Eddie Garcia, who was in comatose state, dies at 90

MANILA, Philippines —  Veteran actor Eduardo Verchez García, popularly known as Eddie "Manoy" Garcia, died on Thursday, according to family friend and film director Bibeth Orteza and spokesperson Tony Rebosa. 

He reportedly died at 4: 55 p.m. He was 90.

Eddie fell into a coma last June 8 after suffering from neck injury while taping for his GMA teleserye "Rosang Agimat."

Eddie was born on May 2, 1929 in Sorsogon. He started his showbiz career in the movie “Siete Infantes de Lara” in 1949, while he directed his first film "Karugtong ng Kahapon" in 1961.

Since joining the showbiz industry, he played in more than 300 films, the most for any actor in the history of Philippine cinema. He was also the most nominated and most awarded person in the history of the Famas Awards.

Though Garcia said back then that he does not make movie for the awards, he received a total of 20 awards in Famas alone: five for Best Actor, five for Best Director, seven for Best Supporting Actor, two Hall of Fame awards for being an actor and a director, and a lifetime achievement award.  

He also won Best Actor for the 2000 movie "Deathrow" and Lifetime Achievement Award in Gawad Urian Awards; two Best Actor citations in Golden Screen Awards; Lifetime Achievement Award and Best Director for the movie "Atsay" in Metro Manila Film Festival; and three Best Director, one Best Actor, Golden Reel Award and Lifetime Achievement Award in the FAP Awards.

In international film fests, he won two Best Actor awards in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Asian Film Awards.

Last year, Garcia continued his winning streak by winning the Best Actor award at the 2018 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival for his role in Martial Law-themed independent film “ML.” He also won the Best Actor award at the 2018 QCinema International Film Festival for the movie “Hintayan ng Langit.” In December, he won a Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival for his role in the movie “Rainbow’s Sunset.”

Just last Thursday, he was honored with an Urian Best Actor for "ML."

But apart from his awards, achievements and recognitions, Garcia was known for professionalism and his love for the Philippine showbiz industry.