Just Between Us

by Mario Lopez

  After Dominic arrived, we celebrated as only our Mexican and Italian families know how to do: with lots of excuses to get together, naturally.

  We don’t do traditional baby showers; we do what we call the Sip and See, which is nothing like a baby shower. In a Sip and See, you come, you have drinks, you sip, and you see the baby. It’s more of a party atmosphere. And instead of asking for gifts, we ask for donations to a charity. Both Mazza and I are all set and there are many people in the world who don’t have their basic necessities met. We like to use events like our wedding or the birth of our kids to give back to people who truly need a little help—as well as getting a chance for Gia and Nico to grow up surrounded by all the relatives.

  Mazza and I try to celebrate the little moments with our kids too. There is nothing better than when I wake up in the morning to the sound of six-month-old Dominic babbling or when I hear Gia’s little feet running down the steps and her voice calling, “Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!” Oh, and to see those big smiles and how they’re so full of life and energy. It just melts my heart. You can’t help but be in a good mood. And when they hug you, when they look you in the eye and say, “I love you, Daddy,” I’d do anything.

  It’s just unbelievable. And I don’t take any of it for granted. I can’t imagine life BC—before children. Where would I be without the posse that awaits me when I walk through the front door at the end of the day and hear my daughter say, “Daddy’s home!” She runs to me and jumps in my arms as Mazza, Nico in her arms, hurries in for our group hug. Then no matter what kind of day I’ve had, no matter what stress I’ve gone through, no matter what’s happened, it makes it all better when I have all those arms wrapped around me. That makes it all worth it. That’s why I want to work hard, stay focused, and do the right thing for my kids, for my family. And that’s why I pray to be able to be the best husband, best father, best provider, and best me that I can be.

  • • •

  So how does the balancing act happen on a daily basis? Being the face of entertainment news is a weighty role to play and, not surprisingly, the pace can be pretty hectic. You know by now that I’ve never shied away from hard work or sleep deprivation when it’s part of the job description. But with my young family at home, I try harder than ever to stay balanced. Depending on whether I’m going out for a run or not, I wake up around six, give or take, and have breakfast with my family, always, because they’re the most important part of my life and I usually don’t see them until the end of the day. Mazza and I put Dominic on the kitchen island on a blanket or in his little cradle thing so he can be with us as we eat. He’ll stare at us like we’re aliens and sometimes we can get him to smile. We give quick hugs and kisses around the table and then I’m out the door by eight a.m.

  My first stop most days is Universal Studios Hollywood for a couple of hours behind the microphone of my nationally syndicated radio show, ON With Mario Lopez. I work with two smart young producers on the show. Think Beavis and Butt-head, but cleaner. I’m the elder statesman of the group. They keep me young and hip with their snarky and irreverent zingers.

  The show is currently number one in LA and in all the major markets for its time slot. I’m proud that we’re doing so well and it’s probably the one job where I am most free to be me. The great thing about radio is there’s such an intimacy when it’s just you and the microphone. I get to have a real conversation with America and talk about who I am—Mario, the person—and give my point of view on things. I talk about real stories that are going on between me and my wife, me and my kids, me and the rest of my family, and what’s going on with my other jobs. We also discuss celebrities, pop culture, and current events. We cover it all. The best part is that I get to give my personal viewpoint, unfiltered.

  I have tons of guests on the show too—a plethora of colorful characters from the world of sports, entertainment, and music. I’ve had Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jenny McCarthy, Will Ferrell, Kim Kardashian, and Britney Spears in the studio. I’ve had Snooki from Jersey Shore and even Mike Tyson on the air with me. Mike Tyson is great because he has that voice that anyone listening instantly recognizes. Brave comedians like to imitate his voice, and I don’t blame them, because it’s so unique with that lisp and that Brooklyn accent. “Hey, Mario. How you doin’? Are you still gettin’ in the ring and beatin’ up people, knockin’ ’em out?” If you’re thinking of mocking his voice, don’t forget that he hasn’t forgotten how to fight.

  When celebrities like Julia Roberts or Arnold Schwarzenegger come on, I try to create that unfiltered free flow that reminds me of all the family gatherings in my upbringing. It’s early in the morning but we’re able to get the party going with topics and anecdotes as opposed to going down a list of bulleted talking points. Julia has the best, most infectious laugh around and she can be chatty or serious. She’s smart, funny, and obviously talented and beautiful. We might talk about how she got her first break in the biz or what she does to keep balance between her work and her family life. You can’t see it on the radio, but when I joke around and tease, Julia gets this playful look in her eye likes she’s up to no good. Arnold Schwarzenegger also has the ability to be really funny and also serious. His journey as an entrepreneur is an endless source of fascination to me and I also like that he can make fun of his accent—even making fun of himself by repeating jokes from Saturday Night Live, with phrases like “Pump you up!” and “Don’t be a girly man!”

  Once my radio gig had taken off, the powers that be wanted me to expand and asked for a female voice to enter the fold. I tried out many different female voices, all of them wonderful and all of them veterans of the radio world yet none had the right sass to keep the banter going with me. Well, when it comes to sass, I mean, who better than my wife, right?

