Dondon Nakar: A colorful life

Dondon Nakar: A colorful life | Daily Tribune

His own path

The surname Nakar became famous first in the military. The grandfather of Dondon, Guillermo Nakar, fought valiantly during World War II, but was tragically captured and executed by the Japanese forces in Fort Santiago in 1943. In Quezon Province, there is a municipality called General Nakar, which was carved out of Infanta, the original hometown of the Nakars.

In Lucena City, there is also a military installation called Camp General Nakar.

Dondon was never inclined to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather. The twin careers of his father did not appeal to him either. His dad, Guillermo Nakar, Jr. (Dondon is Guillermo III), was also a military man and lawyer and eventually became an assistant solicitor-general.

Ever since childhood, he already wanted to perform. The first step he took in his quest of show business was joining The Tita Betty Kiddie Show. Betty was Betty Mendez, a radio-TV host and actress from the 1950s to the 1970s. Dondon became a regular in that program for children.

In his pre-teens, Dondon also became part of the program Young Superstars in the old ABS-CBN. Together with him in that show was an equally young Cherie Gil.

During martial law, Ike Lozada decided to form Apat na Sikat. Dondon was the first to be drafted. No one thought it was going to be such a hit. Apat na Sikat is now a cult classic.

Foibles of youth

But for all the camaraderie viewers saw in the program, Dondon would later admit that there had always been tension between him and Arnold Gamboa. Maybe because they were competing for fan attention. They only became friends when they were adults and when both of them were already away from showbiz.

Winnie Santos actually became his girlfriend. Dondon was welcome in the Santos home because he was Ding to Vilma Santos Darna when he was only about 10 years old. The teen romance became complicated though when Dondon also began dating simultaneously the older sister of Winnie, Maritess. That started a fight between the Santos sisters.

When Dondon came to visit the Santos residence (first in Dasmarinas Village and, later, in Magallanes), he would date whoever he saw first. To her credit, Vilma refused to take sides and remained neutral all throughout that messy love triangle. Oh, the foibles of youth.

There was also a time Dondon became very close to Nora Aunor. The late superstar would call him up at home so they could meet up. Dondon would just drive her around, sometimes even around Rizal Park. No, there was nothing romantic there. Nora just saw Dondon as a younger brother. Vilma treated him the same.

Wiping his behind

When Dondon got offered a recording contract for Vicor and other solo projects, he left Apat na Sikat. The youngest brother of Nora Aunor (Lala is a cousin), Buboy Villamayor, was taken in to replace Dondon. It was said that Buboy fell so hard for Winnie, he went bonkers when the latter turned down his offer of love. Buboy was a broken man until his death a few years ago. Winnie eventually married very young — to another teen star, Bong Morales — but the union ended in separation.

The tandem of Dondon and Winnie, however, will forever be etched in the hearts and minds of showbiz fans. As a love team, they also did movies, the most notable of which was Pilyang Engkantada in 1976. A memorable scene for Dondon was when he had to show his behind – with Winnie wiping it in between takes because his rear end had become sweaty under the scorching studio lights.

In his twenties, Dondon had to take on more mature and even daring roles — a sharp contrast to his wholesome Apat na Sikat package. He starred opposite Amy Austria when the actress was still doing sexy roles. A challenging movie for him was Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang with Vivian Velez. While Vivian was willing to do skin exposure, Dondon refused to let go of his underwear.

By the mid-1980s, Dondon decided to leave show business. He was in the process of soul-searching then and did not know anymore what to make of his life.

Early in his retirement though, he was asked to sing the theme song of the soap opera Flor de Luna. He was in a spiritual retreat that time in Don Bosco Paranaque when the people of the program began looking for him. Since the people behind the series did not want anyone else, they exerted great effort to locate him in the Salesian seminary, among Don Bosco priests. (Don Bosco in Mandaluyong was where he studied.)

In time, his father decided to give up his career in Customs and started forming his own religious congregation — Elim, a Catholic charismatic community. That was how word spread that he had become a pastor. No, Dondon did not become a church leader. He was just part of the community.

Toward the late 1980s, he married Candy Platon, a diminutive, but lovely woman, who worked for the now-defunct Mandarin Hotel Manila. They have a son, Nathan, who is already 31 years old. Nathan, who is now a businessman, wed girlfriend Rea last December.

Sadly, Dondon and Candy separated. They remained friends though and never lost communication.

Quitting while ahead

From time to time, Dondon would be asked to make a comeback in show business. He always said no. There was an invitation though that he could not resist. It was a guest appearance in the Channel 5 program, Eezy Dancing, when it was still hosted by Charlene Gonzalez. He could not say no because that gave him the opportunity to display once more his dancing prowess. Dondon never lost it. He was still light on his feet.

Again, came the offers after that Eezy Dancing stint. He still said no. Dondon knew when to throw the towel in. And he did when he was still on top of his career.

When social media came, he embraced its various platforms and had his own YouTube channel. But Dondon basically remained an outsider of mainstream entertainment.

Last 1 November, Dondon succumbed to a massive heart attack and was found lifeless in his Wack-Wack condominium unit in Mandaluyong. He lived alone since his separation from Candy. Dondon was 66.

Dondon quit show business rather prematurely. He could have done more work, especially since he was multi-talented. He sang, danced, painted, hosted and excelled in the acting department. He did all those skills extremely well.

Good at everything

Having so many talents can sometimes be a bane, however. In the case of Dondon, he was unable to find his niche because he was good at everything. In his adult years, show business did not know where to place him.

And so, he said goodbye to entertainment. It was a pity. Had he not given up so quickly, he could have been one of our finest character actors. He could have harnessed his skills further through time.

But he is now gone. His stay in showbiz was not a waste though. For about half a decade, he gave joy to his teenage female fans – with his good looks and his multi-talents. Once upon a time, he was the crush ng bayan.

He was so popular as a teen star that he tried shopping in Divisoria with his family one Christmas in the 1970s, but could not even get out of the car. Dondon was mobbed by fans and he thought he would never get out of the place in one piece.

That was how famous Dondon Nakar was. To this day, he will always be acknowledged as one of the hottest matinee idols of the 1970s. And he will also be remembered as one of the most talented. Make that multi-talented.