Ho tale brings ho, ho on TV
THE reputation of Don Ho as a flirt wasn't hurt any by "Tonight Show" banter last week. Comic Dennis Leary was on as was supermodel Cindy Crawford. Host Jay Leno asked if they knew each other and Leary told the story about how they'd filmed something or other in Hawaii five years ago and both ended up on stage at the Ho show singing "Tiny Bubbles." Then later in the dressing room, Leary recalled, Ho came on to Crawford, a fact she confirmed. I can just hear the words of American males across the country saying, "Hey Don, atta boy." ... The exact opposite of that is "Newsradio" star Dave Foley, who was in town for the Hawaii International Film Festival. He went out with some new friends he'd met and they ended up back at his hotel room to see a video of his latest movie. It was the wee morning hours, and almost everyone drifted off except for one waitress, who stayed until the end of the film. "He was a perfect gentleman," she reports. "We shared a Snickers bar and he kissed me on the cheek when I left." ...
NICKLE and diming it: I'd written last week that former champion surfer Fred Hemmings would be "hanging ten" in local bookstores, pushing the new book on surfing he's written. Along comes Dave Nickle of East Oahu Realty, who's a stickler for accuracy. "You should have said he'd be hanging seven," insists Nickle, "since he lost three toes in a lawn mower accident." ... I have to chuckle each time I see that Pontiac TV commercial filmed in Scotland that insists "Wider is better." Ever driven on those narrow little roads throughout Great Britain and Ireland? "Wider" isn't only better, it's often impossible! ...
The Wagners are Coming
NO, we're not referring to Robert Wagner and his wife or even Star-Bulletin reporter Peter Wagner and brother Keoni. The couple that precipitated the above headline in the Hawaii Opera Theater's "HOT News," are Gudrun and Wolfgang Wagner. He's the grandson of composer Richard Wagner and like granddad, pronounces it "Vahg-ner." If his genes don't seem strong enough for you, note that he's also the great-grandson of Lizst! Wolfgang and his wife will be spending all next week here and since Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono is a member of the local Wagner Society, it's no surprise that next week has been proclaimed "Wagner Week" in Hawaii. Jim Becker, honorary chairman of the Wagner Society, says Wolfgang has carried the load of the prestigious Bayreuth Festival alone for the past 31 years. Becker has attended many of the Ring Cycles in Bayreuth and says the festival there "is the hottest ticket in the world - hotter than the Super Bowl by far." And he's been to both events. The Wagners will be arriving here next Monday ...
Not quite Over the Hill
PIANIST Bill Cox, leader of the Over the Hill jazz band, is in Kaiser Hospital following successful liver surgery ... And former D.J. and restaurateur Sam Sanford, who's also battling liver disease, is back up and tinkering around the house after throwing a scare into a lot of us by sleeping for two days. When I checked yesterday he was fixing his stereo ... And ventriloquist Freddie Morris, who's undergone liver surgery and recently collapsed from an epileptic seizure, was the reason some of Hawaii's top comics gathered for a live concert at the Ilikai. It's now been released as a videocassette, with proceeds going to pay for Freddie's mounting medical bills. A 30-minute edited version of the tape will be shown Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. on KFVE ...
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.