Ricky Davao in presscon of the horror movie, Clarita
Ricky Davao passed away on the first of May, just three weeks short of turning 64 on May 30.
That last hour, he was surrounded by his loved ones as he lay on the hospital bed.
It was a quiet, if sad, goodbye; he battled cancer. It was his final moment with children Ara, Rikki Mae, and Kenneth, and his ex-wife Jackie Lou Blanco, who later said she had a good closure with her 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 had shared her husband’s love. There was no bitterness nor rancor in the wife’s countenance. She knew there were other women who loved her husband. On this last night of the wake, they could only share love and forgiveness as she gave Ricky’s partner a hug
Jackie Lou could only say, “Ricky, thank you for making us, your family, feel loved.”
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. Through the years, I saw a lot of Ricky in theater, movie presscons and premiere nights. I also witnessed the other side to him when he was singing at Merk’s Bistro in Makati. “Mahirap pigilan ang pag-awit pag nakakakita ako ng microphone (Couldn’t resist singing every time I see the mic),” he’d often introduce his song. He had a natural baritone voice, and I could see why he loved singing. I could feel him acting as he sang.
In a theater presscon for Dirty Old Musical, directed by Dexter Santos, with libretto by Rody Vera, and musical direction by Myke Salomon, Ricky told me singing could be a total challenge compared to 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 in film as a former band leader in Sinagtala, directed by Mike Sandejas. Though his appearance was brief, his acting stuck on my mind. Boy, could he portray any character and come out a winner.
One of the last Cinemalaya films I raved about was Eduardo Roy’s F#*@BOIS, with a sizzling appearance of Ricky Davao as a small-town politician fond of kinky sex. Obviously this was a very sensitive film to promote, given the limited presscon guests, the very daring teaser and film excerpts.
Roy admitted to me that even the film’s title had to be “sanitized” for general audiences. Initially, he settled for an R-16 rating, but then he realized the story’s essence would be sacrificed. He decided that one of his last projects would be better appreciated with an R-18 rating.
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 otherwise. When the cameras rolled, they played to the hilt the millennials who would do anything for money.
Roy told me that casting for other roles was also difficult. “When I finished the story, we had to look for someone who was a perfect foil to the young actors. And he had to be very daring, as well. We could only think of Ricky Davao and no one else.”
‘…. he had to be very daring, as well. We could only think of Ricky Davao and no one else’
Davao accepted the role only because he liked what Roy 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,” Ricky told me.
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 Momma’ will never be the same again after this Eduardo Roy film.”
Ricky garnered trophies during the year’s awards season. He was the jury’s unanimous choice in that year’s Cinemalaya award for Best Supporting Actor.
In the film Dukot by Paul Soriano, Ricky was the panic-stricken patriarch whose performance was at once riveting and multi-layered. He was a good provider all right, but in the negotiations with the kidnappers and trying to unite his family, he confessed he was not exactly spotless, and admitted some of their hard-earned savings came from dirty sources.
In the presscon of Derick Cabrido’s Clarita, death and despair were palpable as one heard what sounded like a funeral sonata. Even the tablecloth of the head table looked like it came from an altar cloth used in the 1950s.
After the cast members had taken their seats, Ricky spotted me in the gathering and intoned looking in my direction, “In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti” (“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”). The media, including me, couldn’t help but laugh—Ricky was acting Fr. Salvador in that horror flick, starring with Arron Villaflor.
“I like immersing (myself) 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,” Ricky told me.
By then, in 2019, Ricky had already logged close to four decades of acting. 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, in the ‘70s, acting beckoned after he saw Georges Feydeau’s 1907 play, A Flea in Her Ear, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, again with his dad (with Bernardo Bernardo) in it. Also in the play was the late filmmaker, National Artist Marilou Diaz-Abaya, playing one of the maids. “That play fueled my desire to become an actor,” he recalled.
On the set of Clarita, a story based on an actual exorcism that had been recorded and which made it to the headlines in the ‘50s not just in Manila but also around the world, Ricky realized that he was facing something beyond his acting arsenal. He said, “Doing horror is a very physical thing. You have to communicate (using) 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 suffered mysterious deaths. My character faces that challenge of purging the devil out of 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 was old hat, but his comic timing was pure genius.
‘I believe this is the life made for me because I like learning from people around me’
Ricky pointed out what it took 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 this is the life made for me because I like learning from people around me.”
Colleagues who had worked with Davao affirm Ricky’s caliber as good actor, and as unselfish friend.
One of the last times Ricky and I met was in the presscon of the CCP revival,of A Flea In Her Ear, an adaptation which transported the setting from Paris to Manila. Earlier translated and adapted by Virgilio “Beer” Flores, the revival was 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, and watching his dad 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.”
At age 13, watching his father and Bernardo Bernardo appear in a play fueled his desire to become an actor. ‘There’s nothing like acting in theater,’ Ricky said
Ricky Davao (far right) with Armida Siguion Reyna (second from right), Mother Lily, Carlios Siguion Reyna. (Photo: Allan Diones)
Bibeth Orteza, in FB, recalled the young and struggling Ricky Davao who would just pop up in their home in Kamuning. To her mother (Mrs. Orteza), the actor would implore, “Sorry po, wala po akong pambayad ng taxi. Puwede pong pabayad muna? (Sorry, I don’t have taxi fare. Can you please pay it?)“
He evolved into an actor good enough to be Tony Javier in Larawan staged at CCP. Bibeth recalled: “Besieged by autograph seekers at the CCP main theater lobby after one performance, he saw Mama (Mrs. Orteza) smiling at him. He walked up to her and said, ‘Ano, Mama? Nagbunga po ba ang kalilibre n’yo sa taxi ko no’ng araw? (Did paying all that taxi fare for me make it all worth it?)’ 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 was when I knew my husband (Carlitos Siguion-Reyna) won.
“When I saw him later back on his seat, 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 nag-film school. First movie niya, artista n’ya ako. Sila ni tita Midz (Armida) ang 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! (I was close to tears. Aside from you being like a mom to me, Carlitos was a classmate in an acting workshop, before he went to film school. His first movie, I acted in. He and tita Midz were the first to bring me to international film festivals, Toronto, Berlin! I was also the presentor when he won Best Director in Urian. I acted with his on in a play; I also directed the son in soap. We’ve had a long history, down to our children.)“
Ricky Davao with Rosanna Marquez in a trailer from ‘Ang Lalaki Sa Buhay ni Selya’, directed by Carlito Siguion-Reyna, a triumph in the Berlin International Film Festival.
Carlitos Siguion Reyna recalled being with Ricky 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.”
Ricky Davao (center) with the author (far right) and Chris Millado, then CCP artistic director, during a CCP presscon
