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As far as showbiz personalities go, comedian Joey De Leon needs no introduction. His career spans half a century, starting out as a radio DJ in the ‘60s before becoming one-third of the Tito-Vic-Joey triumvirate on “Discorama,” “Student Canteen,” “Iskul Bukol,” and eventually, “Eat Bulaga!” in 1979. As a solo artist, Joey has been making movies, composing and recording hit songs, and hosting various shows since the ‘80s.
The incredible longevity of “Eat Bulaga!” seems to go hand-in-hand with that of Joey’s career. Even when the plethora of entertainment choices evolved from free-to-air to cable TV to streaming services like Netflix, “Eat Bulaga!” has outlasted many competitors over the past 41 years to become one of the longest-running shows in the world, with franchises in Indonesia and Myanmar.
The 74-year-old entertainer has been a part of Filipinos’ lives for all this time. And yet, there is one side to him that hasn’t been as visible: Joey De Leon the painter.
“Call me a ‘playnter.’ I paint and I play,” he says at the start of our Zoom call. It is half past two in the afternoon, and Joey just has finished hosting “Eat Bulaga!” from his living room. He’s seated around some of his artworks, arranged by his wife Eileen who is seated just off-camera across him to assist. In the nearly one year that he’s been staying home as a COVID-19 precaution, this nook has been functioning as Joey’s studio, both for his TV work and his painting.
“Hindi ako yung typical artist na nagpe-paint,” Joey continues. “I play when I paint. Ba’t hindi mo sasabihing naglalaro? Minsan naka-briefs ka lang o socks, hindi ka pa naliligo, tapos nag-e-enjoy ka.”
Joey De Leon has been painting more than ever at home during the quarantine.
Of the paintings he completed while in quarantine, 29 are on display at the Finale Art File gallery in Makati until March 5, for his exhibit titled “Joey De Leon In The House! Art… Work From Home.” It’s his first solo show, but he’s been painting and even joining group exhibits since the 1980s.
“Sumasama lang ako kasi marami akong ginagawa,” Joey says. “There was a time anim ‘yung shows ko, eh. Ngayon, semi-retired na ‘ko, ‘Eat Bulaga!’ na lang.” Of course, a daily live program and its corollary obligations can still take up a considerable amount of time, so it wasn’t until the lockdowns began that he was able to paint consistently again.
“Mahilig na ako talaga, maliit pa lang ako,” he says of visual arts. “Gumagawa ako ng comics, nagdo-drawing ako puro stick figures. Naging cartoonist din ako, ‘di ba, sa Inquirer for quite a long time, saka sa ibang tabloid at diyaryo.” Joey also took up Architecture in National University before his comedic and writing talents led to career-making opportunities in television.
But if TV were his wife, art would be Joey’s mistress. “‘Yung hilig ko, hindi nawawala ‘yan. ‘Pag nagbibiyahe kami, nakalista agad sa ‘kin ‘yung city tour at saka museum,” he says. “Doon kami, ‘pati libingan nu’ng artists kung mayroon. Kaya nakita ko na ‘yung libingan nina [Marc] Chagall (a Russian-French artist), kung sino-sino pa.”
Local galleries and art shops were also his top choice for an after-work hang. “Umiistambay ako ‘pag walang ‘Eat Bulaga.’ Nu’ng araw, bahay-gallery-’Bulaga’ lang ako. Sine, hindi ako mahilig, eh. Ganu’n lang.”
Joey De Leon was a longtime friend of the late National Artists Ang Kiukok, whose works remain in his collection.
From these frequent visits, Joey formed friendships with prominent Filipino artists, including Hugo Yonzon and Ang Kiukok. “Ewan ko kung yabang ‘yung sasabihin ko pero ‘yung ibang artists, sa tuwa sa ‘kin, binibigyan ako,” he says. “So nagkaroon ako ng artwork nu’ng mga master.”
He would eventually pick up the brush himself — “Makiki-paint ako or naka-istambay sa bahay nila” — and do interaction artworks (a collaborative effort where two artists interpret the same theme and interact on the same canvass). His first group exhibit in 1985 featured interactions with Kiukok and other masters such as Malang and Onib Olmedo. It would not be until 2009 before Joey would have the time for another collaborative exhibit with journalist and painter Igan D’Bayan.
Joey and his family grew particularly close with Kiukok, and they remained good friends until the artist passed away in 2005. “Ako nga lang nakapagpalabas sa movie sa kanya,” he says, referring to “Romeo Loves Juliet,” a 1989 movie Joey directed. “Biruin mo National Artist natin, napalabas ko ‘dun, eh mahiyain ‘yun!”
Over the years, he continued to nurture his passion by collecting art pieces from other masters like National Artist BenCab, and of course, by painting his own.
When asked whether he would consider his art style to be inspired by Ang Kiukok’s expressionism, Joey self-effacingly brushes it off: “Wala, wala. ‘Joeyism.’ Basta may pumasok sa isip ko. Although puwede mong sabihin na yan ang signature ko. Numbers.”
