Source: PDI
He was 79.
His widow, Josefa “Nena” Gutierrez Diaz, said he died two days after his discharge from the Estevez Memorial Hospital hospital in Legazpi City, where he had been confined since February 3 for pneumonia and shortness of breath.
“We’re going to miss him, said Nena, who said Diaz, contrary to his bad guy image in the movies, was a good husband and provider, and was generous to his friends.
"He was a good father to all of us,” son Joko Diaz, who is also an actor, told the INQUIRER. “He taught me to put family first and to make sure everyone [in the family] is happy.”
Joko said his father’s remains will be transferred from the the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion Memorial Chapel in Legazpi City to the Manila Memorial Park chapel in Parañaque for a three-day wake.
It was ‘Take Three’ for Diaz, called “Kits” or “Manong Kits” by friends in show business.
Last Sunday, a tabloid erroneously reported that he had died, but the family quickly denied the news the following day.
It was the second time that he had been inadvertently “killed” in the news. In 2004, he was mistakenly reported dead after he suffered a stroke. He recovered after two months.
Pacquito Diaz made a name for himself as the perennial villain in over a hundred films that top-billed Poe and other big stars like Dolphy, Joseph Estrada and Ramon Revilla Sr., among others.
"Walang FPJ kung walang Pacquito Diaz," goes a quip posted on his Facebook page.
Born Francisco Bustillos Diaz in Arayat, Pampanga, he started out as a basketball player for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws before joining show business in the 1960s.
Standing 5’9 and 180 pounds, Diaz was a menacing presence in the almost 2,000 movies he made over the past 50 years.
He bagged a Famas best supporting actor trophy for his role in Ang Mananandata (1965) and garnered at least nine nominations for other films.
Boots Anson-Roa, head of the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund), told the INQUIRER: “Behind the eternal nemesis of Fernando Poe Jr., Joseph Estrada and other famous action heroes, ’Kits’ was good-natured and gifted with a tremendous sense of humor. He was funny and a prankster at times.”
Joko Diaz agreed: “He was like dynamite. His humor was explosive.”
Roa said that Diaz was a beneficiary of Mowelfund, which was set up by his friends Poe, Estrada and Dolphy for movie workers.
Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who shared the screen with the late actor in several films, said the entire entertainment industry mourns his passing.
His wife said she could never forget the first time she met Diaz.
“It was at a party and I was awed at his attire—a maroon Nero vest—and he was driving a maroon Malibu car.” At that party, Diaz immediately offered her marriage, saying “Ikaw ang papakasalan ko” (You are the one I will marry), she recalled.
In 2007, she and Diaz retired to Daraga in the hope the fresh air in the town would do him good.
Aside from his wife and Joko, Diaz is survived by his three daughters Johanna, Chesca, and Maria Cristina and 13 grandchildren.
Diaz will be laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park.
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He was 79.
His widow, Josefa “Nena” Gutierrez Diaz, said he died two days after his discharge from the Estevez Memorial Hospital hospital in Legazpi City, where he had been confined since February 3 for pneumonia and shortness of breath.
“We’re going to miss him, said Nena, who said Diaz, contrary to his bad guy image in the movies, was a good husband and provider, and was generous to his friends.
"He was a good father to all of us,” son Joko Diaz, who is also an actor, told the INQUIRER. “He taught me to put family first and to make sure everyone [in the family] is happy.”
Joko said his father’s remains will be transferred from the the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion Memorial Chapel in Legazpi City to the Manila Memorial Park chapel in Parañaque for a three-day wake.
It was ‘Take Three’ for Diaz, called “Kits” or “Manong Kits” by friends in show business.
Last Sunday, a tabloid erroneously reported that he had died, but the family quickly denied the news the following day.
It was the second time that he had been inadvertently “killed” in the news. In 2004, he was mistakenly reported dead after he suffered a stroke. He recovered after two months.
Pacquito Diaz made a name for himself as the perennial villain in over a hundred films that top-billed Poe and other big stars like Dolphy, Joseph Estrada and Ramon Revilla Sr., among others.
"Walang FPJ kung walang Pacquito Diaz," goes a quip posted on his Facebook page.
Born Francisco Bustillos Diaz in Arayat, Pampanga, he started out as a basketball player for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws before joining show business in the 1960s.
Standing 5’9 and 180 pounds, Diaz was a menacing presence in the almost 2,000 movies he made over the past 50 years.
He bagged a Famas best supporting actor trophy for his role in Ang Mananandata (1965) and garnered at least nine nominations for other films.
Boots Anson-Roa, head of the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund), told the INQUIRER: “Behind the eternal nemesis of Fernando Poe Jr., Joseph Estrada and other famous action heroes, ’Kits’ was good-natured and gifted with a tremendous sense of humor. He was funny and a prankster at times.”
Joko Diaz agreed: “He was like dynamite. His humor was explosive.”
Roa said that Diaz was a beneficiary of Mowelfund, which was set up by his friends Poe, Estrada and Dolphy for movie workers.
Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who shared the screen with the late actor in several films, said the entire entertainment industry mourns his passing.
His wife said she could never forget the first time she met Diaz.
“It was at a party and I was awed at his attire—a maroon Nero vest—and he was driving a maroon Malibu car.” At that party, Diaz immediately offered her marriage, saying “Ikaw ang papakasalan ko” (You are the one I will marry), she recalled.
In 2007, she and Diaz retired to Daraga in the hope the fresh air in the town would do him good.
Aside from his wife and Joko, Diaz is survived by his three daughters Johanna, Chesca, and Maria Cristina and 13 grandchildren.
Diaz will be laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park.
