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Fernando Poe Jr.
Born	Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (1939-08-20)August 20, 1939 Manila,Philippine Commonwealth
Died	December 14, 2004(2004-12-14) (aged 65) Quezon City, Philippines
Resting place	Manila North Cemetery,Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines
Other names	Ronnie[1]
Alma mater	Mapua Institute of Technology University of the East
Occupations	Actor film director producer screenwriter
Years active	1955–2004
Political party	Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino
Spouse	Susan Roces ​ (m. 1968)​
Children	3, includingGrace andLovi
Awards	List Order of National Artists of the Philippines

Fernando Poe Jr. (bornRonald Allan Kelley Poe; August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004) was a Filipino actor, director and screenwriter. Nicknamed "Da King" and often referred to by his initialsFPJ, he has been described as acultural icon, having dominated the Philippine box-office from the 1960s to 1990s through his leading roles in action films. For his career that spanned nearly five decades, he has received numerous honors including theOrder of National Artists of the Philippines in 2006 and theCCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999.^[2][3]

Poe appeared in around 300 films from 1955 to 2003.^{[N 1]} Poe entered the film industry as a stuntman following the death of his father, actorFernando Poe Sr., and made his film debut in 1955 withAnak ni Palaris, a sequel to a film that starred his father. His breakout came in the 1956 filmLo Waist Gang and went on to star in action films that portrayed him as the "champion and defender of the poor and oppressed".^[6] His notable films include:Only the Brave Know Hell (1965),Lino Brocka'sSantiago! (1970),Celso Ad. Castillo'sAsedillo (1971),Bato sa Buhangin (1976),Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979),Eddie Romero'sAguila (1980); his self-directedAng Panday (1980) and its sequels;Roman Rapido andIsang Bala Ka Lang! (both 1983), the 1986 filmsIyo ang Tondo, Kanya ang Cavite,Muslim .357, andBatang Quiapo;Kahit Konting Pagtingin (1990),Ang Probinsyano (1996),Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... (1999), andAng Dalubhasa (2000).^[2][7]

Poe's accolades include fiveFAMAS Awards forBest Actor^{[N 2]}—a joint record^{[N 3]} that inducted him into the FAMAS Hall of Fame in 1988. He also wonBest Director for his filmsAng Padrino (1984) andKahit Butas ng Karayom, Papasukin Ko (1995).^[8] In 2004, FAMAS posthumously granted him theNatatanging Alagad ng Sining Award. Poe was also posthumously declared aNational Artist of the Philippines in 2006 (accepted by his family in 2012).^[9]

Poe ran forpresident of the Philippines in the2004 election. He lost to the incumbentGloria Macapagal Arroyo by just over one million votes (3.48%)—the closest margin by percentage between the winner and runner-up in the history ofPhilippine presidential elections. Seven months after the election, Poe died of astroke; hundreds of thousands attended his wake and funeral.^[10][11]

Poe was married to actressSusan Roces, who played his onscreen love interest in 17 films.^[3] He is the father of SenatorGrace Poe and actressLovi Poe.

Ronald Allan Kelley Poe was the son of Filipino actor and directorFernando Poe Sr. (born Allan Fernando Poe y Reyes; 1916–1951) from San Carlos, Pangasinan and Elizabeth "Bessie" Kelley (1918–1999). He was born inManila on August 20, 1939. He was known as "Ronnie" to his family.

His parents, at the time of his birth, were not legally married until 1940. In 2004, Poe's political opponents tried to derail his bid for the 2004 Philippine presidency when they sought to disqualify him as an illegitimate son of a non-Filipino mother.

He was the second among six siblings, includingAndy (born Fernando Kelley Poe Jr.; 1943–1995),^[12] whose given name was used by Poe as his own professional name to bank on the popularity of his father who was a top actor in his time.Conrad Poe was Poe's half-brother, the illegitimate son of Fernando Poe Sr. and actress Patricia Mijares.

The original spelling of the family surname was Pou, from his paternal grandfather, playwright Lorenzo Pou, a Catalan migrant fromMallorca, Spain, who ventured into mining and business in the Philippines.

In 1953, Poe finished his primary education atSan Beda College. For high school, he attendedSan Sebastian College. He continued his education atMapúa Institute of Technology andUniversity of the East and took the course theater arts.

When his father died from rabies at age 34, Poe became the family's breadwinner. In order to support his family, he dropped out of the University of the East during his sophomore year.^[13]

Poe dropped out of college to work in thePhilippine film industry as a messenger boy, and was given acting roles in subsequent years.^[14] Starting as astuntman for Everlasting Pictures, he was given a starring role in the filmAnak ni Palaris (Son of Palaris) at the age of 14. The film, however, was not a big hit. In 1956, the filmLo' Waist Gang made him popular,^[14] and the film was such a hit that low-waist pants became afad.

Also known as 'FPJ' from his initials, Poe acted in a number of films which depicted him as the champion of the poor and downtrodden. He also directed films under the pseudonyms D'Lanor and Ronwaldo Reyes.Reyes originated from the surname of his paternal grandmother, Martha.

He established FPJ Productions in 1961 and later organized other film companies. In 1963, he testified against criminal gangs, known as the Big Four, who extorted money from the film industry. In 1965, he shared the lead inThe Ravagers (in the Philippines this is titledOnly the Brave Know Hell), a film depicting theUnited States and thePhilippines working together against Japanese war time occupation. The film is considered one of the most influential Filipino films.

Poe won the most best actor awards at theFAMAS.^{[citation needed]} Among the films that received awards wereMga Alabok sa Lupa (1967),Asedillo (1971),Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979),Umpisahan Mo, Tatapusin Ko (1983), andMuslim .357 (1986).

