“A beautiful soul is never forgotten.”
This 2018, we’ve said goodbye to some personalities from our local show business. And the quote above is very true for these people as they will always have a special place in our memories. Let’s look back at all of the celebrities that we’ve lost this year.
Spanky Manikan (January 14, 2018; Age: 75)
Filipino theater, film and television actor who became known for his roles in Lino Brocka’s “Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag” (1978), “Bona” (1979), and Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala” (1981). He was also part of television series like “Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan” (2001), “Krystala” (2004), “Majika” (2006), “Ysabella” (2007), “Lobo” (2008), “Tayong Dalawa” (2009), “May Bukas Pa” (2010), “Walang Hanggan” (2012), “Ikaw Lamang” (2014), and “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” (2016) before his death due to lung cancer, at the age of 75 on January 14, 2018.
Pitoy Moreno (Died: January 15, 2018; Age: 92)
Jose “Pitoy” Moreno, Jr. was a Filipino fashion designer who is known in the Asian fashion field as the Fashion Czar of Asia. He was the president of the Philippine Couture Association, the very first association of fashion designers in Manila, Philippines. His designs were exhibited at the World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington and New York City and appeared in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Holiday, and Le Figaro, where he introduced the words jusi, piña and lepanto to the world fashion. His clients includes the United States First Lady Nancy Reagan, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Queen Margarretta of Bulgaria, Queen Sophia of Greece and Princess Margaret of Britain. He died on January 15, 2018 at the Manila Doctors Hospital due to heart attack.
Maryo J. Delos Reyes (Died: January 27, 2018; Age: 65)
Mario Margarito Jorolan de los Reyes or more commonly known as Maryo J. de los Reyes is one of the most influential directors of this generation before his death. He is known for his films like “Annie Batungbakal” (1979), “Bagets” (1985), “Magnifico” (2003), “A Love Story” (2007) and “The Unmarried Wife” (2016) and his television series like “Mga Anghel na Walang Langit” (2005), “Munting Heredera” (2011), “Pari ‘Koy” (2015) and “Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka” (2018). He died at the age of 65 after suffering a heart attack on January 27, 2018 in Dipolog
Napoleon Abueva (Died: February 16, 2018; Age: 88)
National Artist of the Philippines in the field of Visual Arts, Napoleon Abueva was also known as the “Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture“. He was the youngest recipient of the award for the National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts at the age of 46. He died from pneumonia on February 16, 2018 while being confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City.
Dino Quizon (Died: March 4, 2018; Age: 45)
Born as Geraldino “Dino” Quizon, he was known as Dino Quizon. He is one of the four children that the late Dolphy had with Gloria Smith, and one of his 18 children in total. Just like some of his siblings, he also joined show business and became part of some of the late comedy icon’s projects. He died on March 4 in the United States where he was based.
Bernardo Bernardo (Died: 8 March 2018; Age: 73)
He is a Filipino veteran stage actor, comedian, and film director who gained fame as a supporting actor in the Philippines when he transitioned from theatre to the film industry in the mid-1970s. He is known for his works like Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila by Night”, also known as “City After Dark” and the 2015 indie drama “Imbisibol”. He died on March 8, 2018 after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Rolly Quizon (Died: March 15, 2018; Age: 59)
He was the son of the late comedy icon Dolphy, who followed the footsteps of their father and entered show business. He became part of the long running sitcom “John En Marsha” with the comedy king, and in the film “Burlesk Queen” opposite Vilma Santos. He slipped into a coma after a stroke in March 6. He died weeks after the death of another son of Dolphy, Dino.
Mely Tagasa (Died: March 24, 2018; Age 82)
Born as Abimaela Palomo Tagasa, she is more popularly known as Mely Tagasa. An actress, scriptwriter and a dubbing producer, she was widely known for her role as Miss Tapia on the comedy series “Iskul Bukol”. She died of stroke on March 24, after being in coma for two weeks.
TJ Cruz (Died: November 21, 2018; Age: 37)
Born as Tristan Jedidiah Cruz, he was known in show business as simply TJ Cruz. He is the son of veteran actor Tirso Cruz III and brother to former PBB housemate Bodie Cruz. He appeared in films like “Rollerboys” and “Eskapo” (1995) and was part of the Kapamilya youth-oriented show “Ang TV”.
