End of an era: The King of Philippine Comedy passes away

Dolphy, oh Dolphy...

 Isn't it rich?

 Are we a pair?

 But where are(is) the clown(s)?

 Don't bother they're here. :-(

Rodolfo "Dolphy" Vera Quizon, Sr.

July 25, 1928-July 10, 2012

The King of Comedy is gone forever.

Rodolfo "Dolphy" Vera Quizon Sr., who made countless of comedy movies and whose humor was embraced by generations, has passed away. He was 83.

According to his publicist, Nene Riego, Dolphy passed away at the Makati Medical Center 8:34 pm Tuesday, after a long bout with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. In recent weeks, Dolphy was also struck by pneumonia and had to undergo blood transfusions. Makati Medical Center also issued a statement saying that Dolphy passed away due to multiple organ failure, secondary to complications brought about by severe pneumonia, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and acute renal failure.

Dolphy’s long-time partner, Zsa Zsa Padilla herself confirmed the comedy king's death. Before Dolphy passed away, Zsa Zsa has requested that the Comedy King’s remains be brought to ABS-CBN’s Dolphy Theater for one day. She also bought a lot at Heritage Memorial Park.

Dolphy was born in July 25, 1928 in Calle Padre Herrera (now P. Herrera St.) of Tondo, Manila. His father was Melencio Quizon, the son of Modesto Quizon and Adorable Quizon (née Espinosa) and a ship engine worker in the Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Company of Manila . His mother was Salud Quizon (née Vera), the daughter of Maximo Vera and Ninay Vera (née de la Rosa). He was the second eldest of ten children.

Dolphy sold peanuts and watermelon seeds at movie theaters as a boy, which enabled him to watch movies for free. He was about thirteen when World War II started. He did odd jobs including shining shoes; attaching buttons at a pants factory; sorting bottles by size; working as a stevedore at the pier; trading; and driving calesas. In his free time he regularly watched stage shows at the Life Theater and the Avenue Theater. His favorite performers included the comedy duo Pugo and Togo, and the dancers Benny Mack and Bayani Casimiro.

He started performing onstage during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Dolphy was turning 17 when Benny Mack got him a job as a chorus dancer for a month at the Avenue Theater and subsequently on the Lyric Theater. He also appeared in shows at the Orient Theater. Golay was his first stage name. During air raids, they would interrupt the show and run for the air-raid shelter in the orchestra section together with the audience. If no bombs exploded, the show resumed.

Dolphy started performing at age 17, when he began working for a month as chorus dancer at Avenue Theater in Manila. His first stage name was Golay.

His first ABS-CBN show was the highly-successful “Buhay Artista.” It was at this time that Dolphy started making movies for various independent film companies.

His first movie was when he was 19 in the movie with Fernando Poe, Sr. in Dugo at Bayan (I Remember Bataan), billed as Rodolfo Quizon. It was the father of his future friend actor Fernando Poe, Jr., who first paved the way and gave him a break in films playing bit roles as a character actor. 

In the late 1940s, Dolphy also got into radio through Conde Ubaldo, a popular radio writer, director and producer. He joined the program Wag Naman which starred Pancho Magalona, Tessie Quintana and Baby Jane. His comedy duo with Panchito also started on radio on Conde Ubaldo shows.

Pancho Magalona recommended Dolphy to Dr. Jose “Doc” Perez, the owner of Sampaguita Pictures in 1952. His first movie with Sampaguita was Sa Isang Sulyap Mo, Tita, with Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran. It was also in Sampaguita were the comedy duo of Dolphy and Panchito became popular.

Dolphy became famous for playing gay roles after he was typecasted in Jack en Jill with Rogelio de la Rosa and Lolita Rodriguez in 1954. He was not the first choice for the role but Batotoy and Bayani Casimiro. Jack en Jill was a Philippine komiks serial by Mars Ravelo. This was followed with other movies adapted from komiks by the same author like Silveria, Captain Barbell and Facifica Falayfay.

The first time Dolphy played a serious role was in a 4-in-1 drama movie, with Barbara Perez who played a blind girl in the segment inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s movie City Lights.

After his contract with Sampaguita expired, he left the company. When he joined the production studio, his talent fee was P1,000 per movie. By the time he left, he was earning P7,000 per picture..

Television career

After leaving Sampaguita, he was practically jobless. Eugenio “Geny” Lopez Jr. got him into television on Channel 3. His first TV show was with ABS-CBN on "Buhay Artista" (Actor's Life), a concept by Geny Lopez and Ading Fernando. While doing radio, his talent fee was P250-P300 per program; when he did TV, he was at P500 per show.

