By Dave Donnelly
Wednesday, February 26, 1997
Tipper Gore, Richard Turbin
Tipper Gore, Richard Turbin
E XPECT to be inundated with Tipper Gore on your local TV screens. Out of the blue, AIDS Walk chairman Brickwood Galuteria wrote the wife of Vice President Al Gore, asking if she'd be honorary chairman of the walk to benefit the Life Foundation. To his surprise, she said "Yes." They'd set up a temporary date for the KCCN deejay to visit Washington with some leis and posters to film a TV spot, but suddenly, during a visit to Las Vegas, he was contacted and told the spot must be filmed the next day due to scheduling conflicts. He hopped on a plane, got KHNL to reserve a time for filming at the NBC studio in Washington, called Sen. Dan Akaka and asked if he had any leis lying around the office. Not only did Sen. Akaka show up with a kukui nut lei, but went on to coach Tipper on how to say "Mahalo" and "Kapiolani," so blame him if she messes up. The filming went off on schedule, and she'll soon be on local TV stations with her spots... Tipper makes
spot a quick takeAND it's hard for me to mention the name Brickwood Galuteria without thinking of two things. One was entertainer Moe Keale referring to him on stage as "Driftwood Cafeteria," and the other being John Simonds musing, "Brickwood Galuteria? Sounds like a yuppie restaurant."... I ran into attorney Peter Donahoe extracting money from a downtown bank machine -- those lawyers can find ways of extracting money everywhere! -- and was astounded to see he's grown a shock of long, white hair that, combined with his thick white moustache, made him look like a dead ringer for Albert Einstein. It was Donahoe, who after being named head of the City Liquor Commission years ago, flashed the huge badge he was given and carried in his wallet. "It's so bulky," I commented naively, "that you won't have room for any credit cards." Without missing a beat he deadpanned, "With this, I don't need any credit cards." (And I don't need no stinking badges!)...
DANCEWORKS founder Simeon Den attended the gala dinner for MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Grammys at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan Monday night. He escorted his sister, Millicent Sanchez-Kanazawa, labor attorney for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Seated at the table next to his was the evening honoree, Phil Collins, and past honorees Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, David Crosby, Quincy Jones and Bonnie Raitt. The after-dinner entertainment included performances by Collins, Cole, Crosby and Chaka Khan. Den's reaction to all that from New York: "The whole experience reminded me of the wonder and excitement of when I moved here in the early '70s as a young dancer." Though I doubt he dined with the likes of those folks back then. Den will also be attending tonight's 39th annual Grammy Awards from Madison Square Garden... And Den?
SPEAKING of the Grammys, one of the highlights of tonight's telecast (CBS) is sure to be a "dance off" between two companies whose shows were nominated for "Best Musical Show Recording." The nine-minute segment will include a major number from my favorite Irish show, "Riverdance," as well as the "Industrialization" segment from "Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk." That'll be followed by a tap vs. clog "dance challenge" between "Noise/Funk's" Savion Glover and "Riverdance's" Colin Dunn. The finale may be from another nominated show, "Rent." Have those VCR's ready to tape -- this sounds like a keeper...
THAT'S Rich: "My mother would be proud of me," quipped local attorney Rich Turbin, when he was elected vice chairman of the Tort and Insurance Section of the American Bar Association. That means he'll become chairman during the millennium year of 1999-2000. It'll be the first time a Hawaii lawyer has headed that organization, 34,000 attorneys strong... Torts en-Rich-ed
