Dubbed as Philippine showbiz’s “La Primera Contravida,” she is best known for her role as the bitter has-been Lavinia Arguelles in “Bituing Walang Ningning.” But the brilliant actress was much more than that, essaying character sketches of such colorful real-life personalities as Diana Vreeland and Maria Callas on stage.
By Alex Y. Vergara
Iconic actress Cherie Gil, who rose to fame starting in the early 80s playing a slew of colorful characters and villainess roles, passed away yesterday in New York City. She was 59.
News of her death was first tweeted yesterday afternoon by actress-talent manager Annabelle Rama and later confirmed by Cherie’s nephew Sid Lucero, son of the late Mark Gil.
Born Evangeline Rose Eigenmann, Cherie came from a distinguished showbiz family, including parents Eddie Mesa, dubbed as the “Elvis Presley of the Philippines,” and Rosemarie Gil, and siblings Michael de Mesa and Mark.
Cherie is survived by her parents, brother Michael, Jay Eigenmann, Cherie’s son with actor Leo Martinez, daughter Bianca and son Raphael Rogoff, her children with former husband Roni Rogoff.
Dubbed as Philippine showbiz’s “La Primera Contravida,” she is best known to the masses for her role as the bitter has-been Lavinia Arguelles in the 1980s’ Sharon Cuneta-starrer “Bituing Walang Ningning.”
But Cherie also played all sorts of roles in film and on stage that appealed to the A and B crowd, including one-woman plays in English such as “Full Gallop” and “Master Class.” She also won rave reviews for her stage roles in “Arbol de Fuego,” “Doubt,” and “Angels in America.”
She also dabbled into TV, initially as one of the mainstays of the defunct comedy show “Champoy,” as well as a number of soap operas. Blessed with a pleasant singing voice, Cherie also tried her hand early on at recording, scoring the OPM hit “Boy (I Love You).”
She remained active in show biz until she decided to suddenly quit the scene and live in the US for good last February. Some of her more recent posts on social media showed Cherie sporting a bald pate. According to a report from The Pilipino Star Ngayon, the actress succumbed to cancer at a hospital in New York City.
Whether playing a flamboyant drug pusher in Ishmael Bernal’s “City After Dark” or a sophisticated maven of fashion and high society in “Full Gallop,” a character sketch inspired by snippets of the late Diana Vreeland’s life, Cherie had always excelled in breathing life to strong, complex women with deep-seated issues.
She could also dazzle and hold audiences with her intelligence and incandescent stage presence even in roles requiring her to engage in hours-long monologue or shine in so-called smorgasbord films with an all-star cast such as “City After Dark” “Ito Ba ang Ating mga Anak,” and “Oro, Plata, Mata.”
She started doing bit roles even before turning 10, and eventually was launched into full stardom at 16 wearing Mother Lily’s so-called “magic kamison” (chemise) for publicity purposes in Regal Films’ “Problem Child.”
In an acting career spanning almost 50 years, Cherie won numerous awards, including Best Actress in the Madrid Film Festival for “Mana.”
But she will always be best remembered for generations to come for her immortal line, delivered with such relish, as the envious and scheming Lavinia: “You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat!” Ironically, Cherie, the award-winning actress, was never second-rate nor was she trying hard.
