Rudy Fernandez succumbs to periampullary cancer

Movie actor Rudy Fernandez succumbed to periampullary cancer in his home in White Plains, Quezon City at 6:15 a.m. Saturday. He was 55.

Fernandez had been battling the disease for more than two years.

The action star passed away five days after he was brought home from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he had been confined for a month. He and wife Lorna Tolentino celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

He suffered a seizure on Wednesday but refused to be taken back to the Cardinal Santos Memorial Center. 

His close friends, Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, broke the news to media minutes after his death.

His wife and other friends were with him as he passed away, Estrada said.

Fernandez’s remains lie in state at the Heritage Park in Taguig City. Interment plans will be announced later.

He is survived by his wife Lorna, and their two sons, Rap and Renz, and a third son with actress-politician Alma Moreno, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez.

Revilla told the Inquirer that Fernandez had suffered from internal bleeding for several days. He also said Fernandez was glassy-eyed most of the time and had difficulty recognizing people.

Revilla said that while he was on his way to the Fernandez home at 9 p.m. Friday, the veteran actor’s blood pressure had plummeted. Fernandez’s manager, Lolit Solis, also told the Inquirer that he was reduced to murmuring instructions to his wife. The actor would wince at the lightest touch.

Fernandez, born March 3, 1953 in Manila, started appearing in movies at age three in a film directed by his father Gregorio “Yoyong” Fernandez, LVN Pictures’ “Luksang Tagumpay” in 1956, according to the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Delia Razon, star of “Luksang Tagumpay” remembers the young Rudy as a “shy, but obedient kid.” “Rudy was always hanging out, playing on the set. He was Yoyong’s pet,” Razon recounts.

But his actual movie career started in 1970 under a Sampaguita Pictures contract for the film entitled “For Your Mama.”

Fernandez’s entry in the action genre came in 1976 in the biopic of a notorious criminal, “Bitayin si Baby Ama,” a box-office hit that established him as a big name in Philippine movies for the next three decades.  His words were etched in local cinema parlance with the line, “Trabaho lang ito, walang personalan,” in the 1992 movie “Markang Bungo,” which is another biopic, this time of a Baguio City cop, Bobby Ortega. He also played Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Gen. Victor Corpus, former actor Eddie Fernandez and politician Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo in blockbuster films.

Fernandez was an affectionate colleague, Razon recalls. “He was always respectful. Every time he would see me in show biz gatherings, he’d stand up and greet me,” says Razon.

Ara Mina, Fernandez’s leading lady in two films, “Palaban” and “Diskarte”, said they called each other “best friends.” “Every time we see each other, he tells me, ‘Ang ganda ng best friend ko ngayon. Pumayat ka. (My best friend is so beautiful today. You’ve lost weight.)’ That was how he used to tease me,” Mina said.

Fernandez starred in 65 films throughout his career, the last being the 2002 film “Huli Mo, Huli Ko.” He had since appeared in the television docudrama “Kasangga,” the sitcom “Da Boy and Da Girl,” and the soap “Twin Hearts.” His last project, “Atlantika” was aired in 2006.

He is a winner of two FAMAS best actor trophies for the 1984 film “Batuigas…Pasukuin si Waway” and the 1988 “Victor Corpus” biopic and one Film Academy of the Philippines best actor plum for “Batuigas.”

The Philippine Movie Press Club recently gave Fernandez the 2008 Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marinel Cruz, Gerry Plaza, Bayani San Diego, Jr.

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