Jun Urbano aka ‘Mr. Shooli’ dies at 84

Manuel "Jun" Urbano Jr., the son of National Artist for Film Manuel Conde who made his own mark as a comedian-satirist with the long-running "Mr. Shooli" character on television and films, has died at 84.

His son, Banots Urbano, made the announcement in a tribute Facebook post yesterday, 2 December. "I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life. I love you so much dad, until we meet again," wrote Banots, along with a photo showing him in a playful light-saber duel with his dad who was dressed in Mr. Shooli's signature faux-Mongolian costume

Before becoming a hit TV comedian with the seminal '80s comedy show Mongolian Barbecue which poked fun at social and political issues, Urbano was a respected veteran in the advertising industry.

A graduate of Journalism from the Ateneo de Manila University, he built a career directing commercials for some 35 years, before reinventing himself as the sharp-witted, amiably acerbic Mr. Shooli on TV who always had hearty laugh and a cutting quip about the raging issues of the day.

As Urbano recalled in a 2014 interview with a broadsheet: "After so many odd jobs, I became a top director of TV commercials. I must have done almost 2,000; many are now considered classics. I was already 50 when I joined show biz as a performer. I wondered, 'What have I done for myself?'… I saw that the country wasn't the same as when I was in high school. I decided to 'talk' to the Filipino people — through comedy."

Assuming the persona of the nonplussed Mr. Shooli, a "Mongolian" from another time who is forever confused about the endless absurdities of Philippine politics and culture, Urbano found the freedom to make pointed social commentary disguised as rollicking comedy.

"Mr. Shooli and I are different. He gets away with murder," he said in that same interview. "I don't attack people when I'm not in costume. I censor myself. As Mr. Shooli — well, he's a cartoon character, so that's another story. If you allow him to get to you, you lose."

Urbano, born on 8 June 1939, wrote and directed his own material for Mongolian Barbecue and Mr. Shooli's skits. Outside of his trademark alter ego, he appeared as an actor in a wide range of films and TV shows, from his own Juan Tamad at Mr. Shooli: Mongolian Barbecue to blockbuster drama series such as Wildflower and FPJ's Ang Probinsyano.

The UP College of Mass Communication, which honored Urbano with the UP Gawad Plaridel this year, was among those that paid tribute to the actor-director on his passing, for work on TV and film that it said elevated the content and form of comedy ("para sa paglikha niya ng mga produksiyon sa telebisyon at pelikula na nag-angat sa nilalaman at anyo ng komedi").

Urbano's body of work, the college declared, will serve as lasting exemplars for media work of excellent quality and with true concern for the nation ("mga akdang pangmidya na may mataas na uri at tunay na malasakit sa bayan").