Arturo Vergara Medina (13 July 1920 – 19 June 1986), better known by his stage name Bentot or Ben Cosca, was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

comedian and vaudevillian who spent most of his career under LVN Pictures. He had many box office hits with another famed comedian Pugo who played his father in their films. He also appeared on the Manila

bodabil Vaudeville in the Philippines, more commonly referred to as bodabil, was a popular genre of entertainment in the Philippines from the 1910s until the mid-1960s. For decades, it competed with film, radio and television as the dominant form of Filip ...

circuit in its heyday in the fifties and early sixties.

Biography

Arturo Vergara Medina was born in San Simon, Pampanga in 1920. He made his first movie appearance in 1947's ''Maria Kapra'', a musical by

Sampaguita Pictures Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine national flower, sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City. History Sampaguita Pictures was es ...

with Angel Esmeralda. He made his second and last movie for Sampaguita in 1951's ''Batas ng Daigdig'' aka ''Rule of the World''. Then he moved to the rival studio of Sampaguita, LVN, and stayed until the film studio closed in 1961. Bentot had a second life in radio and television, appearing in the radio and later TV comedy series ''Tang Tarang Tang'' with Pugo, Rosa Aguirre and

Marita Zobel Mary Ann Respall Blanch-Roxas, better known by her screen name Marita Zobel (born June 18, 1941), is a Filipina actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the trad ...

. He is the father of former child star Bentot Jr.

Death

Bentot died in June 19, 1986 in Manila, Philippines at the age of 65 due to heart failure, a month shy of his 66th birthday.

Filmography

Film

*1947 - Maria Kapra ampaguita*1951 - Batas ng Daigdig ampaguita*1957 - Phone Pal VN*1957 - Sebya, Mahal Kita VN*1958 - Alembong VN*1958 - Mr. Kuripot VN*1960 - Nukso ng Nukso VNref> *1960 - Oh Sendang! VN*1976 - Taho-Ichi PS*1985 - The Crazy Professor VQ*1986 - Praybeyt Depektib Akademi (his last movie)

Discography

*1978 - Jeproks - Plaka Pilipino Records *1978 - Burloloy - Plaka Pilipino Records

References

External links

*
Bentot film clips
1920 births 1986 deaths Filipino television personalities Filipino male comedians Male actors from Pampanga 20th-century Filipino male actors 20th-century comedians Filipino male film actors {{Philippines-actor-stub