Dolphy, 'national artist' to Pinoys worldwide left at age 83

Mang Dolphy you will truly be missed by your viewers and fans

Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. known more as “Dolphy” and the Philippines’ “King of Comedy” died on Tuesday night, July 10, 2012, 8:34 p.m. (local time) at the Makati Medical Center.

Local news site ABS-CBN and TV 5 Willie Revillame’s “Wil Time Big Time” shows reported. He was 83 years old when he passed away.

According to the ABS-CBN report, Dolphy died after a five-year battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The illness hinders the flow of air to the lungs, which developed into a toxic metabolic encephalopathy, Dolphy‘s son, Eric Quizon reportedly said. His last partner singer-actress Zsa Zsa Padilla confirmed his death too.

Dolphy, who is about to turn 84 this coming July 25 was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Saturday, June 9, after complaining of difficulty in breathing, and since then, his family has been taking good care of him and updating the public on his condition.

Filipinos were captured with Dolphy‘s funny role as John Puruntong in the long-running sitcom “John en Marsha,” the most-watched prime time comedy in the country, which ran from 1973 to 1990 at RPN-9. He was endeared truly by every Filipinos’ heart. According to the report, Dolphy had 18 children with six women but was never married,: Salud, Rodolfo Jr., Freddie, Edgar and Raul with Engracia Dominguez; Mariquita, Carlos, Geraldino and Edwin with Gloria Smith; Ronaldo, Enrico, Madonna and Jeffrey with Baby Smith; Vandolph with actress Alma Moreno; and Zia and adopted daughter Nicole with Zsa Zsa Padilla.

Dolphy’s fans longed him to be the “national artist” before he died and Evelyn "Matutina" Guerrero (one the casts of “John en Marsha”) said during an interview that awarding should be done soon. However, there is a process to confer a national artist which was also stressed by our president Noynoy Aquino in several interviews and press releases.

Local celebrities and artists from different TV networks immediately rushed to Twitter and expressed their sadness and sent condolences to the family of the King of Comedy, which includes Sharon Cuneta, Richard Gomez, Kris Aquino, Angelica Panganiban, Jolina Magdangal, among others.

Netizens or Internet users used the hash tags “#RIP Dolphy” and “#Home Along Da Riles” on Twitter to voice out their sorrow on the loss of one of the most respected comedian in the country.  This immediately trended worldwide on Twitter after the news of his passing was confirmed.

Dolphy has starred in more than 100 movies since the early 1950s, with his last movie Father Jejemon released in 2010; and is also known for his various gay characters; and won some Best Actor awards as well, including a FAMAS Best Actor award in 1978 for his role in the movie “Omeng Satanasia.”

“Today, everyone at ABS-CBN joins his family and the whole nation in remembering his great life and career. Most of his works were huge box office successes, many were award-winning, and all are now immortal in the hearts of Filipinos,” a statement at ABS-CBNNews.com.

“We will miss Tito Dolphy, an idol, a friend, and already a legend even while he lived.”  The network added, noting that Dolphy had his first starring TV role in "Buhay Artista" produced by ABS-CBN in the 1960s, and had a comedy sitcom from 1992 to 2003 titled "Home Along Da Riles" on the same network.


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