His fertile mind is perhaps Joey’s most valuable asset, always replete with wordplays and impromptu punchlines. Unsurprisingly, his paintings all bear his trademark wit. “Joeyism,” as it turns out, is the most apt description for his unique style: equal parts childlike in playfulness and irrevent in humor. “Siguro dahil October-born ako. Libra. Balance,” he says, gesturing out a scale with his hands. “Extremes ako, eh. Kung hindi religious, sacrilegious.”
Indeed, his collection for “Joey In The House!” ranges from pandemic-themed to biblical to delightfully off-color. But after 50 years on TV, Joey says, he has mastered the art of toeing the line. “Puro patawa lang, pa-cute, pa-enjoy. Alam mo na mag-self-censorship, eh.” Especially since he paints for the sheer happiness of it, and putting out content that can potentially offend or provoke anyone would be going the other way. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Speaking of censorship, he recalls a time when he got suspended for something another person said on air: “Siya ‘yung nagsabi ng kapilyuhan, sa ‘kin pumutok dahil ako ang kausap. Ako ang record holder sa suspensions. Pero masaya ako,” says Joey. “Bakit? Du’n ko nabuo ‘yung ano ko, ‘An ounce of suspension is worth a pound of tour.’ Biyahe nang biyahe habang suspended. So enjoy ako.”
Joey tells more stories. About his days on “Student Canteen,” his subsequent transfer to “Eat Bulaga!” and how they managed to overtake the ratings of the most successful variety show of that time. About the time he paid a $400 fine in Czech Republic to avoid being jailed for trying to take home poker chips from a casino, which he likes to collect as travel mementos. About how much he has actually enjoyed quarantine life, despite missing traveling so much, because he gets to bond with his family over online masses and K-dramas (he mentions the Lee Min Ho starrers “The King: Eternal Monarch” and “Legend of the Blue Sea”).
In between stories, Eileen would chime in a with a hearty laugh and a polite reminder to stay on topic. “‘Pag na-touch kasi ‘yung interests niya, madaldal siya!” she says.
The conversation eventually shifts back to painting, particularly about the challenge of getting ordinary folk interested in art. “Kumbaga sa iba, pasosyal ‘yan. Ano ‘yan, elite,” Joey says. But he believes it can be done with the right approach. “‘Yung mga ginagawa ko, hindi ba, magugustuhan ng masa ‘yun?”
He relates it to how he came up with title “Eat Bulaga!” Producer Tony Tuviera was brainstorming with the writing staff for the title of the show, Joey happened to overhear them. “Hindi ako kasali. Nag-suggest lang ako. Eat, Ingles. Bulaga, Tagalog. ‘Pag pinagsama mo, may sense. ‘Yung sinasabi mo sa baby, ‘It… bulaga!’ Ano’ng surprise? Lunch, [while you] eat. Surprise at lunch. Pang-ABCDE.”
In the same way, Joey believes art shouldn’t have to reserved exclusively for certain types of people. “Parang singing ‘yan, eh. Lahat tayo naman marunong kumanta, iba-iba lang ang galing, iba-iba lang sa pandinig. May songs ng ibang bansa, nakukulili tayo, pero sa kanila maganda ‘yun. Ganu’n din ‘yun,” he says. “Lahat tayo puwedeng mag-paint. Expression ‘yan, eh, ng mata at isip mo about colors and shapes. Kaya ‘wag kayong matakot, do not be careful when you paint.”
In fact, Eileen recalls, Joey’s first brush with painting started with him just playing around: “Dati bumibili kami ng artworks sa Tagaytay, yung mga binebenta. Paggising ko sa umaga, nalagyan na niya ng bulaklak ‘yung mga bundok.”
Joey adds, “Nu’ng ‘80s tig-200 pesos ‘yung mga paintings, binebenta sa kalye. Pag-uwi umi-interact na ‘ko, dadagadagan ko na ng mga tutubi.”
This calls to mind the legendary Bob Ross, whose classic painting show taught millions of non-painter painters that there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. This week, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) kicked off National Arts Month, with the theme “Alab-sining, Alay-sigla” with the aim of harnessing Filipinos’ creative energies in uplifting the nation’s spirit, especially during this pandemic. In creating the pieces that would eventually come together for “Joey De Leon In The House! Art… Work From Home,” the artist inadvertently helps this cause, entertaining with his paintings as with his comedy.
“Pare-pareho tayong tao. Kaniya-kaniya ‘yan, nasa gusto mong iparating sa mensahe, du’n sa titingin,” Joey says. “Mag-paint po tayo, paint and play. ‘Playnting.’ Basta nae-enjoy mo, okay na yun. More than enough. •
The “Joey De Leon In The House! Art… Work From Home” exhibit runs from February 11 to March 5, 2021 at Finale Art File, 2241 Chino Roces Ave. Makati. Open Mondays-Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
