Redford White, actor-comedian, is dead

Filipino comedian Cipriano Cermeño, 54, popularly known as Redford White, passed away on Sunday morning. Simon Serrano, a family friend, said Cermeño died of complications from brain and lung cancer.

"He had been sick since last February. We tried to consult with other doctors for him to survive, but he passed away this morning," Serrano said in an interview by telephone with GMANews.TV. He added that the wake of "Tito Redford" may begin at 3 p.m. Sunday in his Caloocan City home. Jay Agras, desk officer of Barangay 177 in Caloocan City, confirmed that Cermeño passed away "after 6 a.m. today." Cermeño is a resident of the barangay. "Pinuntahan po ng tanod ang bahay nila kaninang 9:44 a.m. Napag-alaman na namatay na nga siya. Confirmed na po (A local volunteer already went to Cermeño’s house at 9:44 a.m. It was learned that he had died. It’s confirmed)," Agras said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. The actor-comedian is survived by his wife and daughter. Cermeño's friends in show business announced his demise on the social networking site Twitter. "At 6:47 [a.m.] today, my great friend, fellow diver and a wonderful human being known to all as Redford White passed away peacefully," said singer and APO Hiking Society member Jim Paredes in his Twitter account. Paredes said Cermeño died of "complications due to cancer in his lungs and brain." In his Twitter account, actor Gabe Mercado also said that Cermeño "kept his condition secret even from close friends." "Redford White was a mentor, a man who had tremendous respect for his craft and was perhaps the most generous man I knew. Rest in peace," Mercado added. Cermeño began his movie career in the late 1970s. He rose to fame in the television sitcom "Buddy en Sol" with Eric Quizon during the early '90s. His movies in the 1990s include "Haba-baba-doo! Puti-puti-poo," "Tong Tatlong Tatay Kong Pakitong-kitong," and "Tik Tak Toys: My Kolokotoys." —VS, GMANews.TV