Mario Herrero O'Hara was a Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter known for his sense of realism often with dark but realistic social messages.
13 Facts About Mario O'Hara
1.
2.
Mario O'Hara was born in Zamboanga City on April 20,1946.
3.
Mario O'Hara's mother, Basilisa Herrero, was a native of Ozamiz in Misamis Occidental and had Spanish ancestry.
4.
From Zamboanga City, the O'Haras moved to a middle-class suburb in Pasay; behind their house was a slum area, and Mario claimed that some of his works were inspired by real-life incidents that happened there.
5.
Mario O'Hara took up Chemical Engineering at the Adamson University, simultaneously auditioning for a radio show sponsored by Procter and Gamble.
6.
At the age of 17, Mario O'Hara stopped attending classes in 1963 to focus on his work in radio drama with the Manila Broadcasting Company and DZRH.
7.
Mario O'Hara directed the drama series Lovingly Yours, Helen, Flordeluna and Alitaptap sa Gabing Madilim.
8.
Mario O'Hara, in turn, wrote the screenplay for Brocka's Weighed but Found Wanting, about life in a small provincial town; in the movie, he played the role of Bertong Ketongin vis-a-vis Lolita Rodriguez, who played Berto's love interest Koala.
9.
Mario O'Hara claimed that the script was inspired by a real story which happened in the slum behind their backyard.
10.
Mario O'Hara has collaborated with the Tanghalang Pilipino and Philippine Educational Theater Alliance theater groups.
11.
Mario O'Hara was supervising the production of his play "Stageshow", which was scheduled in October 2012, up until he was confined in the hospital until his death.
12.
Mario O'Hara was admitted at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay, Philippines, on June 15,2012, to seek treatment for leukemia.
13.
Mario O'Hara succumbed to the disease eleven days later, on June 26,2012, at age 66.