PH mourns Dolphy's passing

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III leads the nation in mourning for the comedy king, Dolphy, who passed away Tuesday night after a long bout with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

In a statement, Aquino extended his condolences and acknowledged that Dolphy was the embodiment of hope amid trials.

"Sa loob ng mahabang panahon, ipinakita sa atin ni Dolphy na anumang pagsubok ay may katuwang na pag-asa at ligaya; mulat siyang anumang problema ay mapangingibabawan ng positibong pagtanaw sa kapalaran. [For a long time, Dolphy showed us that we can surpass trials. He was aware of hardships but taught all of us to always look at the brighter side]," Aquino said.

He also noted that Dolphy changed not only the movie industry.

"Binago niya hindi lamang ang kaniyang industriya, kundi maging ang pambansang kamalayan: sa pamamagitan ng kaniyang sining, pinalawak ni Dolphy ang ating pananaw, at binigyan tayo ng kakayahang suriin, pahalagahan, at hanapan ng ngiti ang mga pang-araw-araw na pangyayari sa buhay ng bawat Pilipino," Aquino said.

The President added that the good-hearted Dolphy symbolized a typical Filipino: joyful, one who loves well, who knows how to respect others, and knows how to face trials.

"Nagmula siya sa isang henerasyong dumaan sa maraming pagsubok—at sa pakikipagsapalaran ay natutong maging mapagpakumbaba, matapat, at matulungin. Hindi kailanman niya tinalikuran ang mga kaibigan, at ang sambayanang naging bukal ng kanyang mga tagumpay," he added.

"Nakikiisa ako at ang aking pamilya, sampu ng ating mga kasamahan sa gobyerno, sa pagluluksa ng Pamilya Quizon ngayong gabi. Ang pagpanaw ni Rodolfo Quizon Sr.—ang nag-iisang Hari ng Komedya—ay tiyak na nagdudulot ng lumbay sa isang bansang matagal niyang pinasaya," the President added.

Last June, Malacanang was urged by Vice President Jejomar Binay, among other groups, to name Dolphy a "National Artist" but the comedy king did not live to see the day.

The National Artist Award is the "highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts," according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Apart from the prestige and a medal, a National Artist is entitled to material and physical benefits that includes a monthly pension, hospitalization benefits, and arrangements and expenses for a state funeral. For post-humous awardees, legal heirs are entitled to P75,000.

Should Dolphy be officially nominated, his candidacy will still have to undergo several deliberations by the Commissioners of the NCCA and the Board of Trustees of the CCP.

Stars, fans mourn Dolphy's death

Celebrities and fans alike were united in mourning after the passing of Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr., more popularly known as the Comedy King Dolphy.

Dolphy passed away at the Makati Medical Center 8:34pm on Tuesday, July 10 after a bout with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

The Comedy King was 83.

Shortly after the news broke, the keywords RIP Dolphy and Home Along Da Riles were among the Twitter trending topics both in the Philippines and worldwide.

Celebrities also expressed their condolences on the death of Dolphy on the social networking site.

“Rest in peace, my beloved Tito Dolphy. I will continue to do my best to follow the beautiful example you set for all of us, even when you didn't know it. I love you from the bottom of my heart. I miss you sooooo very much already. Showbiz has again lost one of its handful of truly talented and most decent members. You left us with so few who are like you. Your leaving has just made us all realize all the more how much we love you,” Sharon Cuneta posted on her Twitter account.

“R.I.P Ninong Dolphy. Thank you for making us laugh throughout the years. You will always be in our hearts. May your soul rest in peace,” tweeted Ruffa Gutierrez. The Kapatid actress was among the first to report on Twitter that the Comedy King has passed away. After news outfits confirmed the news, Ruffa explained she was with Eric Quizon, Dolphy’s son, at that time.

“We are here now in Bataan taping for TV5's ‪#EnchantedGarden. Direk Eric Quizon is our director. He left the set 30min ago. Hence my tweet,” Ruffa explained.

She added, “I don't tweet rumors. I verify the facts first. Now may I cry and be sad now?? Thank you.”

San Juan Representative JV Ejercito tweeted, “Goodbye Dolphy... Thank you for making all of us laugh! I was hoping that the National Artist Award was given to Dolphy when he was still alive.”

