Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers dies at 74

LOS ANGELES - Singer Phil Everly of the famed Everly Brothers died Friday, his widow told The Los Angeles. He was 74.

Everly passed away in the Californian city of Burbank due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Patti Everly told the newspaper.

"We are absolutely heartbroken," she said, noting her husband's disease was caused by a cigarette smoking. "He fought long and hard."

Together with his brother Don, who survives him, Everly rose to fame in the late 1950s and 1960s for smash hits such as "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do is Dream" and "Bye Bye Love."

The duo, who influenced The Beatles as well as Simon and Garfunkel, were known for their close-harmony singing.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, into which the Everly Brothers were inducted in 1986, described their harmonies as "one of the musical treasures of the 1950s and a major influence on the music of the 1960s."

In 1957, the Everly Brothers signed their first record deal and soon after produced hits that spawned the genres of pop, rock and country. They were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Tributes poured in soon after word of Everly's death surfaced.

"Rest in peace Phil Everly. You guys brought us a lot of pleasure back in the day," rock and country singer-songwriter Charlie Daniels tweeted.

Commenting as a winter snowstorm hit the northeast United States, actor and musician John Gallagher Jr. said: "This cold night just got colder. RIP Phil Everly. The Everly Brothers Greatest Hits was my first CD as a kid and will always be a favorite."

"They had that sibling sound," said Linda Ronstadt, who recorded one of the biggest hits of her career in 1975 with her interpretation of Everly's "When Will I Be Loved."

"The information of your DNA is carried in your voice, and you can get a sound (with family) that you never get with someone who's not blood-related to you," she told the Times.

"And they were both such good singers -- they were one of the foundations, one of the cornerstones of the new rock 'n' roll sound."

According to a Rolling Stone biography of the legendary performers -- hailed as "the most important vocal duo in rock" by the magazine -- Phil and his younger brother Don were the children of Midwestern country stars Ike and Margaret Everly and performed on the family radio show while growing up.

As teenagers, they headed for Nashville, Tennessee, and began their stellar career.

In addition to his wife and brother, Everly is survived by their mother, Margaret, sons Jason and Chris, and two granddaughters.

The Times said funeral services would be private.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Veteran journalist Jun Bautista dies

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran broadcast journalist Augurio Camu Jr., better known as Jun Bautista, passed away Tuesday morning after succumbing to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The 73-year-old Bautista, a heavy smoker, died at around 9 a.m. at the Makati Medical Center.

Bautista’s remains were brought to St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish in Magallanes.

Bautista, nicknamed “Bote” by his colleagues, was a seasoned TV reporter for GMA 7.

He also wrote for the Daily Tribune newspaper and Abante.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Smoking to blame for Dolphy's COPD

MANILA, Philippines - Smoking is the main cause of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that Comedy King Dolphy battled for six to eight years before finally succumbing Tuesday at 83.

Eric Quizon, Dolphy’s son, admitted in an interview that his father used to smoke.

In an emotional necrological service, singer Zsa Zsa Padilla, Dolphy’s long-time partner, said they initially could not understand why the comedian constantly felt sick even if he showed no outward symptoms like fever.

Eventually, from yearly medical checkups, he had to be make regular hospital visits, “hanggang (until) two-and-a half years ago, sinabi na sa amin ng doctor na Stage 4 na siya ng COPD. Kinailangang kausapin ang lahat ng mga anak niya (the doctor said he already had Stage 4 COPD. It became necessary to talk to all his children),” Padilla said.

Persons suffering COPD experience breathlessness, abnormal sputum characterized by a mix of saliva and mucus, and chronic cough. And as the condition worsens, normal activities like walking up short flights of stairs or carrying a suitcase can be very difficult.

Aside from smoking, pollution - both indoor and outdoor - can also cause COPD, the World Health Organization said in its website.

It is not known how many Filipinos suffer from COPD but the Department of Health lists it as the seventh in the top 10 causes of mortality in the country.

And in 2000, a workshop covering the Asia-Pacific region estimated that at least 6.3 percent of the Philippine population is suffering from COPD.

Not surprising in a country where there are at least 17 million smokers.

But the DOH website stressed that these are “misleading figures because COPD is under-diagnosed and often not listed either as primary or contributory cause of death.”

