JOSE AND WALLY RECALL HUMBLE BEGINNINGS OF COMEDIC TANDEM 24 YEARS AGO

JOSE MANALO AND WALLY BAYOLA COULDN'T BELIEVE - they've been a comedic duo for close to 25 years now. As they say, time flies when you're having fun.

- NATHALIE TOMADA

 

They first met via "Eat Bulaga" where initially, Wally worked as a jester, entertaining audiences before the noontime program would go live, while Jose served as the floor director and audition master.

It was Jose and Wally themselves who discovered their "chemistry" after they were included in an out-of-town corporate gig to host an event featuring "Eat Bulaga's" Sexbomb Dancers, who were at the height of their popularity at that time.

"After that, sabi ni Jose mag-practice na tayo, baka mamaya bigla tayong... Pumunta kayo sa ano, mag-show kayo sa ganyan," recalled Wally during his and Jose's recent exclusive interview with The STAR.

So, Jose began producing small shows in small bars to hone and fine-tune their comedic performance. His previous experience being offered to host at Allan K's comedy bars also allowed him to study and observe how gay stand-up comedians connected better with audiences compared to male counterparts who sometimes offended crowd members. Armed with this observation, he told Wally that they needed to "practice" to make sure this would not happen with their audiences.

"So, kahit maliit na show lang sa maliliit na bar sa may Malate... nagpo-produce kami. Konti lang puhunan, siguro mga sampung piso lang ata hahaha," said Jose.

Wally noted that Jose had a KTV business where they would also rehearse their song numbers. They would source jokes from everyday conversations and things they would see on the road or on the way to work.

"Dun na nag-start then dire-diretso an Bigayan kami. Bigayan ng joke. Nagkakagamayan na kaming dalawa," Jose added.