Dovie Beams

Dovie Beams (born Dovie Leona Osborne,^[1] August 5, 1932 – December 30, 2017^[2]) was an American actress, best known for having an affair with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos from 1968-1970.

Life[]

In 1970, a huge scandal hit the Philippines over the stormy break-up between then President Ferdinand Marcos and his mistress of two years, Hollywood starlet Dovie Beams. On many occasions, she had hidden a tape recorder under a bed while participating in sexual encounters with the president.^[1]

Beams had arrived in the Philippines in 1968 to shoot the film Maharlika, a film partially funded by Marcos and meant to glorify his alleged war exploits, in which she played opposite Paul Burke as a native Filipina.^[3] Before leaving the country, Beams held a press conference, and delighted the press and public by playing recordings of her trysts with Marcos. According to her, she was forced to publicize her "love affair" as "protection" since there were many threats to her life.^[4]

In a September 15, 2020 interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer lifestyle section, Imelda Marcos herself had confirmed knowledge of the affair. In fact, she narrated how she confronted Ferdinand one night, and even made light of it: "Even from a distance, I could see Mr. Marcos turning purple. I knew this could be the beginning of the end for me. Mr. Marcos did not speak a word, like a boy caught stealing from the cookie jar. I decided to break the ice and Mrs. Marcos’ unceasing tirades by cracking knock-knock jokes, which made him smile and even laugh."^[5]

The Dovie Beams tape became the "most intense public and private turmoil" for Marcos. His aides likened it to the Watergate scandal. Some believed Marcos declared martial law early to silence the opposition, which was still using the Beams tape in 1972. Some said Imelda Marcos, his wife and First Lady, became more aggressive and uncontrollable in the government following the scandal. Others said the former first lady started building her domain after her husband's relationship with Beams.^[6]

Sterling Seagrave on the broadcasting of the tapes:

Student protesters at the University of the Philippines commandeered the campus radio station and broadcast a looped tape; soon the entire nation was listening in astonishment to President Marcos begging Dovie Beams to perform oral sex. For over a week the President's hoarse injunctions boomed out over university loudspeakers.^[7]

Hermie Rotea noted in his book on the scandal that Beams, besides weakening Marcos status, had had the positive influence of empowering women in Filipina society:

In the beginning [birth-control pills] were banned because of their alleged harmful effects and the opposition of the Church. But Dovie told Marcos: "Look at me. I've been taking birth control pills for years and you don't see anything wrong with me, do you?" Thus after that they brought birth control pills into the Philippines, and now the people were free to make their own decisions regarding having or not having babies.^[1]

In November 1987, Beams and her husband Sergio Villagran were arrested in Los Angeles County for committing bank fraud, which was for the purpose of maintaining their luxuriant lifestyle in Pasadena, California. On December 18, she was given an eight-year sentence in prison while Villagran received a five-year sentence.^[8]

Filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

• Dovie Beams at IMDb
• Dovie Beams at AllMovie