Cast Away

"Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion, a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same size".--- Mark Twain

I received another spam mail from Hush. I almost nagged him again about his crazy habit of sending emails that takes unwanted space on my inbox when I saw the content . I found myself taking time to read one of his infamous mails. I felt sad afterwards. The email was about the death of Filipino actor Rudy Fernandez. The action star had stage IV peri-ampullary cancer.

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MANILA, Philippines - Action star Rudy Fernandez succumbed to cancer early morning today, June 7, 2008, ending a battle that lasted several months.

Radio DZBB quoted Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. as saying Fernandez passed away at 6:15 a.m., less than a month after he was brought out of a hospital to his home.

Fernandez had undergone treatment abroad for his illness. A healing mass attended by several friends at the Christ the King Church in Quezon City last May 10 was held for him.

"Daboy" was born on March 3, 1953, the son of film director Gregorio Fernandez. He started his active film career in 1970 while a student at the University of Santo Tomas.

He made a name for himself as an action star with "Bitayin si Baby Ama" in 1976 and gained further fame with "Ang Leon, Ang Tigre at ang Alamid" in 1979.

The actor was also known for portraying true-to-life characters, including "Markang Bungo" in 1992.

Fernandez won two FAMAS Best Actor awards for the action films "Batuigas...Pasukuin si Waway" in 1984 and "Victor Corpuz" in 1988.

He received the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) 2008 Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Star Awards for Movies.

Also, he received the Film Academy of the Philippines FPJ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Fernandez has one son, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, with former partner Alma Moreno; and two children with actress Lorna Tolentino.

In 2001, he ran for Quezon City under former President Joseph Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa but lost to Feliciano Belmonte Jr. - GMANews.TV

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In a recent article of Philippine Daily Inquirer. He admitted that he refused the other treatment proposed to him because one side effect was acne all over the face. And if it didn’t break out, it meant the protocol was not working. Daboy was quoted saying,

"I’d die anyway, so why should I have to undergo that? I’d rather go happy, looking good. Imagine me in my coffin, unrecognizable because of the acne? So they found something else for me.”