While mere mention of Eat Bulaga! instantly brings to mind veteran comedians Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon, the show owes much of its enduring success to Antonio P. Tuviera
A co-owner of Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE), which produces Eat Bulaga!, he is simply Tony to friends and loved ones.
Preferring to be low-key, Tony has been quietly on the forefront of the show since it debuted on July 30, 1979.
Typical of the man to shun attention for his part in steering Eat Bulaga! towards becoming the longest-running noontime show in the country.
He said in one interview posted on the YouTube channel Direk Oslec, “I want the program to be remembered.
“I think that it’s the only program in the television industry that has lasted for more than 40 years, so hindi ako, it’s the program.
“I only did what I had to do, and I was enjoying my job immensely, and, on top of that, I was earning from it.
“There was no day that I could say that I was working because I was really enjoying.”
Currently, Eat Bulaga! is in the middle of a controversy.
Reports have it that a power struggle within the organization is threatening to shake up the program that Tony has nurtured for four decades.
At the center of the issue is the purported removal of Tony from the show’s day-to-day operations to give way to the children of former Congressman Romeo Jalosjos, the other owner of TAPE Inc.
READ: Eat Bulaga relaunching, nakatakda sa April 17?
READ: Tito Sotto reacts to rumored goings-on in Eat Bulaga!: Who says we're splitting?
The man always has been a steadying presence throughout all the show's ups and downs over many years, but, now, he himself is caught in the eye of the storm.
Is Tony stepping back, what now? What he said in a previous interview may give an idea how his mind works in the face of crisis.
He said then, “Success is more of a journey. It is a continuous thing, and it has lots of ups and downs. But I cannot complain.
“If you will ask me now, would you like to go through it again? Certainly, I’d go through the whole thing again anytime because, to me, it was an enjoyable journey.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I’m looking forward to more years in the industry.”
Get to know more about Tony Tuviera, the man whose vision shaped Eat Bulaga!
LETRANISTA
Tony attended high school at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila.
The school established and unveiled the Antonio Tuviera Professorial Chair in Communication during the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Institute of Communication’s Excellence in 2016 held at Sofitel.
The endowment fund aims to strengthen the school's program by helping equip Communication students with the know-how and training to broaden their knowledge.
Remarked Tony during the ceremony, “I am humbled to be part of Letran’s continuing efforts in [getting] the best faculty.
"It is my hope that this [endowment]…will break new grounds in innovative teaching in Communication arts."
MADE FOR PRODUCTION WORK
Born on February 6, 1952, Tony as a young man was naturally drawn to production and entertainment work.
He cut his teeth on film editing at IBC 13 network.
He also did scoring and audio-visual presentations to earn money to support his family.
SPEARHEADING A CULTURAL ICON
Also known as Mr. T, he was working for the Romy Jalosjos-owned Production Specialists Inc. when the idea of a new noontime show to be aired on Radio Philippines Network (RPN) came up.
It was Tony who thought of tapping the funny trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon to host the planned show, which eventually became Eat Bulaga!
Tony met with Tito, Vic, and Joey at the InterContinental Manila parking lot to pitch the planned program to the trio, who accepted the offer.
According to Malou Choa-Fagar, TAPE Inc. chief operating officer and Eat Bulaga! producer, the show went through growing pains and its success did not come overnight for the then-fledgling program.
She said in a 2019 exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), “It was struggling for years, matagal na panahon na, siguro mga 10 years.
“Kahit na natalo na namin ang Student Canteen, ang ratings, one time lang naman kasi monthly lang ang ratings noon, e.
"Kahit na natalo na namin, it was still hard. Siyempre kung network, siyempre madaling ibenta. Kaya lang kasi kami, blocktimer.
"We’re the only block timer that’s existing [at the time]. Wala nang iba. Ayun.
“So, we we’re struggling, hindi kami sumusuweldo.”
Tony, meanwhile, credited the success of Eat Bulaga! mainly to the trust of viewers and partners it earned over time.
He said, “I don’t think Eat Bulaga! would last this long if not for the trust of the audience, the advertisers.
“I think that is very much the key, the trust of everybody.”
FORMING TAPE
In line with the conceptualization of Eat Bulaga!, Tony and Romy incorporated TAPE in 1978 with the trio of Tito, Vic, and Joey as co-founders.
Aside from Eat Bulaga, TAPE Inc. has co-produced other memorable shows, such as the drama anthology Coney Reyes on Camera, the comedy sitcom Okay Ka, Fairy Ko, and the drama series Daisy Siete top-billed by the SexBomb Girls.
APT ENTERTAINMENT
The year 1994 saw the founding of APT Entertainment, a subsidiary of TAPE Inc.
APT stands for Antonio P. Tuviera, and is involved in the business of production, co-production, and distribution.
Just some of the films produced by APT include episodes for Shake, Rattle & Roll, and the Metro Manila Film Festival blockbuster Enteng Kabisote franchise.
Currently, APT Entertainment is the team behind the sitcom Daddy’s Gurl that airs on GMA-7.
Said Tony in a profile interview uploaded on YouTube, “I don’t consider myself as a manager or anything like that.”
For him, nothing beats the joy of fleshing out ideas and watching the end results unfold.
As he put it, "It's seeing what you sort of imagine and saying to yourself, 'If I have more time, maybe, it would have been better.'"
FAMILY MAN
Tony has been married for 52 years to Madz Tuviera.
Their marriage is blessed with two children: Celeste and Michael.
As a father, Tony described himself as the encouraging type and gave his kids the leeway to pursue their passions in life.
“I never told them what to take up in college,” Tony said in an interview.
He continued, “All I told then was that you look for something that you would really enjoy.”
True enough, his kids following their chosen paths have become successful in their own right.
Celeste, who finished Interdisciplinary Studies at the De La Salle University, became a hairstylist after attending the prestigious Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica, California.
Her celebrity clients include Maine Mendoza, Pauleen Luna, Alden Richards, and the mother-daughter tandem of Marian Rivera and Zia Dantes,
His son Michael, or Mike, is into filmmaking.
Tony noticed Mike's artistic eye as early as when the boy was eight years old.
Story has it that Tony was impressed by Mike's photos of buildings while they were on a holiday in Hong Kong.
Mike studied at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, becoming the first Filipino citizen to be accepted into the program.
Some of the films that Mike did include Txt, Super Inday and the Golden Bibe, and Imagine You & Me.
His action-thriller 2014 film The Janitor would clinch Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound, and Best Editing at the Cinemalaya Film Festival.