Second-hand smokers, including children, are also at risk for COPD.

An estimated 10 people die every hour in the Philippines because of tobacco use, causing a humongous health burden of about P300 billion a year.

Other factors that cause COPD include indoor and outdoor pollution, according to the World Health Organization website.

The WHO estimates that 64 million suffered from COPD in 2004, with more than three million dying of the disease in 2005, equivalent to five percent of all deaths in the world that year.

Ninety-percent of COPD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines where the use of tobacco is high.

Without interventions to cut the risks and better tobacco-control management, deaths from COPD are projected to increase by more than 30 percent over the next 10 years, the WHO warned.

Because symptoms develop slowly, COPD goes mostly undiagnosed although the WHO said people normally diagnosed with the disease are aged 40 or older.

The disease is diagnosed through a test called spirometry that measures how much air a person can inhale and exhale and how fast oxygen passes through the lungs.

There is no cure for COPD, but risk of it can be avoided or lowered by refraining from, or quitting, smoking.

source: interaksyon.com

Dolphy hospitalized for almost one month

Birthday celebrations for veteran actor Rodolfo "Dolphy" Quizon will most likely be simple, as the Comedy King has been hospitalized for almost one month.

Dolphy's son Ronnie Quizon said they will have a family get-together to celebrate his father's 84th birthday on July 25, according to a report on GMA News’ Unang Balita on July 5.

Earlier, Dolphy's son Eric Quizon said they have no plans for a big celebration. "Usually ‘pag may malaking selebrasyon kami, doon siya nagkakasakit," Eric said in a previous report.

"Definitely, we will have something if he goes back home… We have a reason to celebrate," he added.

Doctors at the Makati Medical Center continue to monitor the condition of the Comedy King, who has pneumonia for the 12th time in the past month.

According to the report, Dolphy remains in critical condition, but is responding well to treatment.

Dolphy underwent dialysis and received blood transfusion on Monday, a previous report said.

Last week, his son Eric Quizon said the doctors may transfer Dolphy to a regular room.

Dolphy has been in the Intensive Care Unit since he was brought to the hospital on June 9. The 83-year-old has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). –Carmela G. Lapeña/KG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Dolphy has developed pneumonia in both lungs, son says

MANILA, Philippines - Hours after telling media that the condition of his father had improved after dialysis, Eric Quizon on Friday evening said Comedy King Dolphy had developed pneumonia in both lungs - his 11th bout with the disease in 11 months.

Nonethless, Quizon said there was an improvement in Dolphy's hemoglabin count, which had increased. However, he said that the vetaran actor's platelet count was down.

Dolphy's family is hopeful that he will survive pneumonia as it was detected early, according to Quizon.

Dolphy, who will be turning 84 next month, is confined at the Makati Medical Center. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), an illness that results in breathing difficulty and worsens over time.

Quizon recently revealed that Dolphy's COPD had progressed to Stage IV.

"Five years ago, sinabihan na siya na stage four 'yong sakit niya na 'yon. When you say stage four in cancer terms, very critical na 'yon," Quizon said in an interview with a television program last June 20.

Most people suffering from COPD are smokers or used to smoke. About 600 million people worldwide suffer from COPD, according to the World Health Organization. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States, which has more than 12 million people diagnosed with the disease.

According to webMD.com, people with COPD suffer from other health problems such as:

1. COPD flare-ups , also called exacerbations, which are sudden increases in coughing, shortness of breath, and/or the amount or color of mucus you cough up.

2. More frequent lung infections, such as pneumonia.

3. An increased risk of thinning bones (osteoporosis), especially if you use oral corticosteroids.

4. Depression or anxiety. COPD may limit your ability to work and may reduce your independence, sexual activity, social activities, and self-esteem. This often causes depression. Having trouble breathing can make you feel very anxious.

5. Problems with weight. If chronic bronchitis is the main part of your COPD, you may need to lose weight. If emphysema is your main problem, you may need to gain weight and muscle mass.

6. Heart failure affecting the right side of the heart (cor pulmonale).

7. A collapsed lung (pneumothorax). COPD can damage the lung's structure and allow air to leak into the chest cavity.

8. Sleep problems because you are not getting enough oxygen into your lungs.

source: interaksyon.com