Nora Okja Keller, Antonio Sabato Jr.
THE overhyped "coming out" episode of Ellen Degeneres' character in "Ellen," coming on the heels of her personal story ("Yep, I'm Gay" cover in Time, for example), was far funnier and poignant than the unsuspecting viewer would have anticipated. It was handled tastefully with equal parts humor and courage, just what it needed. After all the Letterman and Leno jokes -- such as Dave's "The IRS has ruled that Degeneres can no longer write off her closet as a second residence" -- her announcement was anticlimactic that she's a lesbian; and it surely has brought forth more usage of the word than TV has ever seen. As Letterman said after the telecast, "More and more people are getting on the lesbian bandwagon -- and that's a sentence you've never heard spoken before." ... Ellen’s outing
was well doneBUT while gay groups held parties to watch the "outing," others were entranced with the show for other reasons. Take RainSong Graphite Guitars honcho John Decker of Maui, for example. He sat bolt upright, not when Ellen announced (accidentally over a loudspeaker), "I'm gay," but when k.d. lang performed a song in a lesbian coffeehouse and was playing one of his "Windsong" model guitars before 42 million viewers. It was the topper for Decker, who saw Shawn Colvin playing the same model on VH-1's "Hard Rock Cafe" two weeks ago and Dean Felber of Hootie & the Blowfish playing a RainSong acoustic bass on MTV's "Dennis Rodman" special the week before that. Decker is thrilled that at least 14 "name" musicians are endorsing his line -- a high number for a small new company ... And did you read where Oprah Winfrey, quite believable playing a caring therapist on "Ellen," canceled a Rodman appearance on her own show after looking through his book, "Walk on the Wild Side" and learning, among other things, that he wants to have his name changed legally to Orgasm. She should know he's just faking it! ...
THERE'S further evidence that former Star-Bulletin staffer Nora Okja Keller may have a big selling book on her hands. The first public notice of "Comfort Woman" was in this column, and I was very impressed at Keller's imagery and bravery in tackling a tough topic. It went on to get excellent notices locally as well as in the prestigious New York Times and L.A. Times. This week both Time and Newsweek gave it very favorable notice. This is the same path taken by Frank McCourt's book, "Angela's Ashes," which I first wrote about back in June of last year. It went on to get a rave from the same N.Y. Times critic (Michiko Kakutani) who reviewed Keller's book, and then on to excellent notices in the weekly magazines. For Nora's sake we'd like to see her continue to follow in McCourt's wake -- "Angela's Ashes" has sat atop the bestseller lists for 32 weeks, won a National Book Critics Award and finally, a Pulitzer ... More on Nora
THE very funny Chris Farley of "Saturday Night Live" fame and now a movie actor, was seen dining at Matteo's this week. Carbo loading, no doubt ... And man about town Henry Woltag, the Englishman who began Kahala Kai Photo with a slew of women photogs taking pictures in nightclubs and restaurants, is visiting Waikiki. He now lives in London -- in fact, he personifies London -- but he's in town on business until next week ... Also in Honolulu is Hollywood hearthrob Antonio Sabato Jr., who'll dip his hand in cement this evening at Planet Hollywood in Waikiki for display on a celebrity hand-print wall ...
WHILE jazz traditionally is associated with clubs, Abe Weinstein so enjoyed his experience with the concert he produced at the Hawaii Theatre last month that he's booked another theater. For the next three Mondays, beginning May 5, the director of the Hawaii International Jazz Festival will provide "Jazz in the Valley" at Manoa Valley Theatre. Jimmy Borges will headline the first Monday and be succeeded by Rachel Gonsalves (May 12) and Azure McCall (May 19). Call the MVT box office at 988-6131 ... Play Manoa Mist-y for me
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.