Jojo Tyron Malonzo Perez (September 14, 1984 – December 29, 2011) was a Filipino
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
,
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
and television host and an alumnus of the reality-based talent search ''
StarStruck''.
Early life
Perez was born in Brgy. Alfonso,
Concepcion, Tarlac
Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 169,953 people.
H ...
, Philippines. He grew up a farmer's son in his hometown, with the rice fields as his playground. He was the youngest among six children.
"He and his father would rise with the sun", said Tyron who quit his Fine Arts studies (freshman at the
Bulacan State University) when he joined the GMA star-search ''StarStruck'' (first batch, with Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado). "There, on top of the carabao, he dreams to be in showbiz. He imagined himself acting with
Kris Aquino
Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (; born February 14, 1971) is a Filipino retired television presenter, actress, talent manager and film producer. She notably appeared as Princess Intan in the acclaimed '' Crazy Rich Asians'' and is a rec ...
, his crush and idol. Until he was in high school (at the Benigno Aquino National High School), he and his dad would milk their carabaos early mornings and sell the milk. Sometimes, they would sleep in the middle of the rice fields when we had to water the seedlings (nagpapatubig ng palay)." Before joining ''StarStruck'', Perez first became a member of a late-night variety show of Kuya Germs' ''Master Showman Presents Walang Tulugan''. As part of the said late-night show, he was a member of a teen group performing weekly called MSP Teenstars.
''Starstruck'' Batch 1
Perez joined ''StarStruck'' in 2003 but was eliminated in week 6 of the competition.
Personal life
After his manager's death (
Douglas Quijano), Perez admitted that his career dwindled and he did not have work for 6 months. In June 2010, Jerry Sineneng led his entry into
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
and after talks with Malou Santos and
Johnny Manahan, Perez had formally signed with the network's talent management arm,
Star Magic
ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is a Philippine talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Founded in 1992, Star Magic ha ...
. This officially made him a Kapamilya. He considered his role Being Gary as one of the biggest he had handled so far, and ''
Momay'' as his biggest break in television. He also played a role in ''
Bakekang'' on
GMA Network
GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...
. He married his long-time girlfriend.
Death
Perez was found dead inside a car in Barangay Ugong,
Valenzuela City on the night of December 29, 2011. Although initial reports identified
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
as the cause of death, Police Senior Superintendent Atty. Wilben Mayor told
ABS-CBN News
ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs''), is the news and current affairs division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The division is the coun ...
(Perez's new home network) that "investigations are still ongoing." It was later confirmed that suicide was the cause of Perez's death.
He was buried in Concepcion Japanese Cemetery in
Concepcion,
Tarlac
Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...
on January 5, 2012.
Filmography
Film
Note: All his movies are independent films.
Television
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Tyron
1984 births
2011 deaths
21st-century Filipino male actors
Filipino male child actors
Filipino male television actors
People from Bulacan
Male actors from Tarlac
StarStruck (Philippine TV series) participants
GMA Network (company) people
ABS-CBN people
Star Magic
Suicides by firearm in the Philippines
2011 suicides
Filipino male film actors