The actor who played the character of a forgetful grandfather in the iconic commercial of a fast food restaurant has passed away.
The actor’s son Raymond Francisco expressed his grief of his passing on Facebook.
Francisco shared a dedication photo of his father Rudy or Lolo Rudy and captioned it with: “I love you dad. You’re strong and pain-free. You’ll always be in my heart. Fly high.”
He also shared details of the funeral from May 9 to May 11 in Quezon City.
The cause and time of Lolo Rudy’s departure were not indicated.
The memorable 30-second commercial of McDonald’s entitled “Lolo” showed Lolo Rudy waiting for his granddaughter Karen, whom he repeatedly mistakes as Gina.
“Antagal na nating di nagkikita, Gina,” the old man said.
When Karen arrived with their burgers, her grandfather divided his order and gave it to her.
“Ito para sa pinakapaborito kong apo, si Karen,” he said by the end of the clip.
Karen delos Reyes, the actress who played the granddaughter, expressed her sadness with his sudden passing.
“Sad day today. Rest in peace Lolo Rudy Francisco. My deepest condolences to you and your family,” Delos Reyes said on Instagram.
Delos Reyes and Lolo Rudy’s heartwarming skit boosted McDonald’s popularity that year.
A local agency named Provill Studios directed the commercial. At the helm of its production was Swiss-American director Thierry Notz.
The commercial also won several awards of TV advertisement of the year from the Philippine Association of National Advertisers, the Creative Guild of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Advertising Awards.
Who is Lolo Rudy?
Not much is known about the 96-year-old man after his stint at the McDonald’s commercial.
However, according to a column from Philippine Star, he became an actor for three years and starred in ten movies back in the 1950’s.
Among the films he starred in were “Buhay Pilipino” with Lolita Rodriguez and her former husband Eddie Arenas, “May Araw Pang Darating” with Gloria Romero and Carmen Rosales and “Binibining Kalog” with Lolita Rodriguez.
Rudy told columnist Ricky Lo back then that he became an actor from 1951 to 1954, and started his career in law after passing the bar exams. He finished law at the Far Eastern University.
He eventually became the legal counsel of Sampaguita Pictures, one of the oldest film companies in the country and where he worked for as an actor.
“I quit showbiz because of conflict of schedules. Hearing of court cases were scheduled weeks in advance and shooting of movies oftentimes only days ahead. If I arrived late on the set, I’d be fined P100 which was a big amount at that time; if I missed a hearing, I’d be fined a bigger amount and risked contempt of court,” Rudy said.
