“The message of the Parable of the Mustard Seed is something that we must carry in our heart as we keep working for better world and life. It is our faith in ourselves and in God that would bring success to the work of our hands. Small graces trickle but they will build up in time. Brick by brick we build until we create a cathedral. Some people may ignore whatever efforts we put in or even pull us down, but the fire within us must keep burning. People with bold motives and ambitions can inspire others and inject enthusiasm in other people.” - Rev. Fr. Rodel Balagtas, D.Min. Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 2011.
Fr. Rodel may not have met Fritz Friedman, but his prophetic voice captured his essence.
I have worked with Fritz in the community. His charmed life, built brick by brick, was created by his bold faith in himself and through God’s grace.
When he leads a community group, he always emphasizes that “failure is not an option.” And that it won’t be, for as long as he is there.
His reassurance makes you feel that you are part of a winning team.
But, he does not rely on words alone. To support his bold vision, he toils hard and sets an example through his actions.
His is a gilded legacy of mentoring others—working as a leader/volunteer for significant community causes.
He boldly grows with and for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Worldwide Acquisitions—a multi-billion dollar corporation, as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Publicity with his team.
He is a great friend to key folks, and a loyal, loving spouse to his partner of 22 years.
‘The man’
As we made our way to Sony Studios Plaza building, Candace, an African-American security guard, greeted us with her upbeat attitude and high-wattage smile: “Who are you here for?,” she asked. When we told her it was for Fritz, she said: “Fritz Friedman! “Fritz, he is my man. Say hello to him for me.”
Just before we got to the top floor, we admired the posters of key blockbusters and some Academy Award Winners: Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, A Man for All Seasons, Oliver, Kramer vs. Kramer, Gandhi, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Da Vinci Code. The posters hung inside a building with an atrium, cantilevered with plants on the balconies, and glass windows, two storeys high.
The building rises to meet you with unencumbered light, airiness and vibrancy. It was perhaps a fitting prelude to the man whom we are about to interview. He has been described by many as a sparkling personality—oozing with wit and charm.
Yet, this piece is about his inner self—his work with our community, as a generous, strategic, bold, honest and visionary friend and leader.
When the movement to secure equity for the World War II veterans was at a low point, Fritz injected the community’s spark plugs. He met with 24 community leaders at the Sony Studios’ building. We were curious—who is this man who wants to meet us? Ash wood paneling and leather chairs communicated that the Sony’s conference room is for the high and mighty. 24 inter-generational community leaders: Linda Mabalot, Lee Colomby, Enrique Delacruz, Peping Baclig, and Mark Pulido were present, to name a few.
Fritz’s message was crystal clear: “Our grandfathers fought bravely beside American soldiers during WWII. Why are they treated like they are invisible and insignificant? They are war heroes. That is not right. These civil wrongs have to be made right.”
His message resonated. We all agreed to stand up mightily and uphold our veterans’ cause for equity and justice. The Assembly of Justice was born.
An animated and bold leader
One of the Assembly for Justice’s first activities was to do a fundraising to finance the work involved in building equity for the Filipino WW II veterans. The fundraiser was held at Sony Studios—a venue unfamiliar to most of us. Fritz joked that we shouldn’t take home the glasses. Everyone burst into laughter. A few thousands were raised, giving us a sense of new generosity.
In June 2003, our community sent representatives to Washington, DC. They presented their testimonies before the US Congress to gain health benefits for our WW II veterans. Fritz worked with key Hollywood personalities of Filipino-American heritage: Tia Carrere, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rob Schneider, and Dean Devlin. Together, they created a video, which became a cornerstone in educating members of the House of Congress about the plight of Filipino-American veterans.
In October 2001, Fritz spearheaded the creation of the Filipino American Library’s Spirit Awards and dinner benefit. It was aptly called the Spirit Awards because “the depth of the Filipino’s character is seen through the soul.”
The awardees represented the best of the Filipino and Filipino-American spirit, embodied in select members of the larger Los Angeles community. They are role models provide public and community service, corporate philanthropy, community-building, media coverage, service to institutions.
The Spirit Awards became the site for celebration of hope and resistance. Resistance, as we struggle to influence the changes within entities in California and the US, to help restore the collective dignities of our community members.
The event was planned since the early part of the year. But when 9/11 occurred, the first reaction was to shut down the gala. America became frozen and everything was at a standstill!
Yet, Fritz’s emboldened the whole community to move forward. He gave us a pep talk, saying that we should give our community a positive haven—a site where we can all celebrate what we have worked hard to achieve. We surprised ourselves with another new capacity.
