Wyngard Tracy: It’s about time I think of myself

It was neither with a bang nor with a whimper that this giant among talent managers Wyngard Tracy has left the field. It was quietly, surreptitiously, without fanfare, and without tears. So like him who didn’t go for pyrotechnics, as those who know him will attest.

In the course of 26 years of managing talents (the very first was Basil Valdez), Wyngard had accumulated 66 talents as of last count. Upon retirement last October, active members of the talent pool who remained in his outfit ArtistStation included Maricel Soriano, Meryll Soriano, Malik, Freestyle, Fat Session, Eva Marie Poon, Basil Valdez, Aiko Melendez, Side A, TJ Manotoc, Wency Cornejo.

ArtistStation manages some of these former talents Wyngard has since turned over to people he has trained through the years. The Side A is with Lito Fugoso, the band’s road manager for years, as well as Basil, Wency, and Malik; Freestyle is with Celeste Pacana, together with other soloists; Fat Session is with Raymond Togonon and Nonoy Asuque. Maricel, Meryll and Aiko are under consultation with Wyngard.

Among his biggest clients in the past have been the bands Side A, Freestyle, Barbie’s Cradle, Pido with Take One, Toy Symphony, Fat Session, Parliament Syndicate, Elements. Among his biggest singers were Basil Valdez, Ella May Saison, Ivy Violan, Pat Castillo, Pinky de Leon, Tillie Moreno, Wency Cornejo. His major musician-composer was Ryan Cayabyab; his biggest actors Maricel Soriano and Aiko Melendez.

If there is a common denominator among them, it would have to be talent. Wyngard says that if they didn’t have talent, then he just wasn’t interested.

Actually, Wyngard is known to be a music person, although he claims to have equal interest in other fields. Perhaps it was because his very first job was as a DJ, although he was – many years ago and many pounds less – a ramp model. Apart from managing bands and singers, he also had interests in the bars Tavern on the Square, Suburbia, Conway’s at Shangri-La Makati, News Bar Café, and our very favorite Music Hall in Greenhills which closed down many years ago.

His first job in talent managing was as manager for all the recording artists under contract with Vicor-Blackgold in the ’80s. At that time, says Wyngard, record companies didn’t really concern themselves with charting the careers of their contract artists. But Vicor, being forward-looking and with foresight as ever under the aggressive Vic del Rosario, paved the way.

Wyngard recalls having been awed by suddenly having such talents as Pinky de Leon, Leah Navarro, Maricris Bermont. Wyngard stayed two years at Vicor, then set up his own talent agency which eventually evolved into ArtistStation.

Wyngard is openly proud of his dictatorial management style. Artists seeking his services are told that although Wyngard is open to suggestions and reactions, his decisions stand on everything. There is hardly any consultation on the matter. Otherwise, he asks, what am I there for? We quietly thought to ourself, he must have been influenced in this by the great Filipino dictator president Ferdinand Marcos since Wyngard remains openly a Marcos loyalist.

We ask him if he has ever had problems of disobedience, discipline, drugs, from his talents and he answers that this was never the case since they all knew that wouldn’t be tolerated.

We notice from his line-up that there must have been some talents more difficult to package or repackage. We ask him why he took Willie Revillame into his stable again and again when Willie seemed to be a show business’ biggest headache, what with the expulsions and disciplinary measures imposed on him by the networks. Wyngard replies that apart from the talent element, "We’re friends!" He also acquired Hans Montenegro after the sex scandal nearly lost him his career. Wyngard successfully relaunched him.

Although he comes across to clients and talents as a no nonsense, strict disciplinarian, Wyngard is also known for his good heart. He will willingly give anyone another chance as in the case of Willie. He believes that each should help the other for the industry to prosper. He is therefore easy to approach for favors. Our own personal experience in this matter was when we were launching Anna Fegi in her first major album launch at the Hard Rock Café. We needed a big name to help attract the audience and the media, and felt that for the venue it had to be a major band.

This was five years ago, and the Side A band which had remained our favorite band the past decade was riding high (as it still is today). We asked Wyngard for help and was pleasantly surprised when he agreed. And not only that! He even offered his prime dance group The Manoeuvres to also guest in the launch, and all these for free.

It seems that one of Wyngard’s personal policies was that if he felt that a promising artist could be aided in any manner, he would go out of his way to be of help. We shall never forget this gesture of generosity. And we do hope Anna Fegi feels the same way.

In the same manner, Wyngard also looks back in gratitude to those who helped him start in the business. He repeatedly mentions Kitchie Benedicto, Dennis Cabalfin, and Bert de Leon who started him out at RPN-9; and Vic del Rosario who made him a manager of talents when he had no experience of how it was to be one.

Today, Wyngard is free of any commitments but the pursuit of happiness. And happiness is waking up late and not having anything to do; taking off at a moment’s notice to go on a trip somewhere which he loves, and not because an artist or a band was having a performance.

"I felt that the time had come for me to do things for myself. I had spent years working for my family, my children and my talents. It was time to be selfish and think of myself."

We got a taste of his new freedom when we invited him to watch a musical and he was free. In the past, this may have been near impossible. While it took sometime for this retirement to become a reality, we saw in his mien and general appearance that it was all for the best. He looked years younger; he had lost 90 lbs; he had cropped his hair and colored it which was most becoming for his new status in life. And there was a new gleam in his eyes.

He however stresses that his retirement is only from talent management. "I will continue to do other things that interest me." He remains on the panel of Star in a Million which has launched such names as Erik Santos, Christian Bautista, Mark Bautista, Sheryn Regis, Frenchie Dy. He is certainly still keeping touch with the industry that has nurtured him, and he has nurtured.

He agrees with us that today’s stars discovered from television searches have the disadvantage of being "disposable" after a year. It is a frustratingly sad situation, he says, but then the really talented ones could hopefully survive.

It was also this situation that made him leave the post as head of the talent pool at GMA. There were so many artists discovered and contracted, but not enough venues to expose their talents, he told us.

One of the things he’d like to do this year is dip his fingers into co-investing in a film project. Wyngard Tracy entering the realm of movie producing? At this time when most everyone has been singing death paeans for the movies? With his track record, and the legacy he has left behind, we can only welcome him back. With a different hat on, but with the same methods and principles that have made him the Wyngard Tracy the industry has known, feared, and loved all these years.

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