregorio Fernandez, with whom she would be romantically paired in a succession of silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s, constituting perhaps the first "love-team" in Filipino cinema.
After appearing in many silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s, Walter easily made the transition when sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
emerged in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in the mid-1930s. She was among the stars who appeared in the 1942 LVN
LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures, Inc. is one of the biggest film studios in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005...
film Prinsipe Teñoso, the only film produced by a Filipino film studio during the Japanese Occupation.
In 1939 she appeared in the movie "Mariposang Berde" with then up and coming actress Malou "Chumams" Nocedo.
In 1948, after a 21-year film career, Walter retired to her hometown in Sorsogon
Sorsogon
Sorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region; it is the southernmost province in Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north...
. Ten years later, she was induced to act again, and she appeared in LVN's
LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures, Inc. is one of the biggest film studios in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005...
Kastilaloy. Now in her forties, she was cast as matrons or mothers. As she further aged, Walter became one of the most identifiable character actresses in Philippine cinema. Fair, petite and gaunt, she became inalienably identified in grandmother roles. A chain-smoker
Chain smoking
Chain smoking is the practice of lighting a new cigarette for personal consumption immediately after one that is finished, sometimes using the finished cigarette to light the next one. It is a common form of addiction.-Causes:...
, her gravelly voice made her ideally cast in villainous roles, most prominently in the 1974 Lino Brocka
Lino Brocka
Catalino Ortiz Brocka is known as one of the greatest film directors of the Philippines. Brocka was openly homosexual and many of his films incorporated LGBT themes into their often dramatic storylines....
film Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa. By the 1980s, she was a memorable presence in popular horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s such as Shake, Rattle and Roll (1984) and Tiyanak (1988).
In 1980, Walter received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award. A similar award, this time from the Gawad Urian, was given to Walter in 1992.
In 1985 she married 15 year old Eric Rafael in a simple wedding ceremony at Sampaguita Pictures garden in Quezon City.
Contrary to what is published in her IMDB biography, Walter was not the actress engaged in the first kissing scene in Philippine cinema (that distinction falls to Dimples Cooper
Elizabeth Cooper
Elizabeth Cooper was a Scottish-Filipina film actress, vaudeville dancer, and singer. In addition to her movie career, Cooper was also known for being the mistress of General Douglas MacArthur....
). Walter never retired again after returning to film in 1958. She died on February 25, 1993.
The Remaining members of her family live in batangas,Balete in the barangay of Palsara and Caloocan