Back then, there was no Charice, Arnel Pineda, Charmaine Clamor, nor a Mon or Nicole David and a Michael Paulo to speak of. We only had one of the best of UCLA’s Pilipino Cultural Night protégés, Ted Benito. It marked the beginning of public events, which showcased the best of Pinoy talents, executed to Hollywood standards—only the best for the best of our community. The gala attracted the crème de la créme, within and outside our community.
300 people came the first year. The next year, there were 500 attendees. It kept growing for 7 years. Everyone looked forward to Lou Diamond Philips’s performance—a memorable rendition of La Bamba, where he wore his royal blue hula skirt. Martin Nievera was a hit as well. The event bridged the gap between Filipino-American talents and new Filipino talents from the Philippines.
Fritz: The visionary
During the transition of the Library’s prized collections to UCLA (an institution capable of preserving and archiving to serve generations to come), there was resistance from some community members. They could not appreciate Fritz’s strategic vision.
Fritz held an open meeting, inviting the community. The opposition attended. Some wore mistrust and suspicion on their faces. He bravely answered their questions. The board gave their support to Fritz, including volunteer lawyers: Paul Estuar, Michael Juarigue and Abigail Tapang-Treanor. After the meeting, the noise died down.
We spent days cataloguing and doing an inventory for UCLA’s Asian American Studies with Marjorie Lee, Meg Thornton and Judy SooHoo. The library collections were moved just in time, thanks to Fritz’s insistence. The roof was leaking at its former location.
He could have stopped then. But, he didn’t. He searched for an alternate space, found one, and held fundraisers to support the library’s operations. After his term, he was succeeded by Rose Ibanez.
In 2001, when Fritz first got involved with the equity issue, it wasn’t quite same as it is now—generating spirit and momentum from professionals, veterans, students, teachers, musicians, workers, performers, artists, politicians, philanthropists and business owners. The equity movement succeeded when Senator Daniel Inouye sponsored a rider to the stimulus bill. President Barack Obama signed it in 2009, granting $38 million in benefit packages to veterans who live in the US and in the Philippines.
Fritz was also responsible for raising funds for HIV/AIDS.
When Asian American artists needed a support organization, Fritz founded the Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) with Wendy Fong and Chris Lee. Ten years later, these organizations remain relevant.
The first Asian and Filipino-American senior executive in Hollywood
You might assume that Fritz’s community work is his full-time job. It’s not. He is the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Publicity to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Worldwide Acquisitions. He has been there for 30 years—he has grown with the company, from the time that it made a million dollars, up to present—making multi-billion dollars a year.
During the royal visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, he was part of welcoming committee at the studios. A few weeks ago, he spent time with Justin Timberlake, to promote the movie, Friends with Benefits.
Sony’s growth has not only increased Fritz’s faith in himself—it has also instilled generosity in him.
He proclaims he is his own brand, his own signature! “Why not?,” he declares.
He credits his staff for promoting Michael Jackson’s This is It. Fritz personally accompanied Travis Payne, Michael Jackson’s choreographer, to work with 1,250 Cebu inmates, through Ernest Escaler’s production company.
It became a very touching tribute to Michael Jackson and went viral on Youtube.
The rest is a blockbuster moment in history: $252 million in worldwide sales of This Is It.
“Why not become my own best friend? While there are lots of people who like me, who gave me opportunities, who gave me breaks to show my talents, I had no mentors. One of my first jobs was to be an independent child. My parents loved me. I am headstrong, gave my parents what they wanted, lots of what they did not want. No felonies, no drugs. I got what I wanted most of the time, rarely deprived of what I wanted. Of course, I wanted to have a corporate job and be its president within a week, but they would not want me to do it.”
We chuckled. He rubs his mouth in a circular motion, as if clearing his chakra to keep sharing fully.
“Where did you derive your vision?,” I asked.
“I just knew. I trusted my instincts. I am fearless, am visceral. I continue to be visceral. I am not a pragmatist, I am not practical. I do think big. I don’t see why we should not do it. I don’t see why we should not be different. That is what I love about myself,” he replied.
I asked him what the defining moments of his life were.
“I got my first job as an usher at Carnegie Hall. My friend and I were walking. We passed by Carnegie Hall. Because I like classical music, I encouraged him to apply. Let’s go and see if we can be ushers, why not? We were interviewed during the day and they told us that they have hired all their ushers. Their ushers all came from Juilliard. We did not. They had a waiting list of hundreds. We just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. We were dressed well. We were neat and clean. When we got home, we got a call. We were hired. I seated Jackie Onassis and Luciano Pavarotti. I became a good usher. I enjoyed the music, I had fun,” he said.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek July 20-22, 2011 MDWK pg.2)
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