AMAPOLA NOW A TV STAR IN HAWAII
SHOW BUZZER MAGAZINE
Herbert L. Vego
When Amapola left the Philippines for a roadshow
tour of Hawaii last May, she also bade a temporary goodbye to a just
blooming career as a local television star. She was a mainstay of three
highly rated ABS-CBN Productions: "Wild Wild Wow", "Stop Look Listen" and
"The Sensations". After she moved out of her ABS-CBN shows she was
immediately contracted by Channel 5 to guest on "Helen of Songs" and by
Channel 9 who teamed her up with Carmen Soriano in "Carmen in Color".
One of the activities she surely missed during her
first months in Hawaii was the almost daily shuttle to television barns and
the glow, spirit and excitement inherent in TV productions. In her postcards
and letters to friends and associates, she openly confessed homesickness for
the glaring TV lights and focused cameras. How she wished she could work on
TV shows again, she rued.
Well, she did not have to wish very long. Last
July, right after she was contracted to do a one month show by the world
famous Kahala Hlton (reputedly one of the five best resorts in the world),
she landed a contract to appear on KHON Channel 2 color television in
Hawaii. Her contract called for her to sing at least three numbers every
Sunday and her first show was aired last July 16.
Her show has been very successful so far and the
producers are very pleased wtih the reaction they have been getting from the
growing number of viewers that have increased tremendously ever since she
joined the show, especially among the Filipino residents in Hawaii.
Faustino Respicio, the producer and host of the
show has heaped praises on Amapola's expertise as a TV performer. She
projects very well on TV and credits her good performance from the vast
experience she earned as a developed thespian on our own Philippine
circuits.
Her television work has not been limited to the
Sunday show. After the July 16 viewing of her program, producers of other
shows also guested her as a singer. Last August 9 she was main guest on the
Chanel 4 KHVH Don Robbs Show, Hawaii's number one live program. On KIKU's
Channel 13 "Sariling Atin" program where she appeared as a special guest
last June 12 she sang her latest local hits "Speak Softly Love" "Without
You" and "Cherry Blossoms" written by Jose Mari Chan. Though her "Sariling
Atin" show was video taped in black and white, it is one of her best
appearances so far. This video tape has been replayed every Saturday for the
past six weeks, establishing a record of sorts in Hawaii, since this had
never been done in the past, according to the show's producer Peter Ramos.
As a result of her television exposure over almost
all the major channels in Hawaii, Amapola has become a very popular TV
personality in that Pacific paradise. She is rated next only to Don Robbs
himself and Danny Kaleikini.
Her stock as a TV star will be boosted further soon
because the Toyota distributors of Hawaii are now mulling a proposal to
sponsor a one hour twice monthly Amapola Special which is tentatively billed
for production and viewing on the last week of August. This, plus the fact
that she is the only Philippine entertainer who has even been contracted to
guest on Hawaiian TV as a regular performer will establish Amapola as the
Philippine TV star in the U.S.
