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Hawaii
TWO old friends of mine, both Filipinas who spent many years in Hawaii and now both live in Las Vegas, finally met face-to-face this week. I'd Local talent
at Vegas reuniontried to link them via email previously. Singer Anna Lea and former UH drama student Billie Ann Sabala were both rounded up by another expatriate Hawaii resident, Alvin Ing, for the 50th reunion of Ing's Roosevelt High class to be held in Las Vegas. Ing, who's done several Broadway musicals and a little theater, asked singer Lea and Carolyn Okada Freeman, former cohort with the Sake Set at the Kahala Hilton, to appear and sing with him. In addition, Billie Ann is doing a Tai Chi exhibition and another guest, Pat Morita, will do, well, Pat Morita. The musical director is Mike Montano, who's worked with Anna for years ...
WILL Ikaika Kahoano be one of those "Making the Band," the create-a-group rock 'n' roll version of "A Chorus Line" on ABC? Interest in Hawaii is great, since Ikaika's the son of D.J. and emcee Kimo Kahoano, but the show is tanking on the mainland. In the latest ratings, it came in at No. 70 ... And anyone want to bet CBS's "Survivor," something of a ripoff of MTV's "Real World," comes to grips with the real world when the ratings come out. This "will he or wont he?" mentality gets old real quick. Witness Elian Gonzalez ...
Buzz Buzz
EVERYONE recognized Ben Affleck when he sauntered into Buzz's in Lanikai, not far from where he's staying while here shooting "Pearl Harbor." And the agreement among guests and staffers alike was that the blonde he was with was a "10." The disagreement was over whether it was Gwyneth Paltrow, who reportedly popped into town for a visit. Some say adamantly that there's no way it was Paltrow. If not, then who was it? We may never know ... And KGMB's Jerry Drelling stopped by Anna Miller's in Pearl City for dinner with his brother and family, and he thought the fellow in the Dallas Cowboys hat looked familiar. A staffer confirmed it was Emmit Smith, who dined there with friends two nights in a row. His favorite item? The pies! But you know those NFL'ers -- they can work off pounds in days ...ONE eatery you don't hear much about is Luigi's, a tiny Italian spot seating about 20 in Kailua. Adman Jim Loomis and wife Paula dined there with her brother and his wife and on arrival were told Luigi's only waitress had simply walked out minutes before, leaving the restaurateur to deal with a dozen or so customers on his own. Not to worry, as the aloha spirit kicked in. A woman from an adjoining table started pouring water for everyone, Paula went into the kitchen and got everyone bread and olive oil for dipping. Each customer wrote his or her own order and carried them to the kitchen, returning with salads and main courses when available. Everyone even figured up his own bill, collected the cash and saw it was rung up in the register. And to help compensate Chef Luigi for a stressful evening, all added a tip to the bill. He may never hire another waitress! ...
May Day revisited
When the Brothers Cazimero perform their annual May Day concert at the Shell, new halau run by former Caz dancers Michael Lanakila Casupang, Karl "Veto" Baker and Manu Boyd will all be featured. Each was graduated as kumu hula from Robert's halau, with whom they performed on May Day five years ago. Now each is bringing his own group ...
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