Esteemed film producer and businesswoman Lily Monteverde, fondly known in showbiz as Mother Lily, has passed away. She was 85.
GMA News broke the news on Sunday afternoon, August 4, that Mother Lily’s son, UP Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde, has confirmed his mother’s passing through a text message sent to the Kapuso news outlet.
Following the news, film and TV production company Regal Entertainment Inc. released a statement on behalf of the Monteverde family.
“Our mother, Lily Yu Monteverde, ended her journey at 3:18 AM this morning (August 4, 2024) to join our Creator,” the statement began.
According to her family, Mother Lily passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. In her final hours, she had the opportunity to say goodbye to close friends and associates.
The Monteverde family requests prayers and for people to remember Mother Lily as both a cinema icon and a loving mother.
The Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd) also expressed its grief for the late cinema icon in a recent post on its Facebook page.
“True to her name, Mother was not just a maternal figure to her Regal Babies as a longtime and prolific producer and advocate of Filipino movies, but also to the Entertainment press and many editors with whom she forged genuine and close relationships,” the organization wrote.
“We will always remember Mother full of life, humor and laughter,” it concluded.
Senator Grace Poe also expressed her grief in her Facebook post where she posted a tribute to the late film producer.
The sad news came just days after Mother Lily announced the death of her beloved husband, Leonardo Monteverde, also known by many as “Father Remy,” who died last July 29 at the age of 86.
They had five children together, including Roselle Monteverde, who now runs Regal Entertainment, and Dondon Monteverde, who is at the helm of Reality MM Studios.
Mother Lily established one of the oldest surviving movie studios in the country, Regal Entertainment, which she founded in 1962 and managed for over 60 years. For this, she was generally acknowledged as the “Mother of Philippine Cinema.”
She has produced several films since the early 1960s, becoming one of the pillars of Philippine cinema. Some of her most notable works include the Mano Po anthology, Manila By Night, Sister Stella L., Broken Marriage, and the Shake, Rattle & Roll franchise.
Her work earned her numerous accolades, including the Philippine Cinema One Originals Award at the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival in 2013 and the Fernando Poe Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th Luna Awards in 2019.
In 2020, a biopic about the illustrious life of Mother Lily was announced by her children, Roselle and Dondon, to be directed by Erik Matti.
It will reportedly be top-billed by Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo who will take on the role of the Mother of Philippine Cinema.
The wake and memorial service for Mother Lily will be held from August 5 to August 9 at 38 Valencia Events Place, Quezon City, with the interment on August 10 at The Heritage Park, Taguig.
