Ricardo "Ricky" Fua Lo (April 21, 1946 – May 4, 2021) was a Filipino entertainment writer and commentator, and TV host.
Early life and education
Lo, born of
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
descent, was a native of Las Navas, Northern Samar, where he finished grade school. He finished high school at the bilingual Tabaco Pei Ching School in
Tabaco
Tabaco, officially the City of Tabaco ( bcl, Siyudad kan Tabaco; fil, Lungsod ng Tabaco), is a 4th class component city in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,961 people.
It is one of t ...
Lo did a stint as entertainment editor, first as an editorial assistant for ''Variety'' magazine, ''
The Manila Times
''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...
'' Sunday supplement where he started his "FunFare"
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. He then went on to join the ''Philippine Daily Express'' as a staff writer for the newspaper publisher's ''Express Week'' magazine and then as a deskman for ''The Evening Express''. He eventually wrote the main broadsheet. Lo then became an editorial assistant for ''Daily Express'' ''Weekend'' Sunday magazine until 1986. He joined ''
The Philippine Star
''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...
'' in July 1986 where he revived his "FunFare" column and started his regular Sunday feature, "Conversations with Ricky Lo".
Lo is the author of ''Star-Studded'', the first compilation of his articles on movie stars, which he released in 1995. Another book, ''Conversations with Ricky Lo'' was released in 2001. The book bears Lo's sensitive, intelligent and penetrating style of handling interviews.
TV hostings
In 1999, Lo became one of the hosts of the showbiz-oriented talk show, ''The Buzz'', on
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
. He later transferred to
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 ...
and hosted ''Startalk'' from 2008 to 2015 and ''
CelebriTV
''CelebriTV'' is a Philippine television comedy talk show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Ai-Ai delas Alas, Joey de Leon and Lolit Solis, it premiered on September 19, 2015 replacing '' Startalk''. The show concluded on May 21, 2016 with a ...
'' which ran from 2015 to 2016. He also hosted other showbiz-oriented programs such as ''The Ricky Lo Exclusives'' in QTV (then GMA News TV; now GTV) and ''Showbiz Stripped''.
Notable coverage and interviews
Lo was the first to write about the
Martin Nievera
Martin Ramon Razon Nievera (; born February5, 1962) is a Filipino-American singer and television host. In his career spanning more than three decades, Nievera has garnered eighteen platinum, five double platinum, three triple platinum, and one ...
and
Pops Fernandez
Maria Cielito "Pops" Lukban Fernandez (born December 12, 1966) is a Filipina singer, entertainer, entrepreneur, TV host and actress.
Dubbed as The Philippines Concert Queen in which for the last Four decades she has performed Internationally ...
break-up, then, in 2008, the
Karylle
Ana Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as a Karylle, is a Filipino singer, actress, TV host and musical theatre performer. She is heralded as "''OPMs Showbiz Royalty''". She notably received a nomination for ...
and
Dingdong Dantes
Jose Sixto Raphael Gonzalez Dantes III (born August 2, 1980), professionally known as Dingdong Dantes (), is a Filipino actor, television presenter, dancer, commercial model and film producer who is currently working as an employment contract, ...
break-up.
In January 2013, Lo's interview with
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
drew flak from
netizen
The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.
s. Critics averred that the interview was a disgrace for posing questions that seemed not fitting for a well-known actress. Colleagues in the industry supported Lo, however, and referred to his long experience in entertainment journalism. Reportedly, Lo was merely amused with the negative comments and was not offended. Some of Lo's supposedly-awkward questions that he threw at Hathaway were about her weight loss in the film ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' and real-life experience with hunger that seems to have offended the actress.
Lea Salonga
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga (; born February 22, 1971), known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipino singer, actress, and columnist. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplyin ...
, who was mentioned in the interview, explained that while she cannot speak for Hathaway, she has been trained to expect all kinds of questions, ranging from broadsheet to tabloid. Salonga noted, however, that interviews are also about how questions are asked.
Death
Lo died on May 4, 2021, from a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...