The Rico I knew

Pretty boys don’t die. They just wither, wrinkle and fade away. Those with talent – if they are lucky to be handled by good directors – eventually metamorphose into seasoned actors.

There had been times in the past, however, when death snatched away the pretty boys at the prime of their lives and their careers. Today, only their young and handsome faces are etched in the memory of their adoring public.

In 1940, Philippine cinema’s idolong kayumanggi, Rudy Concepcion, was in the middle of filming Mahal Pa Rin Kita when he died of peptic ulcer. He was 28 and had behind him a long string of box-office hits that included Tunay na Ina and Pakiusap – both with Rosario Moreno, who died five years later during the liberation of Manila. (Concepcion also made a movie called Gabay ng Magulang with former Philippine STAR columnist, Mary Prieto, who was then known as Yolanda Marquez.)

More than four decades later – on Dec. 31, 1981 – Alfie Anido, another matinee idol, passed away, supposedly after taking his own life. (To this day, his death remains a mystery.)

Miguel Rodriguez was no longer at the peak of his career when he died in 1997 of bangungot (that mysterious Asian medical mystery). But he was still in top form and could have been a great character actor had he not died that young (around 32).

And now, Rico Yan – he with the schoolboy charm – is dead.

Rico Yan may not have had the classic mestizo looks of Alfie Anido and Miguel Rodriguez, but he certainly belonged to the elite league of Pretty Boys of Philippine entertainment. Among the male members of the first batch of Star Circle launched in 1996, he probably was the best looking. But what made him stand out from the rest were his impeccable manners. He was always polite, courteous and warm to people of all ranks and status.

When we were both under the ABS-CBN roof, we never had the chance to talk much. The only conversation we would have would be at the elevator. And since we would only go as far as the second floor (were the production offices were), our talks weren’t very long.

A few years ago, I found myself maintaining a halfway house in Greenhills. In the same building lived Rico’s girlfriend Claudine Barretto and, naturally, Rico Yan would always be there. But no, they were not living in. In the beginning, in fact, I was told that Rico would even be made to sign the guards’ logbook at the reception counter every time he went to visit Claudine.

Rico (or even Claudine for that matter) and I still didn’t get the chance to sit down and talk lengthily. But we would still bump into each other at the elevator. And since the condominium building is rather tall (all of 40 floors), our elevator conversations were longer this time. One time at the elevator, he was able to make a proposal for an exchange deal between Startalk and his then very new business, Orbitz. But since I don’t have anything to do with the marketing of Startalk (nor with its weekly contents – believe it or not), I advised him to just go straight to the people concerned in GMA-7.

In a month or so, I found myself making a pitch for Orbitz in Startalk in exchange for free sago pearls for everyone in the studio. Normally, I would smirk when asked to do a plug on TV. But with Orbitz, I did it wholeheartedly because Rico was a very nice person and I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Claudine (although she wasn’t involved in the business) since I knew her personally as a young girl in Ang TV. (I used to call her my "baby," but I doubt very much if she still remembers that.)

And now, Rico Yan is dead. But I will remember those elevator rides with him and Claudine (and sometimes with Janna Victoria, the girlfriend of Rico’s best friend, Dominic Ochoa).

And please don’t ask me about that much-talked-about supposed violent quarrel at the building lobby between Rico and Claudine because I don’t know about that and I don’t care about it.

I’d rather remember Rico Yan as the perfect gentleman who spoke well and was said to have never spoken ill of anyone.

Like Rudy Concepcion, Alfie Anido and Miguel Rodriguez – all pretty boys who died young – Rico Yan will forever be remembered for his pretty boy looks. But I’d rather remember him as a good and responsible young person who lent decency in this otherwise dirty business called entertainment.