Writer-directors Jun Lana and Jose Javier Reyes took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the Comedy King.

“Mang Dolphy, ikaw ang pangalawang tahanan ko noong bata pa ako. Salamat sa John en Marsha. Salamat pinasaya mo ang kabataan ko. Paalam,” Lana said.

“Have a safe trip home to the arms of our father, Mang Dolphy. Your gift of laughter we shall treasure: your greatness will be remembered,” the director tweeted.

He added, “If there was one thing Dolphy taught us in the business, it is not only his perfect sense of timing. It is the greatness in his HUMILITY.”

Fellow comedians also posted their heartfelt tweets about the icon.

“Lord we thank you for giving us THE DOLPHY who unselfishly and passionately dedicated his whole life to make this world happy. Amen,” Vice Ganda tweeted.

“Heaven became a happier place today. The angels will be laughing together with our one and only King of Comedy. Rest in peace, friend,” Edu Manzano said.

The official Yahoo! Philippines Twitter account asked followers what their favorite Dolphy movie or TV show is. Among the favorites are “Home Along Da Riles,” the movie-turned-sitcom “John En Marsha,” and “Markova: Comfort Gay.”

A number of Twitter users felt Dolphy should have been named a National Artist before his passing.

“Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, the official National Artist title, is a 100 percent, perfect fit for Dolphy. Pambansa. Alagad. Sining,” Tonyo Cruz tweeted.

“National Artist. That's what he is to generations of Filipinos,” tweeted broadcast journalist Pia Hontiveros.

“More than half a century of laughter from dDlphy, the national artist of the people. we will pray for your passage into the light. Salamat!” tweeted writer Danton Remoto.

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

Dolphy’s remains will be brought to the Heritage Memorial Park. Among the first who arrived at Makati Medical Center to condole with the family were Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, Maricel Soriano, who worked with Dolphy in “John en Marsha” and Karylle, eldest daughter of Dolphy’s long-time partner, Zsa Zsa Padilla.

End of an era: Dolphy passes away

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 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.

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.”

His last film was “Father Jejemon”, for which he won Best Actor at the Film Academy of the Philippines’ Luna Awards in 2011.

Yahoo! Philppines OMG! gave him a tribute on Friday, July 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Comedy King Dolphy passes away

MANILA, Philippines - Comedy king Dolphy Quizon passed away Tuesday night after several weeks of being confined at the Makati Medical Center for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.

Dolphy, Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. in real life, was rushed to the hospital last June 16, 2012 after complaining of shortness of breath.

Zsa Zsa Padilla, the comedy king's wife, confirmed the news over ABS-CBN News, ending the confusion over the comedian's death in social media.

The Makati Medical Center said in an official statement that Dolphy passed away at 8:34 p.m.

"We would like to inform you that Mr. Rodolfo "Dolphy" Quizon passed away at 20:34 due to multiple organ failure secondary to complications brought about by severe pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute renal failure," the hospital said in a statement released before 10 p.m.

News of the comedy king's death trended on Twitter on Tuesday night as several celebrities expressed their condolences to the Quizon family in the micro-blogging site.

There were, however, also some tweets saying that the news of Dolphy's death was not true.

Yahoo! Philippines had tweeted that according to Nene Riego, Dolphy's publicist, the comedy king was still alive.

Dolphy was born July 25, 1928 in Tondo, Manila. The comedy king's movie exposure started when he worked as a vendor inside the theater in Manila.

"Dugo at Bayan" was his first movie with Fernando Poe Sr. at 19 years old.

An entry on Dolphy in Wikipedia said that Dolphy did his first movie with Sampaguita Pictures titled "Sa Isang Sulyap Mo, Tita" in 1952. He starred with Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran.

The comedy king was also famous for playing gay roles. His most famous portrayal of a gay was Facifica Falayfay.

After the movies, Dolphy was introduced to television in ABS-CBN. His first TV show was titled "Buhay Artista".

He made several blockbuster comedy movies after establishing RVQ Productions in 1965.

He would later make famous the name Johnny Puruntong, the lead role in the television show John En Marsha, which aired in 1971.