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 (MMC) 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.

Ruel Quizon, a grandson of the comedy king, said that as of 10:21 p.m. the body of his grandfather was still at the hospital.

He said in a radio interview that even when Dolphy was confined at the intensive care unit of the MMC, the comedy king was able to crack some jokes.

"Lumakas pa siya ulit. Natuwa kami noon... Nadilat pa niya ang mga mata niya, pag tinanong mo siya nag-rerespond siya. Nakikipaglokohan pa rin," he said.

Former President Joseph Estrada, a former action movie star and friend of Dolphy, described the comey king as "very kind and helpful to others."

Another friend, vetaran actress Boots Anson-Roa, said "it's good to know that he is resting in peace, siguro tapos na ang paghihirap niya."

Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., also a movie actor, said he was surprised with the news of Dolphy's death because he visited the comedy king early today.

""Lubha akong nabigla at nalungkot sa pagpanaw ng ating Comedy King na si Tito Dolphy . Malaking kawalan  siya sa industriya, ngunit sa pagbabalik tanaw, hindi matatawaran ang kanyang mga pamana sa larangan  ng sining at sa ating kultura. Bilang isang ring taga-industriya,  masuwerte kung sino man ang makakaabot sa kanyang narating," Revilla said in a statement.

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.

Johnny Puruntong

"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 character in the television show John En Marsha, which aired in 1971.