By Dave Donnelly
Friday, February 28, 1997
Burt Reynolds, Dick Tomey
Burt Reynolds, Dick Tomey
THIS year is tearing by at an alarming speed. Tomorrow it's March already, which means St. Patrick's Day soon will be upon us. KHET-TV is presenting a number of March specials, and it should come as no surprise that the Irish are well represented. Irish singer Colm Wilkinson kicks things off March 7 when he performs highlights from his career, as does Patti LuPone. Apart from singing Irish folk songs, Wilkinson was also the original Jean Valjean in "Les Miz," and his haunting voice will always be the one I associate with the role. LuPone also played Fantine in the show and was the original Broadway "Evita." ... Irish eyes
on KHET in MarchTHE Irish theme continues on March 9 with "Riverdance," the marvelous original show from Dublin that was recreated on Broadway and Wednesday night won a Grammy for best recording of a musical. On Paddy's Day itself, March 17, Michael Flatley, the choreographer and original star of "Riverdance," can be seen on KHET in "Lord of the Dance," the company he formed when he left the other show after a disagreement with the producers. The PBS station has other programming in March, to be sure, but it's a great time for the Irish ...
THE big guessing game in Hollywood these days is whom CBS will get to play a Steve McGarrett type if "Hawaii Five-O" is reprised as planned. One source indicates Burt Reynolds is a possibility. It was a dinner conversation topic of Scruples owner Fred Piluso and Tony Curtis, dining with Milton Berle and his wife at Drais Restaurant in L.A. ... What a nice way to correct a booboo on my part! The folks at St. Andrew's Priory, noting that I mentioned Priory grandmom Ella Edwards, the opera singer, and called her "Emma," suggest that since Queen Emma founded the school 120 years ago "she guided your hand" as I wrote about Edwards. Thanks for the gentle correction, but I was probably thinking about Emma Fitzgerald. (I'm kidding!) ...
WHEN the top Harley-Davidson dealers were in town, they were given a choice between snorkeling, surfing or doing a community project, and over 100 volunteered to do some work. The Harley folks revved their engines in volunteering for Teen Challenge and PACT - Parents and Teachers Together. They did everything from landscaping and painting to cleaning homes, donating $50,000 in supplies and labor to the state. No idling here
VALENTINE'S Day can still be a day of amour. Former UH football coach Dick Tomey, who now runs the football program at the University of Arizona, chose that day to marry sweetheart Nancy Kincaid and the two honeymooned at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. Then there's Margaret Nakamoto, who with husband Nobu celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day. Now separated by 2,398 miles (according to United's frequent flier program), the Nakamotos will soon reunite. Margaret just moved back from San Francisco, where she's lived for seven years. She won a drawing held by Waikele Factory Outlets and Non-Stop Travel. Her prize: A trip to San Francisco. She'll use it to visit her husband, who will return to the islands as soon as his job allows ...
ALL was not happy on Valentine's Day. It was on that day that Harry Newhart had a massive stroke and died two days later at his home in San Francisco. Newhart had run the International Market Place in Waikiki from the early days for Paul Trousdale and Clint Murchison Jr., and lived in retirement in S.F. Harry was one of the last of the old-time Waikiki characters, the likes of whom included Don Over, Spence Weaver, Pete Canlis and others, all of whom preceded him in death. He's survived by his ex-wife and best friend, Jan Newhart, son Twain, a successful photographer, and daughter Tracy, better known as "Sassy," sales manager for a software firm. In keeping with his dad's wishes, Twain plans to spread Harry's ashes from a bottle of J.G. Monnet Cognac in the ocean off Waikiki. That's old Harry, wanting to go out the way he lived - in style ... Aloha, Harry
