Philippines mourn popular comedian Dolphy

Posted:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

MANILA, Philippines -- Hospital officials say the Philippines' most popular comedian, fondly called Dolphy, has died.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2012 (5171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANILA, Philippines — Hospital officials say the Philippines’ most popular comedian, fondly called Dolphy, has died.

Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. was called the country’s “King of Comedy” and entertained generations of Filipinos. He was 83.

He had been treated at the Makati Medical Centre in recent weeks. An email from the hospital said he died late Monday of multiple organ failure and complications from pneumonia.

Dolphy
Dolphy

Philippine officials and fellow movie and TV celebrities heaped praises on Quizon, who shot to fame for portraying gay roles and odd characters.

President Benigno Aquino III says Quizon was a kind man who represented the Filipino everyman and gave his countrymen “a reason to smile for the daily happenings” in their lives.

Ex-president Joseph Estrada, a former actor, says Quizon should receive the National Artist Award.

— The Associated Press

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Members of Manitoba’s Sikh community gather to to celebrate its annual Nagar Kirtan procession and festival.

‘We belong… and we are giving back”: Sikh celebration enlivens downtown Winnipeg

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Preview

‘We belong… and we are giving back”: Sikh celebration enlivens downtown Winnipeg

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT

Downtown Winnipeg came alive with vibrant sights, sounds, and scents on Sunday, as Manitoba’s Sikh community flocked to Memorial Park to celebrate its annual Nagar Kirtan procession and festival.

This year marked the 422nd anniversary of the completion of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture central to the Sikh faith. Shortly after 1 p.m., a palanquin bearing a copy of the scripture was led in parade through downtown Winnipeg, with musical accompaniment.

“This is a chance to tell the public and the whole community where we come from and who we are,” said volunteer Prabh Grewal shortly before the procession got underway. “In a community there are people from every race and every country, and our main objective is to have everybody live in peace and harmony together.”

Before, during, and after the procession, the park hummed with life. As many as 55,000 people converged on the site, with the majority dressed in festive traditional attire. Near the height of the day’s 30 C heat, families relaxed in patches of shade, enjoying plates of Punjabi cuisine dished out for free at dozens of tents sponsored by local businesses.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT
NICOLE BUFFIE / FREE PRESS Lab workers at Dynacare on Regent Avenue were turning patients away Saturday morning as hundreds of people scrambled to get bloodwork done before a planned strike on Tuesday.

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Patients were being turned away from several Dynacare locations Saturday morning as people packed the labs in hopes of getting their blood collection done before workers strike.

By 10:30 a.m. the lobby at the Dynacare at 1581 Regent Ave. was standing-room only and walk-up patients were being turned away as the wait time for those lucky enough to get in creeped past two hours.

One woman got in right before workers cut off walk-ins at 10 a.m. after travelling to two other locations.

“I was driving by at 7:15 this morning and there was already a line-up to the road, so I was like ‘nope, not going there’ so I went to the one on Sterling Lyon (Parkway) and it was closed, and then I went to the one at St. Vital Mall and there had a line zig-zagging all the way through the corridors so I gave up and came back,” said Joanna, who declined to give her last name.

Read
Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Thousands affected by storm-related power outages

1 minute read 10:33 AM CDT

Thousands are still without power in Winnipeg after high winds and thunderstorms knocked out power lines Sunday.

About 4,000 Manitoba Hydro customers were still dealing with outages this morning after crews worked to restore power in the Westwood and River Heights areas, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. On Sunday, Hydro reported outages affecting approximately 6, 700 customers.

The high winds and heavy rain brought down trees and broke power poles, causing "very severe damage," in River Heights, one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, while some of the damage in the Westwood area appeared to be caused by lightning strikes, Chura said.

Thunderstorms rolled in at about 6 p.m. Sunday and brought heavy rain and high winds to some areas of the province. Winnipeg received about 35 mm of rain, while some areas got almost double that. More than 62 mm was recorded at The Forks and 68.8 mm was recorded at Portage Southport, according to Environment Canada.

Jeff McIntosh / the Canadian press files Alberta Premier Danielle Smith waits to deliver a speech at an Alberta Day event in Calgary.

Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Editorial 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had both sides of her mouth working overtime on Aug. 30, when she spoke at an event in Calgary to commemorate Alberta Day, the annual celebration of the province’s entry into Confederation in 1905 (officially Sept. 1, it was celebrated on the weekend).

Smith’s comments — and the things she did not say — revealed a lot about the political tightrope the premier is trying to walk over the challenges currently faced by her province. At the top of that list of challenges is a persistent campaign to separate Alberta from the aforementioned Confederation. A campaign that Smith appears to both support and oppose, depending on which day of the week it is.

Her Alberta Day remarks were an excellent case in point.

Smith has decided that on Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on a series of non-binding propositions in a province referendum. One of those questions will ask Albertans whether they want to hold a referendum on separation, thus making this fall’s vote a “referendum on whether to hold a referendum,” as some observers have dubbed it.

Read
Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026
Swiping left on leaders

U of M study shows female entrepreneurs have it tough on dating market

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Preview

U of M study shows female entrepreneurs have it tough on dating market

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read 10:00 AM CDT

Xiumei Li had a friend who had been on the dating scene for a while.

He’d been seeing an impressive woman, a startup founder building a successful business. She was a good conversationalist. She was interesting.

She sounded great. So why didn’t it work out?

Some gentle prodding revealed he was intimidated by her, but also felt that “there was a gap between what he expected for a partner versus what this female entrepreneur had to offer,” Li says.

Read
10:00 AM CDT
SUPPLIED Virginia Blatz died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity caused by an inadvertent injection into a blood vessel in 2024.

Woman died while getting wisdom teeth out; case raises questions about transparency of dental association

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Woman died while getting wisdom teeth out; case raises questions about transparency of dental association

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

The parents of a 23-year-old southwestern Manitoba woman who died after receiving a local anesthetic during a wisdom tooth extraction say they are in the dark about the investigation into their daughter’s death.

Dulaney and Victoria Blatz say the Manitoba Dental Association has been unwilling to give them information about the probe into their daughter’s death, saying the self-governing regulatory body must be more transparent with the public.

“We have pushed through various channels trying to get information, but it’s nothing but stalling and sidelining,” Victoria said Friday. “This has crashed our world to pieces and we just want answers.”

Virginia Blatz went to Boundary Trails Dental Centre in Morden on Nov. 27, 2024, to have her wisdom teeth removed, but never returned home.

Read
Friday, Sep. 4, 2026