Bert 'Tawa' Marcelo

Bert "Tawa" Marcelo (June 6, 1939-December 16, 1995) was a prominent Filipino television personality whose trademark high-pitched infectious laughter earned him the popular moniker "Tawa", after the Tagalog word for laugh. Born in Baliuag, Bulacan, Marcelo's persona as the Filipino everyman, enhanced by his fluency in the Tagalog language and his easy-going friendly nature, made him ideal as the most recognized endorser of the popular San Miguel Beer. Apart from his classic commercials for San Miguel Beer such as Isang Platitong Mani, Marcelo was also best known as the co-host with Pilita Corrales of Ang Bagong Kampeon, a long-running television talent show which discovered Regine Velasquez among other talents. He was also an occasional actor in films, as well in television sitcoms such as Baltic and Company and Us Girls in the 1970s. Marcelo was at the peak of his career when he suffered a fatal stroke, shortly after losing the 1995 gubernatorial election for the province of Bulacan