Pinoy Icons: Johnny Delgado

2009 has been a year of great losses, and this month we have lost one of the best actors of Philippine Cinema.

I've known Johnny Delgado since the Bad Bananas, and I thought (and still do) that they were the funniest comedy troupe in Philippine showbusiness, funnier even than Tito, Vic, and Joey.

But my first appreciation of his full acting potential was back in film school, when I saw Mike de Leon's short film Aliwan Paradise. And I already marked him down as the most natural local actor I have ever seen. His acting style is subtle, yet full of energy, and the way he delivers his lines--you would never sense that he was speaking lines from a script, as they are colloquial and natural. I don't know if the directors give him license to paraphrase, or if he just does a damn good job.

Film historians will tell you that Johnny Delgado is the son of director Ben Feleo. But what few people know is that he is the director's adopted son. His natural father is Sixto Esquivias, Jr. He is an Esquivias. My mother's first cousin. My uncle by blood.


Johnny Delgado a.k.a. Juan Marasigan Feleo. 1948-2009.


*some info from Wikipedia
pic from pixelgrain.biz