Wednesday, October 1, 1997
What ever happened to "Aku"? I believe his real name was Hal Lewis. He had a show on KGMB radio when I lived in Hawaii back in 1969. ‘Aku’ was isle radio
fixture for 36 yearsThe late disc jockey Hal "Aku" Lewis was an island radio fixture for 36 years, most of that time as the most talked-about and most listened-to broadcaster in Hawaii. He spun controversy as often as he spun records, chiding his listeners all the time.
He once said he got the name Aku (shortened from J. Akuhead Pupule) from a commercial for Aku beer, the beer with a head on it, which he called akuhead.
Lewis was reported to be the world's highest-paid disc jockey, bringing in $6,000 a week when he died of cancer in 1983 at age 66.
His antics often got him in hot water - but never as much as when he promoted an Easter Parade on April Fools' Day that didn't exist. He even covered it on the air. The next day he issued an apology.