Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.On his 50th year in show business, veteran director and star builder Johnny Manahan says his life has come full circle with the ink now completely dry on a contract he signed with GMA Network five days ago.On July 13, the unthinkable happened when the legendary founder and longtime chairman of ABS-CBN's celebrated talent management arm, Star Magic, came face to face (albeit via Zoom) with GMA Network's topmost brass. All present, no less than the media giant's triumvirate - Chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon, President and COO Gilberto Duavit, Jr., and Executive Vice President and CFO Felipe Yalong - welcomed the man, famously called 'Mr. M,' to officially serve as consultant to their version of Manahan's trendsetting brainchild, theirs being, GMA Artist Center.Needless to say, there has been no tighter, tenser nor tougher competition known to Philippine Entertainment than that of ABS-CBN and GMA Network, ergo Star Magic and GMA Artist Center, but this cover story will leave this topic for later.After all - following what was reported to be a very smooth-sailing and convivial meeting with the network bigwigs, Philippine Television's revered creative and foremost image authority - Mr. M was eager to reveal more than a few pieces of delightful trivia and a remarkable milestone in his career in an ensuing virtual interview.'You know, I worked in GMA for a number of years during Martial Law,' revealed the 74-year-old Manahan who hardly sat down with media through most of his time in the other network. Chuckling gently, he paused for a moment as if to absorb the nostalgia that suddenly surrounded him, amused by the next recollection that came to him.'Wala pa yang building na yan,' he declared, referring to GMA's landmark headquarters on the corner of Timog Avenue and Edsa in Quezon City. 'Dalawang maliit na studio lang at isang hindi kanais-nais na CR!'His punchline a hit, what Mr. M proceeded to say next, however, certainly turned out to be the bigger hit. For ever so humbly, the TV titan whose orbit took an unexpected and shaky turn this past year expressed for the record, 'I'm glad nakabalik din ako at bilog na yung circle of life.'M risingBelieve it or not, Mr. M first set foot in GMA neither as director nor talent scout but as part of a group of young folk singers who would perform for 'Uncle Bob's Lucky 7 Club,' the children's program of the network's late founder, Robert Stewart.'The years I worked in GMA were... sometime in nineteen-forgotten,' he chuckled again, loosening up to this chit-chat with media, which he hardly did through his many years in the other network.Unable to recall dates long gone, the events which took place in the early years of his career at GMA were nonetheless memorable to the erstwhile man of mystery - another meaning attached to his revered industry nickname.'I eventually worked with my mother [the late socialite and TV host Elvira Manahan of 'Two for the Road'] in her talk show at GMA, and with the great Lino Brocka [legendary filmmaker and National Artist] in a couple of specials.'From GMA, Mr. M went on to become a freelancer through the rest of the '70s and early '80s, directing shows for multiple channels back when the two-way network war had yet to erupt. He would shuffle among the studios of IBC, BBC/City2, RPN as well as GMA, effectively emerging as the prolific creative and visionary who became a key figure in ABS-CBN's rise to prominence when it reopened in 1986.Lucky MIn his 34 years with ABS-CBN, Manahan truly made history in conceptualizing and/or directing many of the most pivotal programs on local television (among them 'Chika Chika Chicks,' 'Palibhasa Lalake' and even the day's long-running Sunday noontime show, 'ASAP'), all while giving the Entertainment industry as a whole the most competent performers across many generations and the Filipino public the brightest of stars to idolize.Easily, his creativity and artistry can be attributed to genetics, what with his mother's natural ability to regale audiences and her penchant for music. Then again, it can also be said that his trained eye and the wonders it can do to transform the image of an ordinary talent into a star is something he developed during his years in college as an Art History Major at the University of California. After all, Mr. M must truly know what is visually pleasing and arresting to start with, having dabbled as a painter before stepping into showbiz, and one whose work had received a special citation from no less than the Paris Biennale of Art.Quite admirably though, the man who forever changed the lives of such names as Piolo Pascual, Claudine Barretto, Bea Alonzo, Kim Chiu and John Lloyd Cruz, among many others, and ultimately, the landscape of Philippine Entertainment, points to lady luck as much as his expertise for sterling achievements.'As far as I'm concerned 60 percent [luck] yon,' he even quantified. 'We train them - kung pano sila lumakad, umarte; paano sila mag project sa publiko, sa press; and then we 'merchandise' them.'But in the end talagang... magic 'yan eh,' Mr. M averred, unable not to laugh at his choice of words. 'And yung magic, luck talaga 'yun. If you're in the right place at the right time, who knows? Gawa ng universe yan, gawa ng Diyos. It's luck.'While it's too early to say how much luck will emerge from the heavens as he begins anew to mentor talents into stars, it truly is a very exciting time for GMA and showbiz as whole to have Mr. M back in the saddle doing what he does best. For despite the snag he and his Midas touch had encountered when he ventured outside ABS-CBN in 2020, imagine what his rich and storied 50-year experience can bring to a very lucky GMA Artist Center.
