Nestor Torre, Inquirer editor, TV host, writer, director; 78

MANILA, Philippines — Nestor U. Torre Jr., former Saturday Special editor and Entertainment columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, died on Tuesday morning from complications caused by COVID-19. He was 78.

Torre was an Inquirer stalwart since the paper’s early years in the mid-‘80s. He edited a number of sections in the Inquirer, most recently Saturday Special before it was discontinued in the last quarter of 2016.

He continued to write his popular daily column, Viewfinder, for the paper’s Entertainment section until he suffered a stroke in February 2018.

Nestor was a man of many talents. He played leads in the early plays of Repertory Philippines and in Rolando Tinio’s Teatro Pilipino productions. He won four Palanca Awards for his scripts and later ended up hosting the talk show that turned him into a household name, “Two for the Road,” with Elvira Manahan.

But more than his multitasking jobs as writer and editor, it was his work in theater that brought Torre so much joy and purpose. He was the force behind such theater productions as “Katy, The Musical,” “Magsimula Ka,” “Magnificat,” “Cory the Musical,” “Padre Pio,” “Pag-ibig sa Bayan,” “Nasaan si Hesus?,” “Mapaghimalang Birhen ng Caysasay,” “Close Encounters with the Third Sex,” a string of religious productions (“Be Not Afraid: Pope John Paul II,” “Bakhita, the Musical,” “Kordero ng Diyos”) and countless comedy-musical revues (“Manila Vanilla,” “Battle of the Sexes,” “Beauty and the Best” and “L.O.L.”).

Torre was brought to Lourdes Hospital in Mandaluyong City after a series of strokes in 2018. Early last week, he was admitted to Sta. Ana Hospital in Manila.

His remains will be cremated at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City to be followed by a Mass at 5:30 p.m.

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