Farewell, Sammy Lagmay

Comedian Sammy Lagmay passed away on Wednesday afternoon due to complications brought about by diabetes, his sister Mylene Mariano told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He was 55.

A former production office messenger, the funny man was discovered and became a mainstay on the 1980s sitcom “Chicks to Chicks” on IBC 13/IBC Channel 12.

He often played the put-upon sidekick in several sitcoms (“Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata,” “George and Cecil”) and movies (“Bala at Lipstick,” “My Monster Mom”) and also worked as assistant director on ABS-CBN shows (“That’s My Doc,” “Okay Fine Whatever”). [article continued after the jump]

Farewell, Bella Flores

Showbiz's queen villainess Bella Flores died at 84
Bella Flores, the iconic actress known for her villainess roles in movies and in television, died at 1:27 a.m., May 19. She was 84. Flores, whose real name is Remedios Papa Dancel, was declared dead at the Quezon City General Hospital where she was rushed after she complained that she couldn't breathe.

Imelda Papin, a friend of the actress, said that when they rushed Flores to the hospital, the latter was still breathing. Papin said doctors tried but failed to revive Flores three times. Papin said that Flores' daughter Ruby Arcilla called her up to say that her mother's blood pressure had gone down. It was at that point that they rushed the veteran actress to the hospital, but to no avail.

Flores' first movie was Balaraw which was shown in 1950. Her first big break was with Sampaguita Pictures, who gave her a four-year contract and a role in the move Roberta (1951). In the movie, she played the role of a cruel stepmother to then child actors Tessie Agana and Boy Alano. That role set the path and typecasted Flores as villainess in almost all projects she would undertook later on.