Hawaii
’90s see Denny
spin againTHE first 33 rpm record album I bought in Hawaii -- ask your parents, kids -- was "Exotica" by Martin Denny back in 1956. Little did I know at the time it was destined to be a classic. But now the editors of Spin magazine, no less, assure us it is. In its September issue, the hip music mag compiles a list of the "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Heading the list is Nirvana, followed by the likes of Public Enemy, PJ Harvey and Beck. But in a separate listing we find "The Top 20 Reissues," and there at No. 6, after James Brown and Miles Davis, but well ahead of Yoko Ono, The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, is Hawaii's own Martin Denny and "Exotics." The Spin doctors call the octogenarian Denny "the grandmaster of lounge." You sometimes find praise in the strangest of places ...
THE Star-Bulletin made Jay Leno's "Headlines" segment again. A few months ago he showed an ad from the S-B for a local gynecologist named Dr. Ramin Jamm. This time it was the quote reprinted on the editorial page of the young man who said he'd better consult his attorney because, "I never committed a murder before." That cracked up the "Tonight Show" host ...
GOOD to see Jim Nabors recovering from the minor stroke he suffered just days after we sat together at a dinner party at Nicholas Nickolas. The entertainer was in great good humor that night, but things like his stroke happen all of a sudden and don't creep up on you ...
No biz like Ho biz
WHERE better for the San Francisco-based crew of NewsNet Central to film a segment on Don Ho for the cable travel channel (5 million viewers a day) than at Don Ho's Island Grill in the Aloha Tower Marketplace. The crew was amazed at how many tourists and locals alike came up to request a photo with Don during their shoot. It reaffirmed their premise that "Mr. Tiny Bubbles" personified Hawaii ... And when visiting zany Rip Taylor stopped into Matteo's for dinner, G.M. Russell Druce reminded him that they'd previously met when Rip guested on Don Ho's ABC-TV show. Taylor's eyes bulged, he twirled his moustache and gushed, "Oh, Russell, you must be old!" ...MEMBERS of the Dos Santos family celebrated their 100th anniversary in Hawaii this past weekend. Julio and Adelina Dos Santos arrived with their four sons from Madeira, Portugal, on Sept. 13, 1899, and there are now six generations in the islands. Immigration honcho Don Radcliff presented them with a proclamation from Gov. Ben Cayetano ...
SORRY to learn of the death of Carolyn Apaka, daughter of the great Alfred Apaka and sister of Jeff, head of the Waikiki Community Center. He's continuing on with the Pili Mau concert tomorrow at the Sheraton-Waikiki. Puamana II will perform, sans Auntie Irmgaard Aluli, just released from the hospital with two broken ribs she suffered in a fall ...
You gotta have art
GOOD guy producers David Booth and Rick Schneider donated space at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall for non-profit art organizations to participate in "The Good Life Expo." Showing off their upcoming seasons and merchandise will be the likes of the Hawaii Theatre, Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Contemporary Museum, UH Art Gallery, Bishop Museum, Diamond Head Theatre and Iolani Palace. They all come under the "Arts with Aloha" banner at the expo this weekend ...
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: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com