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Fernando Poe Jr.

Filipino actor, film director, and politician (1939–2004)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 5, 2026
Entity authorityQ1373770
Source-derived summary

Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., was a Filipino actor, director and screenwriter. Nicknamed "Da King" and often referred to by his initials FPJ, he has been described as a cultural 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 the Order of National Artists of the Philippines in 2006 and the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999.

Poe appeared in around 300 films from 1955 to 2003. Poe entered the film industry as a stuntman following the death of his father, actor Fernando Poe Sr., and made his film debut in 1955 with Anak ni Palaris, a sequel to a film that starred his father. His breakout came in the 1956 film Lo Waist Gang and went on to star in action films that portrayed him as the "champion and defender of the poor and oppressed". His notable films include: Only the Brave Know Hell (1965), Lino Brocka's Santiago! (1970), Celso Ad. Castillo's Asedillo (1971), Bato sa Buhangin (1976), Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979), Eddie Romero's Aguila (1980); his self-directed Ang Panday (1980) and its sequels; Roman Rapido and Isang Bala Ka Lang! (both 1983), the 1986 films Iyo ang Tondo, Kanya ang Cavite, Muslim .357, and Batang Quiapo; Kahit Konting Pagtingin (1990), Ang Probinsyano (1996), Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko...

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Fernando Poe Jr.” as filipino actor, film director, and politician (1939–2004). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1939, 2004, 2006, 1999—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1939-08-20. The account is most persuasive where Fernando, Filipino and actor can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as filipino actor, film director, and politician (1939–2004). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1373770. VIAF identifies the subject as 48670923. The Library of Congress control number is n2006222557. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 2004, 2006 and 1999.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fernando Poe Jr.”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fernando Poe Jr. primary sources, Fernando Poe Jr. archive and Fernando research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fernando Poe Jr.”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Fernando Poe Jr.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.