Actress Boots Anson-Roa believes that yesterday, July 11, was a “national day of mourning.”

One day after Filipinos lost its beloved Comedy King Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the country is grieving.

Many believe there will never be another Dolphy.

On the first day of the King’s wake, celebrities and fans flocked to the Dolphy Theater of the ABS-CBN network in Quezon City where his body, resting inside a bronze casket, lay.

In a career spanning six decades, it is only now that the mention of Dolphy evokes sadness and tears.

BOOTS ANSON-ROA. “Lahat naman ng mamamayan ay naka-relate sa pagpanaw ni Dolphy,” says Boots, a veteran actress who has appeared opposite the comedian in film.  

“‘Pag nagmamahal si Dolphy, pantay-pantay. Parang the great leveler siya, e, di ba? Equalizer.

"Walang mayaman, walang mahirap, walang marunong, walang mangmang, walang pulitiko, walang artista.

“Everybody loved Dolphy,” the actress adds.

She calls him an “Everyman”—a take from the character in Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century literature.

“Di ba, may character na ‘Everyman’ na kumakatawan sa ating lahat? Yun si Dolphy. Parang Juan dela Cruz natin.

“So, kung ako babati sa kanya, sasabihin ko, ‘Happy Birthday, Dolphy.'

"Kasi ipinanganak siya ngayon sa everlasting life, a life that will take us quite a while before we live that life.

"Buti pa siya, nauna na siya dun.”

The actress, who starred with Dolphy in The Goodfather (1975), recalls the actor as an inspiring colleague, comfortable to work with.