Dolphy | |
|---|---|
 Dolphy in the 1960s | |
| Born | Rodolfo Vera Quizon[1] (1928-07-25)July 25, 1928 |
| Died | July 10, 2012(2012-07-10) (aged 83) Makati, Philippines |
| Resting place | The Heritage Park,Taguig, Philippines |
| Children | 18, includingFreddie,Rolly,Eric,Vandolph,Epy, andZia |
| Comedy career | |
| Genres | |
| Subjects |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1945–2012 |
| Works | Full list |
| Website | dolphyquizon |
Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr.GCGH (July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), known professionally asDolphy, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's"King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied by his long roster of works on stage, radio, television and movies.[2][3]
Rodolfo Vera Quizon was born along Calle Padre Herrera (now P. Herrera Street) inTondo, Manila, on July 25, 1928.[4]
His parents were married on July 14, 1925, inMalate, Manila.[5] His father, Melencio Espinosa Quizon (December 1, 1899 – May 14, 1971),[6] was a ship engine worker fromBulacan stationed in theAtlantic Gulf. His mother, Salud de la Rosa Vera[5] (February 6, 1901 – September 12, 1986),[7] was a seamstress and a schoolteacher.[5] He had four brothers and five sisters.[8]
Quizon began studying at the age of six, and was enrolled in public schools.[9] He attended Magat Salamat Elementary School and Isabelo de los Reyes Elementary School until seventh grade. For hissecondary education, he studied at theFlorentino Torres High School until his sophomore year. He was an average student, although his grades fluctuated.[10]
Quizon sold peanuts and watermelon seeds at movie theaters as a boy, which enabled him to watch movies for free. He was about thirteen whenWorld War II started. He did odd jobs includingshining shoes, attaching buttons at a pants factory, sorting bottles by size, working as astevedore at the pier,trading, and driving acalesa. In his free time, he regularly watched stage shows at the Life Theater and the Avenue Theater. His favorite performers included thecomedy duoPugo and Togo and the dancers Benny Mack andBayani Casimiro.[11]
Quizon started performing onstage during theJapanese occupation of the Philippines. When he turned 17, Benny Mack got him a job as achorus dancer for a month at the Avenue Theater and subsequently, 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 theair-raid shelter in theorchestra pit together with the audience. If no bombs fell and exploded, the show would resume.[citation needed]
He starred in his first film when he was 19 withFernando Poe Sr. inDugo at Bayan (I Remember Bataan), billed as “Rodolfo Quizon”. It was the father of his future friend, actorFernando Poe Jr., who first gave him a break in films playing minor roles as a character actor.[12] In aDZMM radio interview, he revealed his first talent fee was₱5.[citation needed]
In the late 1940s, Dolphy began to work in radio through Conde Ubaldo, a radio writer, director, and producer. He joined the programWag Naman, which starredPancho Magalona, Tessie Quintana, and Baby Jane. His comedy duo withPanchito also started on radio on Conde Ubaldo shows.[citation needed]
Magalona recommended Dolphy toJosé Roxas Perez, the owner ofSampaguita Pictures, in 1952. His first movie with Sampaguita wasSa Isang Sulyap Mo, Tita, with Magalona andTita Duran. It was also in Sampaguita in which thecomedy duo of Dolphy and Panchito became popular.[citation needed]
Dolphy acted in the comic book adaptationJack en Jill withRogelio de la Rosa andLolita Rodriguez in 1954. He was not the first choice for the role, for which Batotoy andBayani Casimiro had been considered.[additional citation(s) needed] Dolphy said the movie established him as an actor, because he played a gay character, when they were not recognized.[13]
The first time Dolphy played a serious role was in a 4-in-1drama movie withBarbara Perez, who played a blind girl, in the segment inspired byCharlie Chaplin's movieCity Lights.[citation needed]
After his contract with Sampaguita expired, he left the company. When he joined the production studio, his talent fee was ₱1,000 per film. By the time he left, he was earning ₱7,000 per picture.[citation needed]
Dolphy acted inTansan The Mighty (1962),[14] and its sequelTansan vs Tarzan (1963).[14]
From 1964 to 1972, he starred inBuhay Artista, a big success of the 1960s.[15]Eugenio "Geny" López Jr. got him into television on Channel 2, and the show aired onABS-CBN. It is a concept by López and Ading Fernando. While doing radio, his talent fee was ₱250-₱300 per program; when he did television, he was at ₱500 per show. He left ABS-CBN when it was shuttered following theproclamation ofMartial Law in September 1972, moving toGMA Network sinceBuhay Artista moved to RBS-7 (former name of GMA) from December 1972 to early 1974.
While on television, he began appearing in films for independent studios like LEA Productions, Balatbat Productions, Filipinas Productions, Zultana Productions andFernando Poe Jr.'s D'Lanor Productions.
In 1964, he played the lead inCaptain Barbell[14] and inDaigdig ng Fantasia (Fantasy World) withNova Villa. Both films were directed byHerminio "Butch" Bautista.
