Rene Requiestas, 36 Yrs Old

Renato “Rene” Requiestas (born January 22, 1957 – July 24, 1993) (died at the age of 36) was one of the top Filipino comedic acts of the late 1980s up to the early 1990s. Handpicked by comedian Joey de Leon for his comedic timing and natural funny disposition, Rene became known for his sidekick roles and his toothless grin. Rene is popularly known as the sidekick Cheetae from the movie Starzan, a parody film of Tarzan starring Joey de Leon as Starzan.

He was a poor man before he went into showbusiness. He sold cigarettes in streets before he was discovered by a talent scout. It has been said that he is one of the actors who raised profits for Regal Films and made comedy roles to almost all his movies.

Requiestas died on July 24, 1993 due to tuberculosis and other complications brought about by heavy drinking and smoking.

He is also remembered for shouting the line “Cheetae, ganda lalake!” (Cheetae, handsome guy!) and the echo will reply “Ulol! Sinungaling! Panget! Panget! Panget!…..” (Crazy! Liar! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!…..).