Dolphy Alay Tawa: A Musical Tribute to the King of Philippine Comedy is a 2012 Philippine concert paying tribute to comedian and actor, Dolphy, named as the Philippines' king of comedy, who died on July 10, 2012, due to multiple organ failure. The concert was held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on September 19, 2012, and was simultaneously aired as a television special on September 30, 2012, by the three major Philippine commercial television networks: ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5.[1]
Production
The concert was held at the Mall of Asia Arena, an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay, Metro Manila. During the show, it was explained that the reason why the Quizon family chose the arena as the concert's venue is because the arena's land used to be near a river where a then-teenage Dolphy learned how to swim.[1]
The musical tribute was directed by Al Quinn and written by Bibeth Orteza and featured talents from ABS-CBN, TV5 and GMA Network. The proceeds of the concert went to the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines, Friends of Hope, and the Philippine Red Cross.[2]
Line-up
Featured performances and appearances included:[1][2]
Dolphy's grandchildren Rowell and John Quizon performing during the front act, impersonating the voices and mannerisms of Filipino artists such as Jaya, Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Nora Aunor, Fernando Poe, Jr., and their grandfather Dolphy.
Dolphy's children Sahlee and Eric Quizon, as representatives of their father's foundation, the Dolphy Aid Para sa Pinoy Foundation, talking about the beneficiaries where the proceeds for the event will go.
Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, and Sharon Cuneta performing "Buhay Artista", the theme song of the 1964 show of the same name where Dolphy starred in.
Lovi Poe and Paolo Bediones introducing a clip from GMA Network's Bubble Gang where Boy Pick-Up (played by Ogie Alcasid) engages a pick-up line battle with Big Boy Puruntong (played by Dolphy).
Sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga introducing Dolphy's children Eric, Ronnie, Epy, and Vandolph, and grandchild Boy2 Quizon, performing a medley of songs from the 60s to the 90s.
Eric Quizon introducing a video performance of "Smile" by half-sister Zia Quizon, along with an old clip of Dolphy singing the same song.
Actress and then-Governor of BatangasVilma Santos speaking through video while showing pictures of her and Dolphy in films together.
Nora Aunor reciting lines from the song "Handog".
The Quizon siblings, along with Dolphy's grandchild Boy2 Quizon, performing "We Are Family." They were later joined by Zsa Zsa Padilla and daughter Karylle, who thanked the audience for coming and introduced a video of Dolphy being given a rap tribute by Gloc-9.
The tribute concert aired on September 30, 2012, at exactly 10:30 PM PHT. In a rare opportunity, the show was simultaneously aired by ABS-CBN, TV5 and GMA Network.[3] As a compromise, the networks designated the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City as the common playback point of the special. From the Quezon Memorial Circle, the networks will pick up the common feed by each of their outside broadcast vans (OB van) en route to their individual broadcast facilities.[4]
