The credits appeared to have rolled for the last time for the beleaguered Philippine President and former film star, Mr Joseph Estrada, as his political career lay in tatters on the streets of Manila last night.
When he made it to the presidential palace in 1998, it seemed he turned his many film roles as a champion of the poor into a reality.
To millions of impoverished Filipinos back then, Mr Estrada was the man to pull them out of economic misery. However, he did not enjoy the same star billing with big business and the Catholic Church, which viewed him as economically incompetent and of dubious morality. His reputation as a philanderer and heavy drinker dismayed the church, with the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime Sin, calling him unfit to govern. Indeed, Cardinal Sin played a major role in bringing people on to the streets in the last three days to protest at the Senate's decision to disallow vital evidence in his impeachment proceedings.
Born on April 19th 1937, it was the lure of the movie spotlight that resulted in President Estrada dropping out of college. On screen, he became the hero of the masses with a succession of Robin Hood-type roles.
On the back of this cinematic success he entered politics in 1967 and was elected mayor of San Juan, a post he held for 16 years. Ironically, he won an award for his public service after he completed his term of office.
Mr Estrada won a seat in the Senate in 1987. His political star remained in the ascendant and he became vice-president of the Philippines in 1992, serving in the Ramos administration for the next five years, including a role as chairman of the presidential anti-crime commission.
By this stage, Mr Estrada's popularity knew no bounds and in May 1998 he won a landslide election victory to become the 13th president of the Philippines. But the political honeymoon didn't last that long.
Mr Estrada - who had already acknowledged having at least 11 children - was involved in a very public paternity suit in March 1999 and refused to take DNA tests to determine whether he was the father of a 17-yearold beauty queen.
He was in the news again in June of that year for failing to stop the execution of a rapist.
However, power started to slip from him last November when he faced impeachment over bribery and corruption charges, with prosecutors alleging that he had amassed $65 million in less than two years in office. The beginning of the end dawned for the film star whose last leading role failed to draw the fans.