Let Lolit Solis’ memories linger

The death of the irrepressible talent manager and showbiz columnist Lolit Solis has been bringing memories of all sorts.

Lolit, or I should say Tita (a term of endearment to an elderly aunt by affinity or by blood) Lolit, was also an influence in my career as an entertainment journalist for both print and broadcast media.

She started her movie writing business a few years earlier than mine.

As I went full-time member of the movie press, I was renting a room in a boarding house in G. Tuazon Street, a few blocks away from Tita Lolit’s old, rickety house along Lardizabal Street near the corner of MF Jhocson Street situated in the thickly populated area of Sampaloc, Manila.

It was where Tita Lolit spent her youth when she studied at the V. Mapa High School where she was a classmate of Joey de Leon who lived in nearby Nazareth School, also in Sampaloc.

She began writing for showbiz in the 70s along with writers Baby K. Jimenez, Boy C.  de Guia, Douglas Quijano, Franklin Cabaluna, Alfie Lorenzo, Eli Taparan, Mercy Lejarde, Oskee Salazar, Chito Alcid, Gil E. Villasana, Billy Balbastro and their ilk.

At the time, Tita Lolit was one of the official publicists of Regal Films when she popularized the misnomer “anda (money)” for “ang datung (where’s the money?)”—associated with her.

It’s believed that openness in “envelopmental journalism” in showbiz started with Lolit.

She was the breadwinner of the family, working hard to make both ends meet.

I remember I saw her one morning shopping at the Bustillos Market.

Instead of riding a tricycle, Lolit would walk from Legarda to her house with a box of items on her head, handheld a basket of wet market and veggies, unmindful of the people around.

At the time, she was already guesting as one of the panelist-reporters on the highly rated Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Channel 2 talk show “Nothing But the Truth”—censured by the Board of Review for Motion Pictures and Television (BRMPT) for scandalous showbiz materials, e.g. Amalia Fuentes’ complaint about unfair reporting which prompted the station to suspend it and later resumed telecast, retitled it “Would You Believe?” and “See True,” the latter eventually aired in Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) Channel 13 which were both beamed across the land in a broadcast media hub called Broadcast City in Tandang Sora.

Meanwhile, in the print media, Lolit was one of the columnists of the fanzine Modern Romances and True Confessions (MRTC) when I also wrote feature stories.

The feistiness of Lolit in defense of her PR clients was already in place at the time when she dressed down and slapped movie scribe Joey de Castro for his acerbic story on Alma Moreno which appeared in the magazine.

At the time Lolit was romantically linked with fellow reporter Rod V. Samson and Jesse Ejercito’s confidante Willie Manapsal.

All three talk shows were hosted by Inday Badiday, known for her moniker Queen of Intrigues.

From these programs, Lolit was honed to ask questions on stars, a preparatory to hosting.

When Inday, Lourdes Jimenez Carvajal in real life, went to GMA Network in the mid-80s, IBC got Lolit and Boy C. de Guia–former “See-True” scriptwriter and panelist–to host “Scoop,” another showbiz-oriented program that made Lolit and Kuya (a term of endearment to an older brother by blood of elderly man by affinity) Boy broadcasters.

It was the beginning of Lolit’s new journey on TV.

I was part of “Scoop” when I was tapped by ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Department (then newly revived and emerging) to do field interviews on entertainment for the station’s primetime newscast, “Balita Ngayon.”

When Tita Lolit saw me holding a mic with a cameraman in tow and interviewing Ramon Revilla, Sr. after his wife Azucena Mortel gave birth to a daughter (I don’t remember the name anymore but she’s younger than Andrea Bautista) she was intrigued by my ABS-CBN stint so she and Kuya Boy confronted me about it.

I just shrugged it off and said it’s just a sideline which I continued until I became officially part of the reformatted Star Network’s launch of “TV Patrol”‘s “Star News” with Angelique Lazo as my news anchor.

In other words, we were spread out. Tita Lolit stayed with IBC but later was absorbed by GMA Network.

Despite our separation, she wouldn’t forget my birthdays and other personal occasions, if not around she would send me gifts.

I committed myself to ABS-CBN and later on to Radio Philippines Network (RPN) Channel 9.

Still, if I needed interviews with Tita Lolit’s wards like Paolo Contis, Gladys Reyes and a host of them, she would facilitate.

In view of my absence in the high profile of broadcasting and concentrated on the printed medium including my book authoring (I have already published 6 books on media studies) Tita Lolit didn’t bother to invite me in presscons she organized, I didn’t mind because there are other ways to skin the cat even as I write although it’s hard to be independent.

I will treasure Tita Lolit’s many unforgettable memories we shared or her separate experiences worth the look.