Dolphy

I am part of the generation that was fed with old black and white Sampaguita and LVN films 7 am in the morning, and in the afternoon after Student Canteen. In the evening, there was PPP (Piling-Piling Pelikula)  in Channel 13 after the English news. And boy! Was it good!

The black and white films showcased the best looking actors and actresses who have yet to be outclassed by this generation's best. Even the supposedly "ugly" actors looked good on screen. The kontra-bida ones looked devilishly gorgeous. The comedians looked photogenically comic, not pathetic.

Only those who could sing, sung. Only those who could dance, danced. Those who could do neither did theirs with exaggeration, calling attention to their inability, and ended up forgivably funny and acceptable.

The various tributes to Dolphy after his passing have brought all the memories back. Dolphy playing extra. Dolphy playing the sidekick. Dolphy playing the star. Dolphy playing gay. Dolphy playing the Dad, the Mother, the Playboy, the Secret Agent, the superhero, the Chinaman, the Everyday Man.

Of all the Dolphy films I have watched, one movie has left a mark: Ang Tatay Kong Nanay, directed by Lino Brocka and co-starred with Nino Muhlach. It was one Dolphy film that wrenched my heart and broke the dam of tears from my very young eyes. When Coring (a gay beautician played by Dolphy), caught Nonoy (a boy he adopted as a baby played by Nino Muhlach) putting on lipstick to copy an Indian from a book, he scolded the boy out of fear of him turning into a homosexual. When the boy explained that he was only trying to copy an Indian from his book, Coring's fears vanished and he lovingly hugged Nonoy.

 As Dolphy's tomb was about to be sealed, people started clapping, and for some strange reason, I just started crying. Beauty does that to me. To borrow the line of Terry McKay to Nickie Ferrante.

It wasn't a sad affair. It was an affair to remember.