Hawaii
THOUGH I invariably find TV show hostess Rosie O'Donnell repugnant, I stumbled across her interview with -- diatribe against? -- Tom Selleck. I'm scarcely a devotee of the National Rifle Association, but I'm sure the NRA gained some sympathizers after Rosie lambasted Selleck for being in their ads. All Selleck wanted to do was plug his movie, but when goaded into talking about guns, he attempted to explain his position only to be "ambushed" by O'Donnell who interrupted with more questions. Hardly a "debate," and it left the two with Rosie mumbling some kind of half-hearted apology, while not addressing an issue of her own. She does commercials for K-Mart, one of the largest gun sellers in the country. In any case, don't look for Tom and Rosie smiling and making nice in the near future ... Rosie takes
shots at guest
SPEAKING of actors, David F. Kleist did a fine job in the difficult role of the lone male in "Jake's Women" at Manoa Valley Theatre, which opened Wednesday. There are both typical Neil Simon laugh lines and more than a touch of sentimentality in the show. It's a difficult play in that much of the action goes on in Jake's mind, and we see it acted out as he imagines it. I wish director Clarke Evans and costume designer Peggy Krock had resisted the idea of dressing all the women in Jake's imagination in pink -- from head to toe -- and those in reality in purple. It's not all that difficult to sort out without the color coordination for dummies scheme. Still, it's a fun and moving evening of theater ...
A pair of Malias
IF you missed top isle model and world-class surfer Malia Jones in "Sexy Swimsuits '99" on "E" Entertainment Television yesterday, you can see it when it's re-aired Saturday. The segment was filmed in Miami Beach and features Jones shooting the cover of the current issue of Shape magazine ... Then there's Malia Nemechek Baron, a young local lass who until recently was assistant collections manager at LucasFilms' Skywalker Ranch, looking after all the costumes, critters and what have you from George Lucas movies. She's since returned from the mainland and married a young pilot with Aloha Island Air, but because of her previous job she was invited to the employees' screening of "The Phantom Menace" at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco, where "Star Wars" opened in 1977 ...NEW York Yankee pitcher Hideki Irabu got knocked out of the box pitching against the Red Sox the other day, but there was praise for some other sons of Japan. The St. Patrick's Day committee of Irishmen from New York held a lunch for the Japanese consul-general's staff this week to celebrate the fact that the Japanese musical ensemble which marched in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 17 was named best of the bands. High praise indeed ...
Walk the walk
THEY don't just talk the talk, those Hawaii tourism folks. They walk the walk, as well. Some 13,000 walkers took part in this year's Hawaii Hotel Association's Visitor Industry Charity Walk, and together they raised well over three-quarters of a million dollars. Some 150 local charities will benefit from the walk, with chairman John Cusnie of the Ala Moana being joined by such fellow hoteliers as Patricia Tam, Mike Kueffer, David Carey, Perry Sorenson, John Brogan, Jan Goessing, Paul Tang, Clyde Billman, Ren Hirose, Roy Yamamoto, Pat Quigley and Ernie Nishizaki ...
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.