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Hawaii
IT was a case of life imitating art. Or nearly. I stopped by Nick's Fishmarket to say aloha to KSSK program director Jeff Silver and girlfriend Jody Saka before they head to his new assignment in Atlanta running a station called "The Peach." Then I drove to Manoa Valley Theater to see Alfred Uhry's serious yet comic play, "Last Night at Ballyhoo." It's all about this New Hoping life bests art
York Jew who is transferred to Atlanta (Hello?) and runs into a different kind of Jewish community than he's used to in New York. There were some personal sparks being ignited between the New Yorker, Joe Farkus played by Russell Motter, and Sunny Freitag, played by the vivacious Zenia Zambrano. Then they butt heads. The difference in their Jewishness becomes almost all important. It was at that moment I began to wonder what surprises might await Silver, who is Jewish, when he shows up in Atlanta with his Japanese girlfriend. Hopefully, times have changed, but I wouldn't bet my last chad on it ...
SHE can't escape her celebrity, at least in certain circles. I ran into Alice Inoue in Alan Wong's the other night and noted that the tourists from Japan who'd found this gem of a restaurant were all pointing at her and taking photos. Inoue reads the news in Japanese in nearly every hotel in Waikiki. She's like Katie Couric to visitors from Japan ...
Unbridled battle
STAR 101.9 morning duo Hudson and Scotty B. are going national. They'll be conducting a "Battle of the Brides" tonight at the Ocean Club in Restaurant Row. The event is being taped by the Game Show Network's "D.J. Games," and promises to be as messy as some marriages. Brides-to-be have been qualifying to be on the show by answering bridal questions on the air, and five finalists have been selected. Here comes the pitch, and it's a curve ball. The winner of a diamond ring and trip to Las Vegas will be the one who discovers the ring, which has been buried in a wedding cake. You can picture the rest, but you can also view it on an upcoming cable TV cast ...THE year has barely begun before it's ended for some. Services for one of the town's really nice guys, Kane Fernandez of benefit carnival fame, will be Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the Monarch Room of the Royal Hawaiian. Look for some top name entertainers to show up to help celebrate Kane's fruitful life ... And now comes word via Dave Park that Hank Smith, his former partner in the ad firm of Mayfield, Smith, Park, has died at his retirement residence in Arizona. Smith had won a number of local awards by the time his agency merged with that of Ray Milici and Frank Valenti to create Milici, Valenti, Smith, Park. He retired in 1986 ...
Iz is it
SOMETIMES you become more famous after your death than you ever did when alive. I'm beginning to believe that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, or "Iz" to his fans, is one of those. His "Facing Future" album shows him from behind, looking at a rainbow over ocean waters. His "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful Life," has been used in numerous films and TV series, and now Iz's song appears over the final scene and end credits of Sean Connery's "Finding Forrester." In addition, author Dean Koontz wrote in the front of his new book, "From the Corner of His Eye," that he was inspired by Iz: "As I wrote this book, the singular and beautiful music of the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was always playing." ...
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