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Hawaii
CELEBRATING a 25th wedding anniversary isn't usually such a big deal except in the case last week of retired federal judge Martin Pence and wife Eleanor. You see, Judge Pence was 70 when he tied the knot. Marriage seems to have been good to him. Even at 95, you see him and his wife at plays and dinners quite often ... It's nice to have an item that makes me feel like a youngster, Marriage keeps
judge youngsince the opposite is more often true. For instance, Waikoloa boss Tom Rohr is just back from San Francisco with news that his daughter, Punahou (and SMU) grad Nina Rohr, who I knew as a tot growing up, is now manager of Splendido, the new Bill Klimpton $5 million a year, James Beard Award-winning restaurant in Embarcadero Center ... Then, Saturday night, after a magnificent dinner at La Mer, my first time in the place in a couple of years, we repaired to the Lewers Lounge to hear the music offered up by pianist Jim Howard and bassist Bruce Hamada. I knew both their fathers well, a phrase I'm getting progressively tired of uttering ...
AND getting set to take off for London at the end of the month are localites Bob and Sylvia Lee. There, they'll see the grand opening of their son, Jason Scott Lee, starring in a revival of "The King and I" at the London Paladium. I first saw Jason singing a few years ago during the taping of Emme Tomimbang's annual Christmas TV special ...
Music for the ages
IT was a delight watching the Hawaii Youth Symphony in concert Saturday afternoon at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Both the Concert Orchestra and Youth Symphony II performed, and it's hard to believe from what we heard that there's yet another orchestra rated better than these. KGMB's Russell Shimooka was guest emcee at Saturday's concert, and admitted he played with the Youth Symphony while growing up. He went on to play trumpet professionally before deciding the life of a musician wasn't for him and he turned to newscasting. And yes, he did misquote that music had the charm to "soothe the savage beast." What it soothes, and it's a common mistake, is the "savage breast." ...DURING the ESPN live coverage of the NFL draft Saturday morning, Chris Berman commented that the BYU linebacker just chosen, Rob Morris, once dived off a third story balcony into a swimming pool, adding, "That's only one story less than Russ Francis did in his heyday." Francis is still jumping, only now it's into political waters ... The May issue of Playboy has Kim Taylor Reece's "Wahine" featured on page 183. Paul Klink of Klink, Inc., helped edit the book. When told it was in Playboy bought his first copy ever. "Wow," says Klink, "over five bucks just for one magazine?" ...
Big, grand or small
OPENING the third Hawaii International Spring Film Festival was a movie more like a play. "The Big Kahuna" was produced on a shoestring during a 16-day shoot by Kevin Spacey and it stars him, Danny Devito and Peter Facinelli. Most of the film consists of the three at a convention in Wichita, sitting around in a small hotel suite talking about marketing, industrial lubricants, relationships and Christ. Amazingly, it works, thanks to John Swanbeck, a stage director who made the interplay between the three engrossing. But the title is confusing. Twice "kahuna" is mentioned in the film and both times he was called "The Grand Kahuna." No good for a title? ...
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