The greatest comedians of all time

(First of a series)

I never thought I’d ever buy that sales pitch usually mouthed by movie stars promoting their forthcoming comedy films. You know that line about times being so hard and we need to laugh and all that and so we should watch their comic flicks.

But with the rising prices of basic commodities, gasoline (every week!), the E-VAT, global terrorism, etc., I’m stressed out every day of my life.

At the end of the day, instead of a good book/magazine, I watch Friends on DVD to relax me and it’s only now that I’ve realized how important humor is to keep our sanity intact.

And now I’m appreciating even more the contributions of our local comedians in making our lives a little more bearable for all of us. I’ve decided therefore to make a Top 10 list of the greatest comedians in Philippine entertainment and here they are below.

Pugo – If Dolphy is the King of Comedy, then Pugo was emperor. I’m sure even Dolphy would agree with me because he idolized and loved Pugo dearly. A product of stage shows, Pugo also made a lot of comedies before and after the war with partner Togo (more on him later), did radio – until he moved to television where he became a really big star.

In the old ABS-CBN Channel 3, he did Tangtarangtang (originating from radio), which eventually became Si Tatang Kasi. Over at sister station ABS-CBN Channel 4, he did Wanted: Boarders. In sitcoms, he was Mang Nano and, later, Mang Mar. (He was Mariano Contreras in real life.)

In the mid-‘60s, he also became co-host of Patsy in Tawag ng Tanghalan when Lopito died.

During the martial law years, he did My Son, My Son for RPN-9 until his death on Dec. 14, 1978. Upon hearing the sad news, Dolphy cut short his US vacation, flew home immediately for the wake and upon seeing Pugo’s coffin was not fit for a king, he had it replaced with something that would have pleased even an emperor.

Just how big was Pugo during his time? Let met tell you this story: In the ‘60s, an ABS-CBN security guard refused him entry. What was the reason? Nobody knows exactly, except that guards will be guards – apparently even in those days of yore. Pugo, of course, felt bad, went home and refused to come to work. It was Eugenio Lopez himself who had to fetch him at his house and convince him to report for taping. That was how big Pugo was as a star comedian.

Dolphy – One of the greatest showbiz names, he started as a vaudeville dancer during the war, joined the movies – initially doing supporting roles in Sampaguita films – until he became a big, big star on the big screen and, later, on television. With the exception of a couple of programs that didn’t do very well (Quizon Avenue and a forgettable show on RPN-9 in the late ‘80s called Plaza 18...something), all his TV shows were super hits, long-running and will always be part of Philippine TV history: Buhay Artista, John en Marsha and Home Along Da Riles. His recently launched sitcom, John En Shirley, is now one of ABS-CBN’s top-raters.

On the silver screen, he has a long, long string of box-office hits where he played various characters – from bumbling detectives and comic romantics to lovable gay roles (Jack & Jill, Pacifica Falayfay, Fefita Fofonggay, etc.).

One of his best performances, however, was in a drama – Lino Brocka’s Ang Tatay Kong Nanay.

Dolphy will always be regarded as a legend in Philippine entertainment – along with Fernando Poe Jr. and other great showbiz icons.

Tito, Vic and Joey – Individually, they have their own achievements, but it was as a group that they became household names in Philippine movies and especially on TV – starting in Okay Lang, a gag show where they starred with the members of the APO Hiking Society.

From Okay Lang, they did Friends (with Charo Santos), Discorama, Student Canteen (as pinch-hitters for Eddie Ilarde and Bobby Ledesma), Eat Bulaga (the greatest noontime show ever) and Iskul Bukol. On the big screen, they are just as successful – with countless box-office hits as a trio and, again, individually.

Tito Sotto, of course, made himself scarce in the entertainment scene when he joined politics in 1987, but he, too, has achieved success – on his own – as a comic talent in Hapi House, a sitcom that will always be remembered for espousing positive values.

Youngest brother Vic Sotto also promoted family values (they’ve more or less made up for all that toilet humor they were accused of doing during the early part of their career) via Okay Ka, Fairy Ko.

Popular among kids as Enteng Kabisote, he has played other TV characters prior to Okay Ka, Fairy Ko in Iskul Bukol (as the scholarly hill-bill Ongasis) and, later, in 2 + 2 with ex-wife Dina Bonnevie. Today, he is in the top-rated sitcom Daddy Di-Do-Du.

Joey de Leon – In his group, he is the one who has tried different types of formats on television: Magazine show (Apple, Pie, Patis, Atbp.), talk (Startalk, Mel & Joey) and even drama (although his dramatic performance – in Kahapon Lamang — was banned by the censors and was never aired).

But it is still in the laughs department where he excelled and continues to excel and has even tried different types of comedy from gag shows (Nuts Entertainment) to sitcom (Joey & Son).

On the big screen, he was just as successful with his Starzan/Barbie series. Today, he is regarded as an entertainment guru.

Chiquito – In the ‘60s and ‘70s, he was considered as Dolphy’s rival (like Nora Aunor vs. Vilma Santos and Susan Roces vs. Amalia Fuentes).

Like Dolphy’s RVQ Productions, Chiquito also put up his own film company – Sotang Bastos – and produced several box-office hits. For Premiere Productions, he made Arizona Kid (filmed in the US) with Mamie Van Doren.

On TV and in the movies, Chiquito was known by the various roles he played: Gorio (from the comic strip Gorio and His Jeepney), Asyong Aksaya (also a comic strip character that was popular at the height of the energy crisis in the ‘70s) and Mang Kepweng.

Augusto Pangan in real life, he also proved himself to be good at drama (opposite a then very young Sheryl Cruz) in an episode of Lovingly Yours, Helen – the Movie. Although he earned a FAMAS Best Actor nomination for that, Chiquito – for all that great acting talent – sadly never brought home an award, save for a FAMAS lifetime achievement trophy he was given along with Dolphy in 1977.

Lovingly called Papang by movie colleagues, he was still active in showbiz at the time of his death in 1997.

(To be continued)