Poe was one of the highest paid film actors in the Philippines in the 1980s (alongsideDolphy andVilma Santos), with his salary reaching over one million pesos per film.^[15] In 1988, Poe partnered withSan Miguel Corporation in a near₱27 million promotional deal forSan Miguel Beer,^[16] his first endorsement of a product in his entire film career, with the first television commercial airing on January 20.^[17]

In mid-1993, Poe was then set to star in a film produced byViva Films and directed by Pablo Santiago titledTulak ng Bibig, Kabig ng Dibdib, withAlice Dixson cast as the female lead, though it did not come to fruition.^[18]

Among his roles wereFlavio in theAng Panday fantasy series,Kahit Konting Pagtingin,Dito sa Pitong Gatang andAguila. His last film,Pakners, also stars9-ball billiards championEfren "Bata" Reyes.

Fernando Poe Jr. was theKoalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP)'s candidate for the2004 presidential election. He accepted nomination in December 2003 and was to be the opposition candidate in the Philippines' 2004 presidential election.^[19]

Poe married actressSusan Roces, the professional name of Jesusa Sonora, in a civil wedding in December 1968. They later married in a religious service and among their primary sponsors were then-PresidentFerdinand Marcos andFirst LadyImelda. Poe and Roces adopted a daughter,Grace Poe, who became a senator.

Poe was very reclusive about his personal life. However, in February 2004, during the presidential campaign, Poe admitted to having fathered two children out of wedlock.^[20] He had an affair with actress Anna Marin and had one son, Ronian and with former actress Rowena Moran and had a daughter,Lourdes Virginia.

Poe was also known horse owner and horse racing enthusiast.^[21]

Poe was admitted toSt. Luke's Medical Center inQuezon City in the evening of December 11, 2004, after complaining of dizziness at a gathering in his production studio during aChristmas party.^[22] He suffered from astroke and slipped into acoma while being treated for a brain clot. Doctors described his condition as acerebral thrombosis withmultiple organ failure.^[23] He died at the age of 65 on December 14 at 12:01 amPHT (UTC+08:00), without regaining consciousness.^[23] His remains were initially transferred to the Arlington East Memorial Chapels inPasig (now known as the Evergreen Memorial Chapels), before being transferred a day later to theSanto Domingo Church in Quezon City.^[24][25] Organizers of the nine-day wake claimed numbers as high as two million.^[26] The funeral procession drew tens of thousands who crowded the streets of Quezon City, an event which drew comparisons to the funeral processions of former SenatorNinoy Aquino in August 1983 – who also had his wake held at the Santo Domingo Church – and of actressJulie Vega in May 1985. He was buried in his family plot along with his parents in theManila North Cemetery.

On December 14, 2012, eight years after his death, a monument to Poe was erected at the corner ofRoxas Boulevard and Arquiza Street inErmita,Manila, with widow Susan Roces and daughter Grace Poe attending the unveiling.^[27]

On January 13, 2022, PresidentRodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11608, renamingRoosevelt Avenue in Quezon City as Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.^[28]

On his 84th birth anniversary on August 20, 2023, Roosevelt station ofLRT Line 1 in Quezon City was renamedFernando Poe Jr. station; FPJ Arena, a sports arena inSan Jose,Batangas also named in his honor, was inaugurated.^[29][30]

In 2013,Tonton Gutierrez portrayed Fernando Poe Jr. in the life story of Poe's daughterGrace Poe, depicted byErich Gonzales, onMaalaala Mo Kaya.^[31] In 2015, his 1997 filmAng Probinsyano was remade by ABS-CBN into aTV series, starringCoco Martin as the main character to portray twins namely SPO1 Ricardo "Cardo" Dalisay and Police Sr. Insp. Dominador "Ador" de Leon together withSusan Roces, FPJ's widow.^[32][33]

TheFPJ Film Archives has been inscribed in theNational Memory of the World Register of the Philippines.^[34]

Inhorse racing, Poe was posthumously inducted in thePhilippine Racing Commission (Philracom) Hall of Fame in 2023 for promoting the discipline through his films.^[35] The main road within theMetroTurf Racecourse complex inBatangas was also named after Poe.^[36]

^^IKamao is Poe's only film produced specifically for television, premiering onRPN in June 1987.

• List of Memory of the World Documentary Heritage in the Philippines
• Fernando Poe Jr. presidential campaign, 2004

• Fernando Poe Jr. atIMDb 
• Article about his presidential bid
• Opinion Article on the manArchived February 4, 2005, at theWayback Machine
• Article and photos on his funeral
• GMA NEWS.TV, Susan Roces leads rites for FPJ death anniversary 12/14/2007, 11:30 AM
• Fernando Poe Jr Bio, Profile, Awards History

• National Artists of the Philippines
• 1939 births
• 2004 deaths
• 20th-century Filipino comedians
• 20th-century Filipino male actors
• 21st-century Filipino male actors
• 20th-century philanthropists
• Burials at the Manila North Cemetery
• Candidates in the 2004 Philippine presidential election
• Deaths from cerebral thrombosis
• Filipino actor-politicians
• Filipino male comedians
• Filipino film directors
• Filipino male child actors
• Filipino male film actors
• Filipino philanthropists
• Filipino Roman Catholics
• Male actors from Manila
• Mapúa University alumni
• Neurological disease deaths in the Philippines
• People from San Carlos, Pangasinan
• Poe family (Philippines)
• University of the East alumni
• Kapampangan people
• Filipino film producers
• Male actors from Pangasinan
• Filipino racehorse owners and breeders

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