  Coincidentally, I used to bring my wife in now and then to help out, primarily because I’d always be referring to her on the show: “So, last night my wife was giving me a hard time about not stealing the covers. Tell me if I’m wrong . . .” The fans spoke and I listened. The female audience really responded when Courtney chimed in. Plus, Courtney aka Mazza is not just my wife. She’s also incredibly funny, clever, and only too happy to give me a hard time. Not to mention, she has a very soothing radio voice.

  There was no question. Mazza was the one. Although I wasn’t sure what would happen when I pitched the idea: “What if my wife came in here for a couple of days a week and we recorded some segments together?” The Clear Channel folks loved the idea and my producers love her. So now she is my female cohost. I admit, as much as I love my wife and as much fun as we have doing the show together, I wrestled with the idea for a while. I was initially reluctant because I’ve heard horror stories of couples trying to work together. Dick Clark always used to say, “You want the quickest way to get a divorce? Work with your wife.” But we’re not any couple; we’re us. We’ll be just fine.

  And that’s the radio show. Luckily, Universal Studios is like ground zero for me. As long as outside meetings or other assignments don’t call me away from the lot, most of my job destinations are either walking distance or just a golf cart ride away. So, much of the time, immediately after the radio show I head straight to where we shoot Extra and go into hair and makeup. Then I’m off to go “track,” which means I have to record voice-over pieces that will air along with the interviews on the show.

  Doing voice-over is a skill I’ve mastered through years of trial and error. I am required to be enthusiastic, know which words to stress, and make sure I read at the correct speed. Sections of the script have times on them. For example, above the line “Jennifer Lawrence was in Las Vegas last week promoting her new film American Hustle” would be written the time of 2:30. That means I have to read it in exactly 2.5 seconds. Not 1.9 or 2.15—it has to be 2.5 seconds on the nose. Betty, our soft-spoken but perfectionist sound engineer, will scream, “No—I need it a half second slower!” or “Speed it up one second, Mario.” I�
��ve gotten used to making those precise corrections and can normally hit my mark within one or two tries.

  The big task after voice-overs is starting to do the actual show by shooting the various wraps. “Wrap” is short for “wraparound.” Think of them as nice rubber bands that keep the story compact and easily understood. The wraps are the introductions to the interviews that we air on the show and are often staged at different locations at Universal. Either I run on foot to where I’m needed for the wrap or I hop in a golf cart and get there in time to be mic’d up and ready for camera.

  On an average day, I’ll do three to four interviews with different celebrities. Often, the celebrities will request me specifically. So I get the brunt of the interviews, usually about 95 percent. That means I have to do the interviews and I have to do the wraps that go with them. Meanwhile, I am running back and forth to finish updating and completing other pieces for my radio show. So I’ll go from three to four, sometimes five interviews with Extra during the day, to another two or three interviews for my radio show. I’ve literally had eight to nine interviews in one day by the time it’s all said and done.

  My go time that I love is shooting with a live audience at Universal. Most of the people who come to watch us tape and stand in the background are tourists. They’re always friendly and provide great energy to all of us working on set. Plus, they get to see some of their favorite stars close up, and they get to see themselves on TV.

  One of the things I love most about Extra is the family atmosphere we enjoy behind the scenes. There are hundreds of people who work at Extra and make it run like clockwork. We tease one another mercilessly and I can take it as well as give it out—thanks to the cast of characters I’m lucky enough to work with each day. The teasing normally involves someone’s hairstyle or the way they’re dressed. Tuddy gets the brunt of it because he dresses like a gangster from Goodfellas and is a straight male makeup artist. We are not above pranking either—prank phone calls on one another, you name it. All in jest.

  After my on-set work is done, I get a short break. I try to carve out some time to get a little workout in every day. That’s when I’ll drive off to the boxing gym. I’ll wash off the makeup—there’s no way I’m going to a boxing gym in that. Then I’ll spar. Why not mix up my workout and a break from the demands of the day to destress? It makes me feel better and boosts my energy for what’s left on the work agenda.

  After returning to Universal, I’ll go do whatever interview I have lined up for my NUVO show, Mario Lopez One on One, which is sort of my version of Oprah’s Next Chapter. The show specifically focuses on the Latino world and has given me the chance to interview some great guests—everyone from George Lopez to Eva Longoria and Adrian Gonzalez to Carlos Santana. Like the radio show, the NUVO show allows me to go beyond the script and be myself in conversation about both entertaining and serious questions.

  Depending on the day of the week or whether or not I’m in the awards season whirlwind, work may include proceeding to the evening’s destination for any guest hosting or judging on my docket. Sometimes these assignments come up last minute and I have to be ready to roll. But never fear, all of that is conveyed dutifully by my tireless, polished assistant, Lisa Blas, who has to keep all things Mario in her brain at all times. She is amazing and keeps me focused and on time, providing the address and location and phone numbers of everyone involved, all the point people, and what the traffic is like getting there. Lisa also coordinates with the rest of Team Lopez who aren’t at Universal, as meetings and phone calls arise that I need to take.

