Alec Mapa

Alejandro Mapa, a Filipino-American, got his professional break as "'Alec Mapa' (qv)" when he was cast to understudy, and then succeed 'BD Wong' (qv) in the Broadway production of 'M. Butterfly'. Mapa later played the role on the national tour. Mapa would return to Broadway in an adaptation of 'L'Hôtel du libre échange' by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières, re-titled, 'A Little Hotel on the Side', in 1992.The next year, Mapa was back on Broadway in a Stratford Festival inspired production of Timon of Athens. Off-Broadway, Mapa earned a nomination at the 2001 Lucille Lortel 'Awards' (qv) for his performance in the Jessica Hagedorn play Dogeaters, and was featured in every play in the 'Whitelands' trilogy, a series of plays about gay Asian men written by Chay Yew: 'Porcelain' (1992), 'A Language of Their Own' (1995), and 'Wonderland' (1999). On television, he has made guest appearances on a wide variety of programs, including _The Jamie Foxx Show (1996)_ (qv), _Roseanne (1988)_ (qv), _Seinfeld (1989)_ (qv), _NYPD Blue (1993)_ (qv), _Heartland (2007)_ (qv), _Friends (1994)_ (qv), _Murder One (1995)_ (qv), _Law & Order (1990)_ (qv), _Holding the Baby (1998)_ (qv), and _Dharma & Greg (1997)_ (qv). He had a recurring role on _Desperate Housewives (2004)_ (qv) and a featured role in the short-lived 2001 comedy _Some of My Best Friends (2001)_ (qv). He played Adam Benet in the UPN comedy _Half & Half (2002)_ (qv).He wrote and performed in a one-man play, 'I Remember Mapa', about his experiences growing up gay in San Francisco. Mapa was a featured performer on the Logo original stand-up comedy series Wisecrack. In 2006 appeared as Vern, Gabrielle's personal shopper, on the TV series Desperate Housewives. He had a recurring role on the 2006-10 series _Ugly Betty (2006)_ (qv) as "Suzuki St. Pierre", the flamboyant host of a fictional gossip and news show (who, it is revealed, is actually a straight-and married-journalist named Byron Wu). He performed the voice of Rick's flamboyantly gay uncle, Bakla, on the 2007-09 animated series, _Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World (2007)_ (qv).Mapa's film credits include _Bright Lights, Big City (1988)_ (qv), _Playing by Heart (1998)_ (qv), _Connie and Carla (2004)_ (qv), and _Marley & Me (2008)_ (qv), among others. He was featured in the movies _Super Sweet 16: The Movie (2007)_ (qv) and _Tru Loved (2008)_ (qv). He played a hair stylist in _You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)_ (qv). In 2008, Mapa hosted Logo's reality dating program _Transamerican Love Story (2008)_ (qv), in which transgender producer and actress 'Calpernia Addams' (qv) selected from eight potential suitors. That same year, Mapa also hosted _Dancing with Dogs (2008)_ (qv) on Animal Planet.Mapa also performed on the 2009 Atlantis Freedom Caribbean Cruise headlining in the Arcadia Theater. In 2010, he became one of the co-hosts of Logo's _The Gossip Queens (2010)_ (qv), a daily series in which he helps present celebrity gossip. In his act, he jokes that he is sometimes confused with 'Rex Lee' (qv), who played Lloyd on the HBO dramedy _Entourage (2004)_ (qv).::alecmapaperson