Don Ho, who would have been 92 tomorrow (Saturday Aug. 13), will be remembered in a day-long birthday celebration at the International Marketplace in Waikiki.
Ho, who died on April 14, 2007 at age 76, is Hawaii’s best known Hawaiian entertainer. He headlined at Duke Kahanamoku’s, the legendary nightclub where he launched his journey to global fame; the long-gone club was located a stone’s throw away from where a statue of Ho now stands.
Dwight Ho, one of Don’s son and often the spokesman for the family, said he and his wife will attend dad’s birthday event, likely with other siblings. But he noted in an email, “As much as the microphone and I don’t like each other, it somehow ends up in my hand,” referring to the likely prospect of him addressing the expected gathering.
The remembrance celebration will begin at 10 a.m., with a lei-draping event at the statue site.
Other events tomorrow:
- 4 to 5 p.m., Henry Kapono and Friends will present a “Suck ‘em Up” tribute show at the Queen’s Court show space on the first floor at the marketplace.
- 5 to 7 p.m., a Don Ho archival photo installation ceremony.
- 11 p.m. to midnight, “Celebrating Uncle Don,” featuring Kimie Miner, at Moani Waikiki located on the third floor at the marketplace. …
A confession: I’ve shared birthday dinners with Uncle Don perhaps three times over the decades, when he was headlining at a Waikiki venue (you know, he started at Duke’s and has reigned at such other clubs as the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome, the Polynesian Palace, and the Waikiki Beachcomber, among others). The dinners were on a night-off for Ho, or a late after-a-show meal. In his later years he often ate sensibly, loved Chinese, and adored chit-chats with me and the late Frannie Kirk, an industry peer who often planned the birthday bites. Geez, they must be having a funfest in that great showplace in the skies. …
Remembering Dennis Carroll
Kumu Kahua Theatre is launching a philanthropic ticket honoring its founder, the late Dennis Carroll, throughout its 52nd season, from Aug. 25 this year through Aug. 2023.
In the spirit of the tenet of the director-playwriter-professor Carroll to make theater accessible to all, up to 10 free Dennis Carroll Memorial tickets will be available to those financially challenged to experience the performing arts.
Carroll was a professor emeritus of the University of Hawaii’s Department of Theatre and Dance, who died on Nov. 25, 2021, at age 81. So the memorial ticket campaign is timed to his passing. A related celebration of life is being planned this fall on the Manoa campus.
For information on the memorial tickets, call Kumu Kahua at (808) 536-4441 or visit www.KumuKahua.org …
Add these to the Zip tab
So the Zippy’s Senior Card is history, meaning no more 10 per cent discounts for the elderly, but the Zipster program accruing spending totals for rewards (open to all) has been launched at the Zippy’s restaurants.
But check your tab, my friends; there’s also a new “kitchen charge” to your tab now. Had a quick lunch at the Iwilei Zippy’s today, and a 51-cents (affordable for sure) charge was a newbie on the bill. Surely, it will be a higher fee with a larger purchase – a growing trend for eateries to add on a new dining tax to cover operational costs, a move initiated earlier by Romano’s Macaroni Grill, if you recall.
Also, I’ve received several “what?!” comments, when I earlier mentioned that Zippy’s add-o “sides “charge for three pieces of Spam is $8.10 with breakfast, but one eagle-eyed diner correctly mentions a slightly higher charge of $8.15 for three slides of bacon and a wad of corned beef hash. …
The forecast is Rain
Pearlridge Center celebrates five decades of service in Hawai‘i with a concert featuring Crossing Rain will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at Wai Makai’s second level at Pearlridge Center, which is marking its fifth decade of service. The local boy band will perform for shoppers and engage in a meet-and-greet until 8 p.m. Good op to see ‘em and do selfies, before they become global superstars. …
And that’s Show Biz. …
Hi Wayne,
Hard to believe that Don will be 92 today.. He was 18 when I was born and when I started to go to Hawaii with my mom in 1967 we first saw him perform at Duke’s. Then it became a tradition for me to spend every Father’s day with him at the show. I only missed 1 day when I couldn’t get a flight until the day after. He became my Hawaiian godfather. He died when I had my first knee replacement so I wasn’t able to fly out for his funeral. Now here I am in a retirement home unable to get around very well and using a wheel chair and walker. i am 74 now and life sucks. I really miss all my entertainers in Hawaii and I have lost so many over all these years. Now i need to clean out my Hawaiian clippings, photos and cd’s and cassettes but I contacted Bishop Museum twice but they never answered my letters. AUWE! . There is a Hawaiian club up in New York city but I am unable to travel anymore . Too bad I can’t find anyone who could use my stuff so I guess when I croak the stuff will just get tossed out. If I have to move into a smaller apt here I will have to get rid of my stuff before I die.
Well take care. Aloha Dolores. .
Dolores, you have been an endearing and supportive fan, not only of Don, but the scores local performers over the decades. Yes, far too many have passed on, and while the memories live in the hearts of all fans/survivors, there are collectible pics and clippings and autographs that truly need a suitable destination, not only because of historical perspective, but these become evidence of respectable and beloved troupers. You have actual photographs and the occasional pamphlets that helped define and document the heartbeat of Hawaii that only those who lived it would know and appreciate. Sigh….