Remembering Kevin

Remembering Kevin

            It’s official. From now on, July 13 will be recognized as a National Day of Remembrance in honor of our Comedy King Dolphy.

            PNoy signed Proclamation No. 433 last Thursday “in recognition of how the nation deeply feels the passing of Dolphy”. “…every milestone that Dolphy marked in a career that spanned decades, raised the standards of the entertainment industry, and strengthened our cultural identity, giving innumerable aspirants an example to look up to.” Aquino also said that the most important thing about the King of Comedy was how he made people laugh: “This was the greatest gift he gave the Filipino people, and this is the kindness that he will always be remembered for: Dolphy was relentless in reminding us all to always open ourselves to joy.”

            A day dedicated to fun because Dolphy is one of the reasons it is more fun in the Philippines. A tribute to a Comedy King. That’s what it is.

            As for me, I can’t rightly talk of Mang Dolphy and his career as Comedy King. I wasn’t there when John en Marsha ruled the television (although later I was around when it was revived to John en Shirley, also featuring Maricel Soriano as his daughter, Shirley). I wasn’t in front of the television or the big screen for most of his career. I wasn’t an aspiring comedian who was with him on the set of every television show, staring in awe at his flawless antics. All I can talk about is Mang Kevin Cosme, because I was there, glued to my seat, watching his life unfold in Home Along da Riles.

            That flawless complaining line, “Keeviiinnn!!!” delivered by Tita Azon (or Nova Villa) never failed to make me laugh. Just hearing that, I would watch in anticipation how the scene would unfold, and see if Mang Kevin makes me laugh one more time. I tell you, he never failed to do so.

            Younger generations may not see what it is about Mang Kevin that made us laugh. Certainly, the comedians of their generation make us laugh so hard we cry too. The current brand of humor itself is very different. Corny, that’s what most of them would say of Mang Kevin. Yes, Mang Kevin’s jokes are corny, when taken out of context. Presented as a one-liner, it would hardly make ripples on the pond, unlike the pick-up lines. But this particular corniness is what is so lovable about Mang Kevin. You can tell that this would hardly be a joke when delivered by any other actor, but with him, this corny line would go on to become something that made us laugh.

            Maybe because I’m a Filipino, and I can relate very well to our own brand of corniness, so I can laugh at his jokes. But this is precisely why he is so good, because his comedy is very Filipino, and Filipino values are deeply rooted in it. For instance, Mang Kevin’s principle, if I remember rightly, was as long as the family is together, they can weather any kind of hardship. Basta magkakasama. Going back to Dely Atay-atayan’s “Magsumikap ka”, happiness is possible when you strive honestly in work, and your family is complete. Mang Kevin personifies the Filipino rejection of the rich life in favor of a rich family life. In the face of obvious hardships to make ends meet for a large family (and at the same time provide for some of his children’s gimmicks), he cracks a funny line, and the several minutes or so that he makes us laugh would turn everything okay. Yes, the problem will still be there, but we now found a way to laugh at it, and that makes it not so bad.

            With Dolphy’s passing, he has certainly left a wide gap in Philippine comedy. And that wide gap embodied wholesome Philippine humor. He didn’t have to laugh at anyone to make us laugh. That’s what makes me sad about his death. He seemed to carry wholesome Philippine humor with him, to the grave.

            All is not lost however. There are millions of Filipinos that are fortunate to have seen Dolphy at his best. There are millions of Filipinos who will remember him forever as the King of Comedy. There are millions of Filipinos who once knew how it is to laugh cleanly; to laugh because it is better than crying, to laugh so hard it makes us cry. And I’m sure glad I’m one of them.

            I hope we never lose that laughin’ feelin’, the wholesome way, as Mang Kevin taught us.