While on television, he also started doing movies for independent studios like LEA Productions, Balatbat Productions, Filipinas Productions, Zultana Productions and Fernando Poe, Jr.'s D’Lanor Productions. He starred on two of his movies in 1964, Captain Barbell and Daigdig ng Fantasia (Fantasy World) with Nova Villa, both directed by Herminio “Butch” Bautista.

RVQ Productions

Dolphy established RVQ Productions in 1965. His first venture was Buhay Artista (Actor's Life), released in 1967, with Panchito, Susan Roces and Ronaldo Valdez whom he discovered. For Pepe en Pilar (1966), his film with Roces, they wanted a new face as Roces' partner. Dolphy first met Valdez in a basketball court and brought him to the press conference so Roces could see him. Roces' initial response was "Wala bang iba?" ("Isn't there anyone else?"). Dolphy brought Ronaldo to a barber shop, bought him a pair of boots at Glenmore and lent him his suit. When Dolphy presented him to Roces again, she said, "Iyan pa." ("I prefer him more"), not realizing that he was the same guy introduced earlier. Dolphy later gave him the stage name Ronaldo Valdez (from Ronald James Gibbs).

Dolphy also made spy film parodies when it became a fad, beginning with Dolpinger (1965) as Agent 1-2-3 (a spoof of the James Bond movie Goldfinger). Chiquito, another Filipino comedian, played the recurring role of Agent 0-2-10 in these films.

In 1969, one of his biggest hits was Facifica Falayfay, where he starred as the gay lead character. It was directed by Luciano “Chaning” Carlos, with whom he worked in 23 of his movies. It was followed by Fefita Fofongay viuda de Falayfay in 1973 and Sarhento Fofongay: A... ewan! in 1974.

John en Marsha

John En Marsha started in 1971, a year before Martial Law, on RPN Channel 9. It was written, and directed by Ading Fernando. Boots Anson-Roa and Helen Gamboa were considered for the role of Marsha, his wife in the show before Nida, who was doing Wala Kang Paki with Nestor de Villa, eventually got the part. Before Dely Atay-Atayan, Chichay was also considered for the role of Doña Delilah, his wealthy and condescending mother-in-law. His real son Rolly Quizon and then child actress Maricel Soriano played their kids. John en Marsha was such a hit that movie versions of the show were made eight times.

In 1978, he returned to gay roles in the movie Ang Tatay Kong Nanay (My Father the Mother), directed by respected Lino Brocka. With him in the movie was Niño Muhlach, dubbed as the "child wonder of the Philippines", as the son of his boyfriend, played by Phillip Salvador.

Home Along Da Riles...

His next successful TV venture after John en Marsha was Home Along Da Riles in 1992 with Nova Villa, as his wife and real son Vandolph, as one of his children. The show was followed by different shows with a play on the same title, Home Along Da Riber (2002) and Home Along Da Airport (2003).

Dolphy also put up his own company, RVQ (for Rodolfo Vera Quizon) Productions. 

The long-running “John en Marsha”, a family-oriented prime time sitcom on Channel 9 where he starred with the late Nida Blanca, was such a hit, it spun off various movie versions. “John en Marsha” also starred a very young Maricel Soriano as Shirley, John (Dolphy) and Marsha’s daughter. 

On the big screen, Dolphy is known for playing gay roles in the hit movie “Facifica Falayfay” and in the highly-acclaimed “Markova: Comfort Gay.”

Dolphy released the biography, “Dolphy, Hindi Ko Ito Narating Mag-Isa” on his 80th birthday on July 25, 2008.

Pres. Noynoy Aquino conferred on Dolphy the Grand Collar of the Order of the Golden Heart in 2010.It is the highest award given to a private citizen by a president. Dolphy also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Gawad Urian, the Cinemanila International Film Festival, PMPC Star Awards for TV and the Metro Manila Film Festival.

The Guillermo Mendoza Foundation Awards named him Box-Office King together with Vic Sotto in 2009.

Dolphy won Best Comedy at the PMPC Star Awards for TV for “Home Along Da Riles,” “John En Marsha” and “John En Shirley.”

He won the Best Actor award for “Father Jejemon” at the Film Academy of the Philippines’ Luna Awards in 2011. He also won Best Supporting Actor at the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival for the film “Rosario”.

Yahoo! Philippines OMG! gave him a tribute during the 2nd Yahoo! OMG! Awards last July 6, Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Dolphy, oh Dolphy...

 Isn't it rich?

 Are we a pair?

 But where are(is) the clown(s)?

 Don't bother they're here. :-(

REST IN PEACE, Tito Dolphy.

THANK YOU for the gift of laughter ~ the gift of happiness you have shared with all of us.

FAREWELL.