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Jan Milo Severo - Philstar.com
July 22, 2025 | 11:31am
Fritz Ynfante, veteran director, died on July 21, 2025. He was 84.
Pops Fernandez via Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — Veteran theater and film director Fritz Ynfante has passed away. He was 84.
Ynfante died early Monday morning, July 21, at 6:30 a.m., his relative Peachy Ynfante-Talanay told ABS-CBN News.
Ynfante's past co-workers posted their tributes on their social media posts.
Singers and exes Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez showed their appreciation for their once director. Ynfante directed Pops and Martin in their late night show "Penthouse Live," which was aired in the 1980s and lasted for 13 years on GMA-7.
“Rest in Peace, Direk Fritz Ynfante. Thank you for everything,” Pops wrote on her Facebook account.
“Today we lost one of the industry’s best and most demanding directors. There was no compromise. It was his way or the super highway! He was a perfectionist to a fault, but that was only because he knew he could get the very best out of all those he directed, mentored and loved,” Martin wrote on Facebook.
“His choice of words were a language all his own, but he got the job done. He gave me my first pair of wings as a TV host on a television show called, 'Penthouse Live,' and was a true believer of the Pops and Martin team. He always trusted us with his direction and his gazillion changes on every script. His attention to detail was second to none and he spared no one’s feelings when defending what he knew in his heart was right.
“All of these ingredients mixed with love and passion were the makings of a director. I am blessed to say he was instrumental with my career on television. He was even one of the first directors to turn the concert princess into the concert queen. Tito Fritz, I will forever be grateful. I will miss you. Thank you for all you did not just for me, but for all of us whose careers you scolded and molded until each of our dreams came true. I love you!”
Apart from “Penthouse Live,” Fritz was also the director of Maricel Soriano and Cesar Montano's ABS-CBN sitcom “Bida si Mister, Bida si Misis.”
RELATED: Direk Fritz in the eyes of Martin
