‘Sweet 16’: L.A. is a big boy now

Remember that smart little boy, discovered via Eat, Bulaga’s That’s My Boy contest (second runner-up), who drew mixed reactions from the televiewing public (of such TV shows as Bistek with Herbert Bautista, now Quezon City Vice Mayor; Kilabotinis with Joey de Leon; Teysi ng Tahanan with Tessie Tomas; and Eh! Kasi Bata)?

Some people found him "cute," but others found him not really smart but a "smart aleck." But almost everybody agreed that, yes, that boy is intelligent.

Well, that boy is none other than L.A. Lopez (L.A. as in Lyle Areanne) and he’s a big boy now, all of 16, "sweet" 16, the only child of former singer Idonnah Lopez (who used to be an Ivory Records contract artist and now heads her own promotions company called Pear Sounds), a widow who has remarried.

"At the age of 2," recalled Idonnah to a group of movie writers over lunch at Dulcinea (Tomas Morato, Quezon City), "L.A. discovered that he could sing. Believe it or not but that early, L.A. could already sing Mambo, Mambo, Magsaysay (composed by the late Sen. Raul Manglapus, as a campaign song for the late President Ramon Magsaysay, later revived by the APO also as a campaign wake-upper). When L.A. was born, I thought the first sound he made was a song and not a cry. Born singer talaga."

Idonnah remembered an incident when L.A. was five years old and she was recording an album for Ivory Records. She left L.A. in the car with his yaya and Idonnah didn’t know that L.A. "escaped" from his yaya and followed her to the recording studio where he confronted Ivory boss Tony Ocampo and asked, "I can also sing. Why don’t you get me to record an album, too?" Then L.A. launched into a song, impressing Ocampo right there and then.

Two years later, in 1992, L.A. did record an album, called Bulinggit Rap, for Ivory, followed by several more (Batang Mabait for Alpha Records, the ATBP special album for Star Records, the ATBP Christmas Album also for Star Records, Shine L.A. Lopez for Alpha Records and a Metro Filmfest Theme Song rendition, all in a span of six years, from 1992 to 1998).

And then, after doing other TV shows and a few movies (among them John en Marsha The Movie and The Mongolian Barbecue The Movie for which he got two Best Child Actor nominations), L.A. just disappeared from the showbiz scene.

What happened?

"I became a normal boy again," smiled L.A. who’s now taller than his mother and smarter than ever.

Became a normal boy again?

"I mean, I led a normal life. I devoted my time to school at Sunny Hill where I’m in third year high school, and hung around with my non-showbiz friends, doing the normal things that normal teenagers do, like playing basketball and malling."

No girlfriends, though, quickly added L.A., carefully glancing at his mom beside him.

L.A. is aptly described as "sweet 16" because he is wholesome, unlike some boys his age. He said that he refused to be dragged by his peers into watching pornographic videotapes (even when his mom isn’t looking) and, although he laughs at them, never joins his barkada in cracking green jokes. He did admit enjoying the company of Britney Spears in his fantasy – "Innocent fantasy," L.A. hastened to add, "because you could commit a sin just by thinking of bad things."

A veteran of 13 commercials (among them for Lady’s Choice, Oishi Noodles Lead Part, Champola as "Hulk Hogan" and Fidel Iodized Salt), L.A. also composes songs, some of which are included in his latest Star Records album, L.A. Yakap, which he’s now promoting. (His mall tour is slated at SM Sucat on Sept. 15, SM Fairview on Sept. 16, SM Cebu on Sept. 28 and SM Iloilo on Sept. 29.)

His "R&R" over L.A. has ceased being "a normal boy again" as he again rolls with the grind of showbiz.

Well aware of the issues gripping the country today, such as the Senate probe on Sen. Ping Lacson, L.A. was asked by the movie writers old enough to be his grandparents what solution he proposed for the country’s seemingly insurmountable problems.

L.A. broke into a wide smile and outlined his "proposal," so controversial and so original that Funfare can’t print it without driving the honorable Senators into homicidal rage. Ask L.A. what it is the next time you bump into him.

Like father, like son

When you watch Ronnie Ricketts’ new starrer, Mano-Mano 2 (Ubusan ng Lakas), starting tomorrow in several Metro theaters, I’m sure you’ll be impressed by the martial-arts expertise of 11-year-old Bruce Lee Ricketts, son of Ronnie’s older brother Topher (of Bakbakan International) and Beth Mercado-Ricketts (manager of Naldo-Ricketts Realty). The boy is named after the late Bruce by his father who idolizes the late Bruce. Topher just came home from a stint at Fort Lewis and Fort Bragg in the States and South Korea where he taught hand-to-hand martial-arts techniques to elite units in the US Army.

An all-around athlete (he plays basketball and, during summer visits with grandparents Edith and Max Ricketts in San Diego, California, golf with his grandpa), Bruce has done two movies with his Uncle Ronnie before Mano-Mano 2. He is in Grade Six at La Salle-Zobel in Ayala Alabang, along with his brothers Brandon and Jett (also named, you guessed it, after two other martial-arts stars).

Also in Mano-Mano 2 as the sidekick of Ronnie is Dinky Doo, Jr. who is co-hosting a funny cooking show in Vancouver starting next month. He’ll be shuttling between Vancouver and Manila until such time when his family (wife and several kids) can join him there for good.

"I owe my comic breaks on TV to Tito Dolphy (who’s with Dinky in the sitcom Home Along da Riles)," said Dinky who is promoting his "novelty" album, Dyok Lang. "In action movies, I owe naman my good breaks to Ronnie who’s not only a good action star but also a good person."