  When I don’t have work scheduled in the evenings, before calling it a day, I try to use the time to catch up on other projects that allow me to push myself further as a host and an entrepreneur. I’m humbled to say that the flow and balance of my career is exactly where I like it to be. Careers rise and fall based on how well you manage them. That’s why I’m glad I have Mark Schulman; he’s been my manager for over ten years. A lot of people don’t really need a manager, but he’s done a nice job in helping me facilitate logistics with all the projects I’ve got going on. So I run all of my business decisions by him. I probably talk to him more than anyone else, three or four times a day.

  One of the new projects I’m excited about is a cartoon, The Chica Show, for kids to watch, including my own Gia and Nico. I also just got a deal with Telepictures. Other TV projects are in the works with my production company, Viamar. “Via” is the last part of my mom’s name, and “Mar” is the first part of mine. Elvia, Mario—so, Viamar, which also means “by the sea.” It does seem fitting that Mom gets a shout-out in the company name. After all, she had the plan for me from the start.

  When I am asked about balancing work with family, the easy answer is: I just do it. I work at balance as a priority. Though every minute of the day is accounted for, I never forget that my roles as husband and dad come before all the others. That’s why I make a point to have breakfast with Mazza and the kids before leaving in the morning and, most of the time, finish up and make my way home around seven p.m., usually in time to have dinner with my family, and, best of all, be there to tuck the kids in with Mazza.

  How I got so lucky, I don’t know but I’ve never been happier, personally or professionally, than I am at this very moment. I love my family, I’m blessed with a great woman in my life; she’s an amazing wife and just a fantastic mom. My parents are still with me. One set of grandparents is still with me. What a joy it is to have them watching Gia and Dominic come into the world and thrive.

  It’s true: I love what I do for a living. But I’m happiest when I’m with the people I care most about, my family and my friends, drinking, being festive, having lots of food, and being in the comfort of our home. Simple. Yes, I have so much to be thankful for, including the company that you’ve given me as fans over the years as we grew up together and as I’ve recalled the journey to this place in time—which brings me full circle and leads me to the parting thoughts that follow.

  ENCORE

  JUST BETWEEN US

  Over the course of writing this book, I had a few occasions to go for a hike or run at Griffith Park again. Each time I passed the “You Are Here” sign, I realized that I was no longer getting ready to turn forty but that I would soon turn forty-one, right around the time that Dominic turns one. As much as thinking about the past has helped me make sense of how I got here, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the future.

  You can never tell what the future holds and, quite frankly, no matter what I plan, the future will unfold as it will. I think the future is more like a river that meanders and is sometimes fast, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, and sometimes empties into a huge lake before carrying on. I think turning forty was sort of like my big lake. I’ll rest here a minute, take in the sights, and then venture off into the next chapter of my life. This was never where I thought I’d be long ago—that’s for sure—so I’ll just let the next leg of the journey be an adventure and surprise me.

  Still, at this age, living in our complicated times, we start to ask ourselves deeper questions about life: What was I put on the planet for? What is my purpose?

  Everybody goes through a point in their life where they try to find out not only the meaning of life but their meaning within life. I’m at that stage now. I got to that point and I turned more to spirituality for answers than to science fiction. Right or wrong, spirituality gives me comfort; it gives me strength, and I’ve tried to build on that spiritual muscle as I’ve gotten older. At the end of the day, I know I’m here for a finite amount of time and I try to be the best person I can by doing the right things and hoping the best can happen for me and my family. I’d rather live my life as if there is a God, and if I die and find out there isn’t, fine.

  I’ve had occasion to contemplate death over the years. I’ve lost friends and family members much too young and I want to believe that their loss has made me value life more. Am I afraid of dyi
ng and do I know what death is? Yes and no.

  I try to focus my thoughts and energy on living and I always have given life my undivided attention.

  Why worry? After all, I plan to live until I’m one hundred and twenty years old, so I guess I can think about death when I’m eighty or ninety. I want to take care of myself and I want to live as long as I can. I have every intention of embracing medicine and all the wonderful things that it has to offer if it will keep me alive and healthy.

  Age is truly just a number. My advice to myself and to you too: avoid thinking you have to act your age. Be mature and responsible, but feel free to act sixty at twenty years old and act twelve at forty, and so on.

  If I’ve learned anything from taking the time to look back and retrace my footsteps back to the past and to return here to the present and the “You Are Here” sign, I realize that having a sense of purpose is vital. What drives me every day is bigger than me and mine. It’s about empowering others in general and about shaking up the Latino business community to do more for each other. In show business, the African-American community has shown how this can be done: by being proactive and supporting one another’s work and creating jobs for one another. In the past, the Latino community in Hollywood has not been as cohesive nor sought the kind of unity needed to gain better representation in the various entertainment arenas.

  Latinos, I sometimes find, have a little success and then separate themselves from their other Latino friends in the business. I don’t know where that separation comes from—whether it’s the machismo thing, pride, or hunger—but it can come across as an attitude of “You know what? I got mine; good luck getting yours.” We could do well to follow the lead of other groups that support one another, like the Jewish community or the African-American community; these groups have been able to rise together while looking out for one another. We need to come together and help employ our own as well.