Red Sternberg. Image: Facebook/Sandy Sternberg
Red Sternberg died of a heart attack in the US, where he and his family have been based since 2007, according to his wife, Sandy.
The cause of Sternberg’s death was revealed on the June 6 episode of “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” with Abunda citing the matinee idol’s wife.
“Kinupirma sa’min ni Sandy na heart attack ang cause of death ni Red. Natagpuan niya si Red na nakahandusay noong tumawag siya ng 911 (Sandy confirmed to us that the cause of Red’s death is heart attack. She saw Red unconscious after she called 911),” Abunda said.
According to the mainstay host, the matinee idol is survived by his wife and three children, although the identities of their children were kept private.
Sternberg’s death was confirmed by Sandy in a statement on Facebook on May 30, on what was supposed to be his 51st birthday.
“It is hard to find the words right now to say that this has been the most difficult time I have ever gone through [in] my whole life. To be greeted ‘happy birthday’ and ‘sorry for your loss’ at the same time, three consecutive days of what was supposed to be a celebration full of birthdays,” she said in her statement.
TGIS friends still mourning
Sternberg’s friends and co-stars from “T.G.I.S.” — Angelu de Leon, Bobby Andrews, and Michael Flores — were the special guests on the program last Friday, June 6.
In the interview, Sternberg’s friends were emotional and they recalled their moments with the late actor when they were younger shooting for the youth-oriented drama.
According to Flores, Sternberg was planning to make his showbiz comeback, and sought Flores and Andrews for advice.
“He had plans to come back. He planned to be an artist again… He even asked me and Bob for advice, ‘Who can I talk to? Who is the manager still interested in hiring me?’ They planned to stay for a while if the outcome was okay… He was really excited to the point that he worked out, he went on a diet,” Flores said of the late ‘90s star.
Flores further noted that he first thought that Sternberg might simply be pulling a prank on them as he was wont to do when he was still alive. He said his heart sank when he later learned from Sternberg’s wife that it was true.
De Leon, who just got reelected as Pasig City councilor, said she is still in disbelief. “When people started asking me, ‘Anong nangyari kay Red (What happened to Red)?’ it was only then that it dawned on me that he’s gone,” she told Abunda.
For his part, Andrews said that he was just talking to Sternberg on May 22, or just a few days before he died on May 27.
“That’s why it was so hard to accept his [death], I was just talking to the guy a week before. How can this happen?” he said. “I just couldn’t deal with it, it’s hard.”
Sternberg is best known for his role as Kiko in the 1995 youth drama “T.G.I.S,” which was a huge success during its time of airing. The drama also starred Andrews, Flores, Angelu de Leon, Raven Villanueva, Rica Peralejo, Maybelyn dela Cruz, and Ciara Sotto, to name a few.
The late actor was also part of the films “Cool Bulol,” “Laging Naroon Ka,” and “My Pledge of Love,” before migrating to the US and be part of the hotel industry. /edv