Ricky Davao passed away first of May, just three weeks before he would have turned 64 on May 30.
On the day he moved on, he was surrounded by his loved ones in his hospital bed.
It was a quiet, if sad, goodbye after he was earlier diagnosed with cancer.
It was his last moment with children Ara, Rikki Mae, and Kenneth and his ex-wife Jackie Lou Blanco who said she had a good closure with husband before he breathed his last.
Wrote his daughter Ara on Instagram: “For more than four decades, he dedicated his life to the craft of acting and directing. His remarkable body of work and award-winning performances have left a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire. Most of all he was a loving father, brother, son, and friend.”
On the last day of the wake (May 6), the unexpected happened.
Jackie Lou Blanco – who admitted they were never really legally separated — introduced the other woman who shared her husband’s love. There was no bitterness or rancor in wife’s countenance. She knew there were other women who loved her husband. On this last night of the wake, they can only share love and forgiveness as she gave her a hug
Jackie Lou can only say, “Ricky, thank you for making us, your family, feel loved.”
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I first met Ricky Davao during his initial theater days at Bulwagang Gantimpala and Tanghalang Pilipino.
I don’t know if it was Alya Honasan or Danton Remoto who assigned me to profile him for the Inquirer Saturday Special.
I have forgotten what play it was that I saw which was quite memorable. Through the years, I saw a lot of him in theater and movie presscons and premiere nights.
I also witnessed his other side when I’d see him singing at Merk’s Bistro in Makati. “Mahirap pigilan ang pag-awit pag nakakakita ako ng microphone,” he’d often say by way of introducing his song number.
He has a natural baritone voice and I could see why he loved singing. I could see he acted while he sang.
In another theater presscon for “Dirty Old Musical” under Dexter Santos’ direction with libretto by Rody Vera and with Myke Salomon as musical director, Ricky told me singing is a total challenge compared to just straight acting. “In singing, you pour your heart out through music. I guess it’s more challenging than just acting without music.”
I last saw him on film as a former band leader in the film Sinagtala directed by Mike Sandejas. Though his appearance was brief, it was his acting that stuck to my mind. Boy, he can portray any character and come out a winner.
One of the last Cinemalaya films I raved over was Eduardo Roy’s F#*@BOIS with a sizzling appearance of Ricky Davao as a small-town politician with special fondness for kinky sex.
I could see that this was a very sensitive film to promote from the limited presscon guests and its ultra daring teaser and film excerpts.
The late Roy admitted to me even the title of the film (F#*@BOIS) had to be sanitized to make it acceptable for general audience. Initially, he settled for an R-16 rating but then he realized much of the essence of the story would be sacrificed. He decided one of his last projects would be better appreciated with an R-18 rating.
For one, actors Kokoy de Santos and Royce Cabrera had to do a daring scene and the director suggested that their private parts be covered. They thought it wasn’t necessary. When the cameras rolled, they became the portrait of millennials who would do anything to earn money.
Roy also admitted to me during the pre-screening presscon that casting for other roles was equally difficult. Especially when he was trying to get a character actor as versatile as Ricky Davao. “When I finished the story, we had to look for someone as a perfect foil for the young actors. And he has to be very daring as well. We can only think of Ricky Davao and no one else.”
Davao admitted to me he accepted the part only because he liked what the director did in an earlier film Pamilya Ordinaryo. “When I read the script, I froze momentarily. It’s not going to be easy. Indeed, it requires some amount of daring which should look very real. Later, I realized accepting the part was like jumping into the pool with no water and hitting the pool tiles with your head. That’s how tough and provocative my role was.”
I wrote after first screening: “The character of Ricky Davao as the town mayor — known in the cell directory as Britanny – was made of extraordinary stuff. His acting has the force and precision of an eagle swooping down on his victims. I tell you, the line, ‘Come to Mommah’ will never be the same again after this Eduardo Roy film.”
As expected, Ricky garnered trophies during the year’s awards season. It was easy to see he was the jury’s unanimous choice in that year’s Cinemalaya award as best supporting actor.
In the film Dukot by Paul Soriano, Davao was the panic-stricken patriarch who essayed the kind of acting that was at once riveting and multi-layered. He is a good provider all right but in the middle of the negotiation with the kidnappers and trying to unite his family, he confesses he is not exactly spotless and admits some of their hard-earned savings have dirty sources.
In the presscon of Derick Cabrido’s Clarita, there was an air of death and despair as one heard what sounded like a funeral sonata.
Even the tablecloth in the presidential table looked like it was part of an altar cloth used in the 1950s.
After the members of the cast had taken their seats, Ricky Davao recognized me and intoned looking in my direction, “In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti (Latin for ‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’).”
Some members of the media including me couldn’t help guffawing.
In that presscon, Ricky was Fr. Salvador in a horror flick along with Arron Villaflor.
He intimated to me in that presscon: “I like immersing in roles that are my opposite in real life. Big or small, the challenge is always there and I have learned to enjoy every moment of it. You have to look every inch a priest because in my past roles, I was a killer and virtually a serial rapist considering the number of my ‘victims’ in past screen roles.”