From 1965 to 1966, Dolphy made a minimum of 15spy film parodies.[16] Also in 1966, Dolphy starred in another 19parody films.[16]
For the 1966 filmPepe en Pilar, Dolphy introducedRonaldo Valdez toSusan Roces, as a new face was needed as a partner for Roces. Dolphy first met Valdez in a basketball court and brought him to thepress conference so Roces could see him. Roces' initial response was "He is too young". 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, "I prefer him now", not realizing that he was the same person he had introduced earlier. Dolphy later gave him the stage name “Ronaldo Valdez” (real name: Ronald James Gibbs).
By 1967, Dolphy's production house RVQ Productions was established. Dolphy explained that when Sampaguita closed he thought he should produce his own films. He started with a film adaptation of the sitcomBuhay Artista (Actor's Life), a box office success.[13]
In 1969, one of his biggest hits wasFacifica 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.[citation needed] Also in that year, he starred inAdolphong Hitler.[14]
John en Marsha started in 1971, a year before the declaration ofMartial Law, on RPN Channel 9. It was written, and directed by Ading Fernando.Boots Anson-Roa andHelen Gamboa were considered for the role of Marsha, his wife in the show beforeNida Blanca, who was doingWala Kang Paki withNestor 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 sonRolly Quizon and then-child actressMaricel Soriano played their children. John en Marsha was such a hit that movie versions of the show were made eight times.
In 1973,Fefita Fofongay viuda de Falayfay was released, a sequel toFacifica Falayfay.[citation needed] That same year Dolphy acted inCaptain Barbell's sequelCaptain Barbell Boom![14]
In 1974, a third instalment ofFacifica Falayfay was released calledSarhento Fofongay: A ... ewan!
In 1978, he returned to gay roles in the movieAng Tatay Kong Nanay (My Father that is also a Mother), directed by respectedLino Brocka. With him in the movie wasNiño Muhlach, dubbed as the "child wonder of the Philippines", as the son of his boyfriend, played byPhillip Salvador.
In 1979, Dolphy starred inDancing Master[17] andDarna... Kuno?[14]
The spy-spoof filmThe Quick Brown Fox, was released on November 6, 1980.[18] In it Dolphy plays the lead and it is his first collaboration withWeng Weng.[19] That year, Dolphy acted in theDancing Master follow-upSuperhand: Shadow of the Dancing Master andDolphy's Angels.[17]
In 1981, Dolphy starred inStariray,[20]Da Best In Da West,[21] andDancing Masters 2.[17] That year Dolphy acted inAgent 00, starring Weng Weng.[22]
His next successful TV venture afterJohn en Marsha wasHome Along Da Riles in 1992 withNova Villa, as his wife and real sonVandolph, as one of his children.
In 2001, Dolphy played another gay character, this time with his sonsEric Quizon andJeffrey Quizon playing the same character at three different stages in life. They all won the Prix de la Meilleure Interpretation inBrussels,Belgium for playingWalterina Markova, atransvestite in the movieMarkova: Comfort Gay.[12]
In 2003, the sitcomHome Along Da Riles returned asHome Along Da Airport. In 2006, the sitcomJohn en Shirley, a spinoff and sequel series toJohn en Marsha was released, with Dolphy and Maricel Soriano reprising their roles.
On July 25, 2008, Quizon celebrated his 80th birthday with the launching of abiographical book,Dolphy, Hindi Ko Ito Narating Mag-isa(Dolphy, I Didn't Get Here All By Myself). ABS-CBN PresidentCharo Santos-Concio stated,Nagbigay siya ng mga ngiti at halakhak sa gitna ng mga problema (He gave us joy and laughter in times of trouble). Bibeth Orteza was commissioned to complete the book, amid the creation of "Dolphy Aid Para sa Pinoy Foundation, Inc.", a non-profit and non-stock organization.[11][23] Also that year, Dolphy made a movie with Comedy Box Office KingVic Sotto in a comedy movie,Dobol Trobol, a movie where Dolphy played a chef and Vic a hotel resident manager. This was the first time a film was produced through joint ventures ofRVQ Productions (Dolphy's Film Outfit) &M-Zet Films (Vic Sotto's Film Outfit) andAPT Entertainment. The film also featured stars Carmi Martin, Riza Santos, Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Ricky Davao and more.
In 2009, Dolphy was cast as a retired senior citizen in Chicago who wanted to watchWowowee inManila entitledNobody Nobody But... Juan, and co-starred with Eddie "Manoy" Garcia, Gloria Romero, Joe Aldeguer, Pokwang, Giselle "G" Toengi, Heart Evangelista, Ya Chang, real life sons Eric Quizon, Jeffrey "Epi" Quizon & Vandolph Quizon. Also in 2009, Dolphy was nominated to receive the Order of National Artists, "the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts".[24][25] However, he did not pass the second deliberation of the screening committee. In 2012, Dolphy was diagnosed withchronic obstructive pulmonary disease.[26] As a result, his public appearances were reduced, and he was frequently admitted to the intensive care unit.
