Recalling Tosh
of Round TableIT hardly seems possible, but it was 17 years ago tomorrow that Fred "Tosh" Kaneshiro died. The founder and owner until his death of the famed Columbia Inn, Tosh was only 59, a victim of cancer. He was a legend around town, and seemingly knew everyone. His family asked me to deliver the eulogy at his funeral, a task I attempted to avoid, but they insisted. He was, after all, one of my closest friends, a man I traveled with to the mainland to see our beloved Los Angeles Dodgers. The late Dodger owner Walter O'Malley once told me, "He thinks he owns this team." Assisted with a couple of sidekicks named Guinness and Bushmills, I did the eulogy, explaining why Tosh created a Round Table at his eatery. There's no head of the table if it's round. Everyone seated there is equal. And so it was in the audience at his service - people from the governor and mayor to the editors of both newspapers to the C.I. waitresses and dishwashers, all seated as if at a round table, with everyone equal, paying their final respects to one of the great ones ...
Ring Them Bells
IT isn't often that you find yourself so entranced by a musical revue that your feeling on leaving it is, "I'd like to see that again." But that was my feeling after taking in "The World is Round" at Manoa Valley Theatre. To say it's a collection of songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb is akin to saying "A Chorus Line" is about a group of dancers auditioning. It doesn't quite do justice to what you see. To begin with, Kander and Ebb, though less known than, say, Steven Sondheim, wrote some wonderful songs and director Jim Hutchison staged them with a panache that tops even his high standards. Six wonderful performers appear, doing far more than just sing songs. I don't want to spoil all the surprises you'll encounter, but kudos to the half-dozen fine actor/singers who bring the 31 narrative musical numbers to life: Howard Bishop, Kristin Van Bodegraven, Robert Larson, Sheilah Sealey and particularly Kathleen Stuart and Emily Tam, 17 and 20, respectively, and far more talented than you'd have reason to suspect ...CHECK out the names: Rodman, Predator, Riptide, Ivory Rock, The Widamaker, Teeny Tiny Trantrum and Bullzilla. Wrestlers? Nope, these are the names of some of the bulls who'll take part in the "Superbull Showdown" and concert Saturday at noon at Town & Country Stables in Waimanalo. Lots of country music to go with the bull riding: Mack Spencer & Renegade plus "The Kiho'alu Kid," Matt Swalinkavich ...
SPEAKING of wrestlers, brunching at the Outrigger Canoe Club Sunday was former isle wrestling promoter Ed Francis with wife A.J., ex-isle adman Tom Nieman (in town from his California home) and showbiz figure Kimo Wilder McVay. It was Francis' first trip back to the islands in 20 years, according to McVay. Ed, whose TV interviews with wrestlers used to be one of the highest rated weekend shows in Hawaii, is the father of ex-NFL tight end Russ Francis, who's currently running for City Council ...
Let go or I'll kill ya
LOCAL publisher Carlino Giampolo got a call from Texas the other day asking for two copies of his book on surviving broken relationships, "The Art of Letting Go." Seems a couple in Texas had filed for divorce some time ago and their legal battles continued to rage. The reason the "party of the first part" was calling was that a family court judge in the Lone Star State put the couple under a court order to read the book before continuing proceedings. Great referral service! ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.