03.03.03 stories…

Being a martial law baby, i grew up being a fan of a Filipino sitcom which was very popular during the early 80′s, and which lasted for more than a decade on Philippine TV. TV programs then were not as “liberal” as the shows of today. Humor used to be simple and most of the time “clean.” As far as I can remember, there were three popular TV shows back in my childhood years: two of them were soap operas and the other, an undisputed sitcom which portrays the typical Filipino family life— John ‘n’ Marsha. The sitcom was starred by couple Dolphy as John and (the late) Nida Blanca as Marsha. They have two kids named Rollie (played by Rollie Quizon himself) and Shirley (portrayed by the Diamond Star Ms. Maricel Soriano.) Both of them started young and grew up with the sitcom. Notable scene in its every episode is the mother-in-law’s (played by the late Dely Atay-Atayan) endless blabbing against her son-in-law John, and the ‘echoing’ of the sermons by the ‘biyenan’s alalay,’ Matutina. When John N Marsha ended, the king of comedy continued to make people happy through his unique comedy, and family-oriented sitcom again went on air in the 90′s— Home Along Da Riles.

Dolphy is more than just how today’s generation knows him. In an article written by Gibbs Cadiz, Dolphy is a national treasure. He gave laughter to millions of Filipinos, generation after the other. He didn’t give in to the pressure of entering politics, “Eh paano kung manalo ako?” as he said. He’s one of the humblest Pinoy celebrities i know that’s why millions adore him, respect him.

King of Comedy… THANK YOU. your throne in the industry will forever remain!