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What the Heck?
John Heckathorn
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PHOTO COURTESY SHUZO UEMOTO
Acrobat Mary Chapman holds a handstand at the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Starlight Ball, part of the event's circus theme.
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Acrobats turn academy gala upside down
When I first met Mary Chapman, she was upside-down, standing on her hands in the Mediterranean courtyard of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, wearing a jeweled bodysuit, a mask painted on her face.
"The way I looked at it," she said, "I was one of the decorations."
She was. The academy was tricked-out as a circus for this year's Starlight Ball. It was good party -- martini bars, crowded dance floor, people decked out in the wacky notions of fancy dress, a modest complement of celebrities (Daniel Dae Kim, Richard Chamberlain in black suit and black-and-white tennis shoes).
Setting the evening apart from dozens of others just like it were the circus acts organized by Andrea Torres. Torres had nearly a dozen performers -- jugglers and acrobats like Chapman, a former competitive gymnast who now works as a personal trainer. Chapman enjoyed the evening: "It's a bad day when I don't spend at least some time upside down."
Torres herself stunned the crowd by climbing scarlet silk scarves attached to a tree in the academy's main courtyard. From 30 feet in the air, she spun, flipped, posed, and did a few sudden descents that made those on the ground gasp.
"Setting up took time," she said later. "We had to hire a tree inspector to make sure the tree would be OK."
They were worried about the tree? "No," she said, "they were worried, if it broke, I'd get killed. Spoil the evening."
It's a book, it's a party, it's a TV show
Wednesday was officially Don Ho Day in the City and County of Honolulu.
Don Ho's Island Grill was packed with his friends, family and associates. Not so much because it was Don Ho Day -- it was for the book launch of "Don Ho: My Music, My Life."
The book's not really an autobiography, it's more an oral history, with dozens upon dozens of interviewees, many of whom showed up for the party. Lots of people he worked with: musicians Benny Chong, Sam Kapu, Angel Pablo; his secretary, Adrienne Sweeney; and Russell Druce, who for 10 years managed the Polynesian Palace when Ho performed there. "Wild times," Druce said. "I was even there the night the grandma died when he kissed her."
The tall, hapa-haole gentleman turned out to be Arthur Rath, who roomed with Ho at Kamehameha. "He was the smartest guy I ever met," Rath said. "He loved the science of sociology, which he practiced every night."
The most poignant moment of the evening came when Ho's widow, Haumea, danced hula to "I'll Remember You." Said one woman in the audience: "I give her credit. I'd never have the composure to do that, not to that song."
If you missed it, do not despair. The town's best TV producer, Phil Arnone, interviewed these folks as well, for an hour-and-a-half KGMB special, which airs Tuesday evening, and again on Jan. 28.
We'll Remember You
I cannot let Don Ho Day pass without recording my favorite Don Ho quote ever. At the book launch party was Linda Coble, with hubbie Kirk Matthews. (Incidentally, Matthews had to ask Ho for permission to marry her.)
In the 1980s, Coble hosted an Emmy-winning KGMB show called "People in Paradise" (produced, coincidentally, by Phil Arnone).
On camera, Coble asked Ho how he wanted to be remembered. Replied Ho: "Remembered? I'm trying to get people to forget things I've done."
Wyland: The Artist as Donald Trump
Dressed in his signature baseball cap and surrounded by beauty queens, artist Robert Wyland welcomed guests this weekend to an opening party for the newly renovated Wyland Waikiki.
The 404-room boutique hotel, formerly the Ohana Waikiki Surf, is far from the surf. What it lacks in ocean frontage, it hopes to make up for with Wyland's ocean art.
Wyland, of course, is known for his 95 large, outdoor "Whaling Wall" murals. There's no "Whaling Wall" here. But there are Wyland paintings in the lobby, bronze Wyland whales, dolphins and sea turtles in the garden, and even a flagstone entryway shaped like a whale's tale.
The $30 million hotel upgrade was a struggle -- problems with mold, changes in ownership and management. It's now a stylish little property, including plasma-screen TVs and art in all the rooms.
Wyland seemed pleased to have his name over the door, under a licensing agreement. "Think of me as Donald Trump," he laughed. "Without the comb-over."
No Nudes is Good News
Standing next to Wyland at the Wyland Waikiki opening was photographer Kim Taylor Reese, he of the copyright hula images.
"I'm envious," he said. "Wyland's a genius."
The hotel does have a Kim Taylor Reese suite, decorated with his photos. Someone asked if they were the nude photos from his recent work.
"No," laughed Reese. "I'm saving those for when I get my own hotel."
Armstrong Bids Goodbye to TV
Ryan's looked like TV Land last weekend. KHNL ace cameraman (the preferred term is now video journalist) Duncan Armstrong was leaving the station to become a media relations consultant for Kaiser.
"Duncan was 20 years in the business," says KHNL's Diane Ako, who traveled to Indonesia with him to report on the 2004 tsunami. "Lots of respect."
That may explain why his goodbye party with packed not only with present KHNL staffers (Howard Dashefsky, Stephanie Lum, Paul Drewes), but also faces from KHNL's past (Lyle Galdeira, Darren Pai).
There was even talent from other stations: KHON's Justin Cruz, Marisa Yamane, Kanoa Leahey; KGMB's Lisa Kubota.
"You buy the lei and you go to these parties, but until it's yours, you never realize how much they mean to the person leaving," says Armstrong.