When opportunity knocks, sometimes you have to take a step back before answering the door.
For Fil-Am comedian Ricky Del Rosario, it took 10 years before he answered his calling.
“I don’t regret it one bit,” he says to the Asian Journal.
Del Rosario is making a comeback to the comedy world and last February 19, he presented his new DVD aptly titled, I Miss You… at a VIP All Star Weekend Party in the downtown LA Athletic Club hosted by Los Angeles Lakers player Matt Barnes.
“It just feels good to be back and grinding,” he said.
In the mid-to-late 1990’s, Del Rosario was a seasoned comedian touring the comedy club circuit around the US and appearing regularly on BET Comic View.
He participated in the very first HBO Laffapalooza and worked with comedians Andrew Dice Clay, Carlos Mencia, Joe Rogan, Lewis Black, and Katt Williams.
His popularity soared. He was one of only a handful of Asian comedians in the comedy circuit and perhaps the only Filipino, he said.
But the pressures of touring on the road, meeting with high powered television executives who wanted to change his looks, and failed development TV deals, got him unnerved.
“Everything was going fantastic,” he added. “It was cooking and then I just put the brakes on it. I didn’t mean for my break to last that long but now, 10 years later I’m like ‘what am I doing? Let’s get back to this comedy stuff.’”
Despite the set back in his comedy career, he succeeded in other areas.
A natural flair for comedy
Born and raised in Seaside, CA, about two hours south of San Francisco, Del Rosario, a mix of Filipino, Hungarian, German and Italian (his father is full Filipino), has always been a natural comic.
In elementary, middle school and high school, his peers voted him as a class clown. Naturally, Del Rosario decided to become a comedian.
While attending Sonoma State University, he started performing at the local comedy clubs.
“Being on that stage is a lot different than making your friends laugh around the playground,” he said.
“I remember the first time I went up, I brought a bunch of my friends, a friend videotaped my performance and they were all having a good time but after watching my performance on the tape, I said to myself, ‘I suck. I’m not that good and I need some work.’”
He continued to hone his craft, performing in comedy clubs all over the Bay Area.
Del Rosario then landed a gig as a radio personality spot on KMEL, Northern California’s largest radio station. He beat out over 750 applicants in a three-week audition period to become a member of the Breakfast Club morning show on KMEL.
On KMEL, he wrote and performed comedic skits.
It was also during this time, he worked as a motivational speaker. Soda giant Pepsi Corp. hired Del Rosario to speak to kids. He flew in a helicopter from school to school and was known as ‘Fly Guy, Ricky D.’
10-year hiatus
On the surface, it seemed everything was going well for Del Rosario. But the life of a comic is tough. He said being on the road several months out of the year and performing at a high-caliber took its toll on him. What really had him unnerved was the pressure of the entertainment business.
Del Rosario said he went on several meetings with mainstream network executives but didn’t like what he heard.
They criticized my appearance. They told me I had to change my look. I had to look a certain way and they were just criticizing everything about me, he said.
“Things were going so well,” he said. “I had the same manager as George Lopez. I did the first Laffapalooza with Mike Epps, I was interviewing with networks things were going so well, a lot of things were happening but …it just didn’t mesh well so I told myself I’m going to take a few months off, take a break for a while and that break lasted 10 years.”
When asked if the pressures of Hollywood got to him, he said, “I wouldn’t say the pressure got to me but the realism of Hollywood life got to me.
Del Rosario said he’s now able to better handle those kinds of criticism.
“I think being 10 years older than what I was back then and just dealing with life in general, I think I’m definitely more prepared,” he said. “Back then, I was little more sensitive. I took criticism to heart. Now, I realize there are people out there that have their own agendas and their thoughts and opinions and it shouldn’t change what you do as a person but at the same time it’s sometimes good to hear what they are saying, reflect on it but don’t let it change you.”
During his 10-year absence from comedy, Del Rosario got married and had two children. He founded two home décor businesses, became a professional kickboxer, authored a children’s book (Kids and Their Quirks: Poems We Can All Relate To) and occasionally, did motivational speaking.
Del Rosario said he’s glad he took the break. He has more material for his comedy shows now.
“The difference in my comedy then and now is that I’ve lived my life 10 more years,” he said. “I was able to experience so many things. I’m able to talk about my family, my kids and things around me. Back then, I was just considered an urban comedian.”
But are there any regrets? Sometimes Hollywood gives you only one chance to make it.
“If I was at the point in my life that I wasn’t happy or that I didn’t have a fantastic life, then sure, I’ll say, yeah I regret it but the truth is I have two businesses, I have a wife and two kids… the way my life turned out I’m blessed with the way things are now,” he said.
“You know, let’s say I did stay with the [entertainment] business back then, you never know. I could have gotten a pilot for a TV show, maybe shoot four episodes, [and network executives] never pick it up [for more episodes] and then you may have never heard of me again.
I think it was a great decision for me. I think my comedy is much better than it used to be.”
Now, when Del Rosario hears opportunity knocks, he’ll be ready to open the door.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek Mar 30-April 1, 2011 MDWK pg. 2)
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