Social media this week had been filled with tributes to the late Comedy King Dolphy. He would have turned 98 on 25 July had he not passed away on 10 July 2012. Comments were mostly about how great a comic he was and how he should be named National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts posthumously.

One Facebook user, however, went back in time and posted an old photo of Pilar Pilapil as Binibining Pilipinas 1967. Pilar, of course, was one of the great loves of Dolphy. He actually wanted to marry her, but her parents objected to the union. The Facebook post didn’t stop there, though. It went on to point out that Pilar’s 3rd runner-up (as shown in the picture) was Ma. Rica Baluyut Key. Ma. Rica also joined the movies and became more popularly known as the actress Lotis Key. She, too, became another one of Dolphy’s great loves.

A deluge of comments then followed. The other great loves of Dolphy were enumerated: Alice Smith (the actress Pamela Ponti and mother of Eric and Jeffrey Quizon), Alma Moreno, and, of course, Zsa Zsa Padilla.

One name was omitted, however. For sure, very few in this generation still remember her: Norma Vales. And most likely, only this writer is aware that she was Dolphy’s greatest love of all. But who was Norma Vales?

She was a student at the Far Eastern University majoring in Education when she developed an interest in becoming a movie actress. With her lovely features and creamy complexion, she was easily absorbed into Sampaguita Pictures’ stable of stars in 1949.

It was in this studio where she met Dolphy, who became fascinated with her since they shared the same passion: dancing. A romance supposedly bloomed between Norma and Dolphy, but fate had other plans. Norma stayed in the movies for only about a decade. She left entertainment after the 1950s, and not much was heard about her afterward. She died in 2013, and showbiz old-timers believe that she was Dolphy’s biggest TOTGA—or The One That Got Away.