Cocoy Laurel passes away at 72
Veteran actor Cocoy Laurel has passed away. He was 72.
His niece, singer Nicole Laurel Asensio, announced his passing on Facebook.
"Holding your hand a few nights ago and getting to see you one last time is a blessing. You are with Jesus now in paradise, so full of his love and light as you showed us in the years we were blessed to have you here," she wrote.
"Thank you for sharing your many gifts and immense talent with us all. Thank you for teaching me how to sing, how to love song. If it weren’t for you, I would have never embraced the blessing of music. Thank you for everything you did for our family, thank you for always being a positive force and inspiring us."
She also shared a photo of Cocoy next to a poem that called the actor a beloved brother, mentor, maestro, and friend.
Cocoy, born Victor Laurel, is the son of former Vice President Salvador Laurel and theater actress and singer Celia Diaz-Laurel. He is also the uncle of actress and singer and actress Denise Laurel, brother of singer Iwi Laurel, and the grandson of former president Jose P. Laurel.
The veteran actor has several screen credits to his name, including Love Song (1973), Oh Margie Oh (1974) with Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran, and Impossible Dream (1973) with the late Nora Aunor.
He and Aunor would become a love team, starring in different films together, such as Lollipops and Roses and Lollipops and Roses at Burong Talangka.
With his love for performing, the actor went to prestigious conservatory schools like the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Juilliard School in New York and the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Madrid.
Cocoy also became known for his works on stage when he joined the Repertory Philippines in Fiddler on the Roof and The Fantasticks. In 1973, he starred in Manila stagings of West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Guys and Dolls, Evita, and The Elephant Man.
In 1989, he left for London to play the assistant commissar in Miss Saigon and the engineer in Australia. He also played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in Manila.
The actor later dipped his toes in music, releasing a Spanish album, Te Quiero.
"As an artist, I feel the need to reach out to others. I have to express the love that I have now and share it with others," he told Starweek Magazine in an April 2002 interview.
