Jonathan Aguilar Garcia (June 25, 1970 – March 9, 2019), better known by his stage name Chokoleit, was a Filipino comedian, actor, and TV host. He was best known for his role as Pearly Shell in the Philippine television series ''

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

''.

Education

Chokoleit attended

Ateneo de Davao University , mottoeng = Strong in Faith , type = Private Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution , established = , founder = Society of Jesus , religious ...

where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication.

Career

Chokoleit's showbiz career started in 1994 when he was discovered by movie director/ talent manager

Maryo J. de los Reyes Mario Margarito Jorolan de los Reyes (October 17, 1952 – January 27, 2018), simply known as Maryo J. de los Reyes, was a Filipino film and television director. He began his career in the 1970s. Death He died after suffering a heart attack on ...

. His contemporary was fellow stand-up comedian Gil "Ate Gay" Morales. Not soon after, he became a bit player in the

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

sitcom ''Haybol Rambol'', sharing screen time with lead stars

Dennis Padilla Dennis Esteban Dominguez Baldivia (born February 9, 1962), popularly known as Dennis Padilla (), is a Filipino comedian, TV host, radio broadcaster and actor. He is the son of the late Dencio Padilla, and the father of actress Julia Barretto. H ...

Benjie Paras Venancio Johnson Paras Jr. (born October 2, 1968), better known as Benjie Paras, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and a retired professional basketball player who played for Shell Turbo Chargers and San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketb ...

and

Nida Blanca Dorothy Guinto Jones (January 6, 1936 – November 7, 2001), popularly known by her stage name Nida Blanca, was a Filipina actress. After a successful acting career in films during the 1950s, many of which are with actor Nestor de Villa, sh ...

. He managed to stay with the sitcom until it was cancelled in 1995. He also became part of the talk show ''Brunch'' as comic relief to main hosts

Bing Loyzaga Carla Cuerva Loyzaga-Gibbs popularly known as Miss Bing Loyzaga-Gibbs or simply Miss Bing Loyzaga (born April 9, 1970) is a Filipina actress and singer. She is being known for her Antagonistic Roles like ''Babaeng Hampaslupa'' as Katarina, '' S ...

and

Michelle van Eimeren Michelle van Eimeren (born 15 March 1972) is an Australian beauty queen and former actress in the Philippines. Pageantry She represented Australia in the 1994 Miss Universe pageant, which was held in Manila. She placed 11th overall. Career ...

from 1998-1999 and started to appear in movies also as a bit player, while continuing his work as a stand-up comedian in The Library, Punchline and Laffline. In 2004, Chokoleit bagged the role of Pearly Shell in the ABS-CBN fantaserye ''

'' after being recommended by director

Wenn Deramas Wenn or WENN may refer to: *WENN (AM), a radio station (1320 AM) licensed to Birmingham, Alabama, United States *''Remember WENN'', a television series that aired from 1996 to 1998 on American Movie Classics *World Entertainment News Network, an ...

, who became instrumental to his career until the director's untimely death in 2016. From ''Marina'', more TV shows and movies came for Chokoleit. His life story was essayed in the drama anthology ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya ''Maalaala Mo Kaya'' (; formerly written as ''Maala-ala Mo Kaya...''; abbreviated as ''MMK''), also known as ''Memories'', is a Philippines, Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by Kapamilya Channel under ABS-CBN Entertainment. ...

'' and became a talent of the Kapamilya Network's "

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is the Talent agency, talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines t ...

Filmography

Television

Film

Death

Chokoleit died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on the evening of March 9, 2019 at the age of 48, shortly after a performance at the Kawayan Festival in

Bangued Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued ( ilo, Ili ti Bangued; tgl, Bayan ng Bangued), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,382 people. ...

, Abra province. Before his death, he experienced difficulty breathing after his performance and was rushed to a local hospital. His remains were brought to

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

for the funeral. He was cremated afterwards on March 17. His ashes were interred in Davao Memorial Park.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1970 births 2019 deaths Filipino male comedians Filipino male film actors Filipino male television actors Filipino television personalities Filipino LGBT actors Gay comedians Gay actors People from Antipolo People from Davao City People from Rizal Star Magic Visayan people 21st-century Filipino male actors 21st-century LGBT people