In 2010, Dolphy played a priest in his last movie inFather Jejemon, with his co-stars Cherrie Gil, Roy Alvarez, Maja Salvador, EJ Falcon, singer Ralph Salazar & YouTube singing duoMoymoy Palaboy. That same year, PresidentBenigno Aquino III said he believes the late Comedy King deserves to be conferred the National Artist award but stressed he cannot shortcut the process for legal reasons. Since there is a temporary restraining order on the conferment of theNational Artist title issued during the past administration, President Aquino conferred to Dolphy theOrder of the Golden Heart, with the rank of Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas).[27] Also that year, Dolphy was recognized as Outstanding Manilan by the Manila City Government.
In 2012, he was given the Diwa ng Lahi award in 2012, given by City Hall in celebration of the city's founding anniversary. He died later that year.
After his death, on July 13, 2012, President Aquino declared a "National Day of Remembrance" in honor of Dolphy's contributions to the Philippine showbiz industry.[28]
During his wake at the Heritage Park in Taguig, fellow actor and former Philippine PresidentJoseph Estrada bestowed the 2012 People's Artist Award on him to recognize Quizon's many contributions to the movie industry.[29] On November 23, 2013, Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) released a limited edition "Dolphy Stamp", andfirst day cover. Amobile app entitledDolphy's Cleanup was released in honor of Quizon in December 2013 for theiOS platform,[30] with aport forAndroid devices released in 2014. Theedutainment game, developed by iGen Technologies, puts players in the role of Dolphy as he helps clean up the neighborhood, with part of the revenue from the game's sales to be donated to charity.[30][31] Also that year, the documentary filmThe Search for Weng Weng was released.[32] In it, Quizon is interviewed about his former colleague.[33]
On July 25, 2020,Google celebrated his 92nd birthday with aGoogle Doodle.[34]
Araneta also noted that Dolphy grew up in Manila, where he began his showbiz career as a dancer at the Avenue, Lyric and Orient theaters.[35]
ABS-CBN Studio 1, one of the oldest studio of ABS-CBN was transformed into a proscenium theater and was named in honor of Dolphy on his 80th birthday in 2008. A necrological service was held in the namesake theatre for Dolphy at the time of his death.[36]
Quizon never married and was public with his relationships and family. He has 18 children from six relationships. In his autobiography, he mentioned that he had five relationships beforeZsa Zsa Padilla that bore children, the last beingAlma Moreno. Some of his children followed their father's footsteps in showbiz.[11][37]
Quizon was a devoutCatholic throughout his life[39] and occasionally attendedMass.[40] He also practiced various Catholic rituals, including praying therosary or observingHoly Week (i.e.Visita Iglesia onMaundy Thursday andabstaining from meat onGood Friday), and would make thesign of the cross when he would pass a Catholic church.[39] Two of Quizon's children areborn-again Christians who unsuccessfully attempted to convert him; he did not, and showed respect towardsEvangelicals.[40]
Quizon was quite involved into politics throughout his acting career, but had tried to distance himself from it. He had said that he would likely start ablog if only he wereliterate in browsing the Internet.[39] He had high regards withthe presidency ofCorazon Aquino, referring to her as an "asset" for theFilipinos.[41] He declined to enter politics despite repeated entreaties to do so.[42]
He supportedFernando Poe Jr. (1939–2004), whose father, Fernando Poe Sr. (d. 1951), was a close friend of his, duringhis presidential campaign in 2004.[43][44] After Poe had suffered a stroke (which would later claim his life), Quizon visited him during his confinement and assured him and his wife,Susan Roces, that he indeed had won the presidential race, despite losing it toGloria Macapagal Arroyo.[45]
Dolphy died on July 10, 2012, 20:34 (Philippine time, 12:34 UTC), at the age of 83, just 15 days before his 84th birthday due tomultiple organ failure, secondary to complications brought on bypneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease andacute renal failure.[46][47][48][49]
While several of Dolphy's relatives were buried at the Quizon Family mausoleum inLoyola Memorial Park inMarikina (which includes his parents, Salud and Melencio; his siblings Melencio Jr. and Teresita; his sonWilfredo; and another relative, Orlando Gallardo), he himself was buried elsewhere, at The Heritage Park inFort Bonifacio,Taguig.
:Order of the Golden Heart,Maringal na Kuwintas (Grand Collar) - (2010)| Year | Association | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Actor |
| 1978 | 26th FAMAS Awards | Best Actor –Omeng Satanasia |
| 1986 | PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Comedy Actor –John En Marsha |
| 1987 | ||
| 1988 | ||
| 1990 | Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Actor –Espadang Patpat |
| PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Comedy Actor –John En Marsha | |
| 1992 | PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Comedy Actor –Home Along Da Riles |
| 1993 | ||
| 1994 | ||
| 1995 | ||
| 2008 | PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Comedy Actor –John En Shirley |
| 2010 | Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor –Rosario |
| Best Actor –Father Jejemon | ||
| 2011 | Luna Awards (Film Academy of the Phil.) | Best Actor –Father Jejemon |
He is also the only artist in the country awarded with Best Actor and Actress for a single role in the filmMarkova: The Comfort Gay.[citation needed]
| Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas) | |
|---|---|
| Grand Cross (Maringal na Krus) |
|
| Commander (Komandante) | |
| Member (Kagawad) | |
