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Ricardo "Ricky" Fua Lo (Tagalog: [ˈɾiki lɔ]; April 21, 1946 – May 4, 2021) was a Filipino entertainment writer and commentator, and TV host.

Early life and education

Lo, born of Chinese 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, Albay, and took up AB English at the University of the East. A fan of feature films, he aspired to be a gardener of actress Susan Roces.

Career

Editorial career

Lo did a stint as entertainment editor, first as an editorial assistant for Variety magazine, The Manila Times' Sunday supplement where he started his "FunFare" column. 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 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. He later transferred to GMA Network and hosted Startalk from 2008 to 2015 and CelebriTV 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 and Pops Fernandez break-up, then, in 2008, the Karylle and Dingdong Dantes break-up.

In January 2013, Lo's interview with Anne Hathaway drew flak from netizens. 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 and real-life experience with hunger that seems to have offended the actress. Lea Salonga, 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.

Filmography

Television shows

References

1. Dumaual, Mario (May 5, 2021). "Veteran entertainment journalist, TV host Ricky Lo passes away". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
2. Constantino, Ronald K. (May 12, 2010). "RP movie industry is not dead, just comatose". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
3. "Ricky Lo, chronicler of Philippine cinema, 75 | Philstar.com". Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
4. Felipe, MJ (May 5, 2021). "Ricky Lo inalala ng mga kaibigan, katrabaho" [Ricky Lo remembered by friends, colleagues]. ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog). Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
5. Iglesias, Iza (May 5, 2021). "PH entertainment journalist Ricky Lo writes 30". Manila Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
6. "Ricky Lo at IMDb". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
7. Bordey, Hana (May 5, 2021). "Senators honor veteran entertainment writer Ricky Lo". GMA News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
8. Biong, Ian (May 5, 2021). "Vilma Santos, Karen Davila, fellow celebs mourn Ricky Lo's death: 'Good soul gone too soon'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
9. Quieta, Racquel (May 5, 2021). "Showbiz mourns the passing of former TV host Ricky Lo". GMA News Online. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
10. Garcia, Rose (November 8, 2008). "Ricky Lo tells what he knows about the Dingdong-Karylle breakup". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
11. ^ "Filipino columnist's interview with Anne Hathaway draws mixed reactions online". Philippine Daily Inquirer. January 19, 2013. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
12. ^ Fernando, Jeff (January 22, 2013). "Ricky Lo 'amused' by bashers over awkward interview with Anne Hathaway". Interaksyon. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
13. "Lea weighs in on Ricky Lo interview with Hathaway". ABS-CBN News. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
14. "Veteran entertainment journalist Ricky Lo dies at 75". PTV News. May 5, 2021. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.

• 1946 births
• 2021 deaths
• University of the East alumni
• Filipino columnists
• Filipino journalists
• Filipino people of Chinese descent
• Filipino television talk show hosts
• Gossip columnists
• People from Northern Samar
• The Philippine Star people
• Entertainment journalists
• GMA Network (company) people
• ABS-CBN people