At that time in 2019, Ricky had logged close to four decades in showbiz. He admitted he had not done too many horror films. But in his youth, Ricky dreamt of appearing in one. “When I was young, I saw a film called Dugo ni Vampira and my father (Charlie Davao) was in it. It was enough to make me wish that one day soon, I’d be in horror films.”
But earlier than that, the call of acting came when he saw Georges Feydeau’s 1907 play, A Flea in Her Ear at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in the ‘70s again with his dad (along with Bernardo Bernardo) in it. In the play was the late filmmaker now National Artist for Fillm Marilou Diaz-Abaya as one of the maids.
“That play fueled my desire to become an actor,” he recalled.
On the set of Clarita which was based on a recorded exorcism ritual that made headlines not just in Manila but around the world in the ’50s, he knew he was up to something that rarely comes in his acting arsenal. “Doing horror is a very physical thing. You have to communicate with your entire body and convince the audience you have what it takes to be a man of the cloth. But this role is chilling. Before the exorcism scenes, my character learned that the doctors handling Clarita’s case succumbed to mysterious deaths. My character is up to that challenge of purging out the devil in her persona. But then that is the beauty of playing roles other than yourself.”
Another good reason I watched Paul Jason Lacsamana’s Fallback some years back was the presence of Ricky Davao who brought the house down with his hysterically funny portrayal of Direk Tammy, the gay filmmaker. His character is old hat but his comic timing has pure touch of genius.
Ricky pointed out what it takes to become an effective actor. “First, you should know if you have the talent. Somehow, you have to start with something. But then talent is not enough. For one, you will need to polish your art to become the best of what you can be. And the most important thing, you have to learn to work with others. Yes, even with actors that are less gifted. Because in this calling, you learn from everybody, from the director to fellow actors and even from extras. Acting is constant learning as you portray one role after another. I believe that is the life made for me because I like learning from people around me.”
Colleagues who worked with Davao only confirm the actor’s status as good actor and unselfish friend.
Zsa Zsa Padilla had the joy of working with Davao in Familia Zaragoza where they played siblings.
The actress posted on her FB: “Since then, I’ve always fondly called him ‘Brother.’ In 1997, he became Tony Javier to my Paula Marasigan in the stage adaptation of Larawan, staged at the CCP. We did a total of ten shows working closely together during that time.”
Padilla’s parting words: “Ricky is a great loss in the showbiz industry. May you rest in peace, Brother. Thank you for the joy you brought in every role you portrayed—on stage, on television, and in film.”
One of the last times Ricky and I met was in the presscon of the CCP revival of Georges Feydeau’s 1907 play, “A Flea In Her Ear” which had an adaptation which transported the setting from Paris to Manila.
Earlier translated and adapted by Virgilio “Beer” Flores, the revival is titled Baka Naman Hindi with Dennis Marasigan directing a cast led by Ricky Davao, Rina Reyes, Lou Veloso and Rafa Siguion Reyna.
It was the first stage play Ricky ever saw at age 13. Watching his dad Charlie Davao and Bernardo Bernardo in it fueled his desire to be an actor.
“There’s nothing like acting in theater,” he added even as he considered himself “alipin ng television” for obvious reason.
Bibeth Orteza in her FB post remembers the young and struggling Ricky Davao who would just pop into their Forbes Park place.
To her mother-in-law Armida Siguion Reyna the actor would implore: “ Sorry po, wala po akong pambayad ng taxi. Puwede pong pabayad muna?”
He has metamorphosed into an actor good enough to be Tony Javier in one of the Larawan stagings at the CCP.
Bibeth further recalled: “Besieged by autograph seekers at the CCP main theater lobby after one performance, he saw Mama (Armida Siguion Reyna) smiling at him. He walked to her and said, “Ano, Mama? Nagbunga po ba ang kalilibre n’yo sa taxi ko no’ng araw?” And then he gave her a hug.
Bibeth continued: “In May of 2019, he was on PhilStage Gawad-Buhay’s stage, set to announce the winner of the Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play. After calling out the names of the nominees with fellow presentor Jeff Flores, he opened the winner’s envelope, thumped his chest and said he was getting emotional. That’s when I knew my husband won.
Back near me on his regular chair, I asked just how emotional he was, and he exclaimed: “Muntik na akong umiyak! Bukod sa nanay-nanayan kita, naka-klase ko si Carlitos sa acting workshop, 1982, bago siya nagfilm school. First movie niya, artista n’ya ako. Sila ni Tita Midz unang nagdala sa akin sa mga international film festival, sa Toronto, sa Berlin! Ako rin ang presentor sa una niyang Best Director sa Urian! Naging co-actor ko na ang anak ninyo sa play, na-direct ko na rin sa soap. Ang haba na ng history natin, hanggang mga anak na!”
Carlitos Siguion Reyna recalled being with Ricky Davao in the 1998 Berlin International film Festival for the screening of his film, Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya.
“After the Berlinale audience heartily applauded the film, I called Ricky to join me on stage. The audience gasped, and started rhythmically clapping and chanting “Ricky, Ricky, Ricky!” as he made his way to the front with a shocked smile on his face. Unforgettable.”