Two prominent figures in the music and broadcast industries have passed away one after the other, both from heart attack.
Veteran broadcaster Cesar Nocum a.k.a. Kuya Cesar, passed away at the Capitol Medical Center the other night. His signature “slow talk” made him a legend. He was 69.
Yoyoy Villame, known for the novelty songs Mag-Exercise Tayo, Butsikik, Magellan and others, on the other hand, died at the Las Piñas Medical Center yesterday. He was 74.
Yoyoy (real name: Roman Villame) was born in Bohol and a former councilor in Las Piñas. He made movies in the early ‘70s. One of them, the suspense thriller Biktima, starred Vilma Santos. His remains lie at Funeraria Paz, Parañaque. Hannah, the fifth of Yoyoy’s seven children, says her father’s remains will stay for a week at the funeral home.
Kuya Cesar and Lito Balquiedra (former head of DZMM) reformatted DWWK of Kitchie Benedicto, was then a jazz station and made it a basic AM band format of talk, music and showbiz tidbits in the vernacular, then considered a taboo in the predominantly classy/English format of all FM stations.
Along with Balquiedra, Kuya Cesar also put on the air Helen Vela, Friendly Nicky Mendoza and others. They incurred the ire of the industry but their move revolutionalized FM programming, with the other stations adopting Taglish as medium of communication in the FM band to date.
At the time of his death, Kuya Cesar was anchor of Ikaw sa Likod ng mga Awit, which airs over DZMM Sundays at 12:30 a.m. The show played songs from the ’50s and ’60s.
Kuya Cesar’s remains lies at Bahay Carmelo in Project 6, Quezon City. Nocum is survived by his wife and six children.