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Monday, April 12, 2010

COMEDIAN "PALITO" PASSED AWAY, 76

Veteran comedian Palito passed away Monday morning (April 12). He was 76. Palito, Reynaldo Hipolito in real life, died at 7:05 a.m. at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila due to lung complications.

His son, Jhune, said his father was scheduled to undergo a CT scan in a nearby clinic along
Taft Avenue in Manila. A few minutes before they were to leave PGH, however, Jhune said Palito complained of severe pain. A few hours later, Palito was declared dead, the son said.


Palito was rushed to the
Imus Family Hospital in Cavite last Tuesday after complaining of severe stomach pain. He was transferred to the ward section of PGH on the same night."Galing siya sa trabaho… Pagdating sa bahay halos hindi na makalakad at nanghihina na...kaya dinala na namin siya sa ospital," recalled Jhune. Prior to this, he had been confined at the hospital for a month due to a lung complication. “Kasi po si Daddy, nagii-smoke po siya. Nung tinigil po niya, dun siya nanghina po,” Among the last to see the comedian was former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, who visited Palito the night before.




Reynaldo Hipolito was only 21 when he first discovered the world of stage acting. So enamored was the skinny student of Arellano University in Manila that he decided to choose acting over his studies; but of course, much against his parents' protests. That was around 1959.


Hipolito's distinct emaciated frame would serve as his ticket away from doing bit roles. He revealed to PEP the origin of his famous screen name. "Ang nickname ko talaga is Rene. Eh, kung tawagin nila ko, ‘Hipolito, Hipolito' kaya ginawa ko na lang na Palito."
Palito, which in Spanish means matchstick, perfectly suited Hipolito's thin physique. But more importantly, the moniker gave the former film extra a catchy name and an identity that perfectly played on Filipino sensibilities, especially in comedy.


“He would also been known as a star in a lot of kitsch Pinoy horror films as a zombie/corpse. His sunken hollow eyes and reed-thin body, while not aesthetically-pleasing in the popular sense, fit the corpse-like demeanor that local filmmakers love to utilize.” (wikipedia)--- Here's a sample in the clip below---



Courtesy of RVQ Productions and Star Cinema

Soon, major film outfits began casting him in their movies—most of which were considered slapstick. Palito lost count of the of films he did, nor does he recall when they were shown, although he reached his peak during the ‘70s all the way to the ‘80s. Palito moved up from supporting roles to lead star prominence via the movie
Rambuto—a parody of Sylvester Stallone's blockbuster film Rambo. It was Palito who thought of the title, Rambuto, which was a tribute to his slight figure. He was also credited for spoofing another Stallone film, First Blood. "Ginawa ko naman, No Blood," he said proudly. "Ako ‘yong nagbigay ng pangalan sa mga iba kong pelikula. Blockbuster lahat ‘yan." Here's a clip with Palito doing a "Rambo"---



8 comments:

James DR said...

Isa si Palito sa mga Pinoy comedians na nakapagpapatawa sa akin, tulad ni Dolphy, Panchito, Babalu, Chiquito, Pugo, Bentot, Cachupoy at Apeng Daldal. Sa mga bagong sibol, sina Vic Sotto, Roderick Paulate, Michael V at Redford White. Promising sina Wally at Jose.

Rodolfo Samonte said...

To Palito, May he Rest in Peace.

James,
Did you forget Togo (Pugo's erstwhile partner who died early), Chichay & Tolindoy, Aruray, Prospero Luna, or were they before your time?

James DR said...

Rod,
Wala akong napanood na pelikula ni Togo kaya di ko siya isinama sa list ko, ganundin si Tolindoy. Si Prospero Luna naman, wala ring tumatak na pelikula niya sa akin kaya di ko masabi na natawa ako sa comedy niya. Of course, sa mga babae sina Chichay, Aruray, Patsy, Dely Atay-Atayan, Nida Blanca, Gloria Romero. Sa mga bago sina Ai-Ai de las Alas, Eugene Domingo, Pokwang.

TheCoolCanadian said...

Guys:

Ha-ha-ha!

The type of comedy that only Filipinos can do. This is something Apeng Daldal and Chiquito used to do in their films as well.

This burlesque comedy obviously came from the old Filipino variety shows in the old days, the ones presented by the likes of Pugo and Togo onstage before the Second World War. The slapstick element is just extremely wacky and it leaves the viewer's mind wallowing in superficiality that only Filipino comedians could deliver.

This short clip of Home Along da Riles really cracked me up, honest. He-he.

Anonymous said...

Rod,

Si LOPITO,nakalimutan mo. Mi anak yata ito or apo, si JUN LOPITO, magaling na BLUES GUITARIST dito ngayon. Pero parang screen name lang niya ang Jun Lopito. Ang apelyedo niya ay LABALAN, most probably from Magallanes,Sorsogon.
Correct ba JM?

Auggieczqa

Rodolfo Samonte said...

Auggie,
Omigod, how can we forget Lopito. The original Kenkoy.
Rod

Unknown said...

He is a musician/drummer turned actor was born in Minalin Pampanga in 1934-2010 star in several movies television and other credits his real name was Reynaldo Hipolito died due to complications at Philippine General
Hospital nearly 4 years ago remains a popular celebrities of all time.Thanks for the information.From:Wayne

Unknown said...

He is the living zombie/undead and scrawny comedian born Reynaldo Hipolito as Palito . Thanks!

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