Hawaii
THE lead attraction at the Molokai Hula Festival Saturday was a surprise -- Melveen Leed, who proudly calls herself "Da Molokai Tita," returned to her home island to make an appearance. The surprised crowd went nuts as she performed Friendly Isle songs and, as an aloha to the late David Robbins and Al Naluai, "Let Me Walk through Paradise With You" ... Response to my ribbing President George W. Bush for saying "newk-you-ler" instead of "nuclear," was generally positive, though one e-mailer points out that Jimmy Carter made a similar miscue, thanks to his Georgia dialect. And some pointed out that Dan Quayle didn't go to Ball State, as I stated, but to DePauw in Greencastle, Ind. My niece, for one, who attended Ball State (along with David Letterman and "Garfield" creator Jim Davis) asked that her school not be blamed for Quayle ... ‘Da Molokai Tita’
thrills hula festivalAFTER seeing "Victor/Victoria" at Diamond Head Theatre, it became evident why it's not among the often revived American musicals. The music was not memorable, the mood of "Gay Paree" was more gay than Parisian, and bless her heart, star Cathy Foy was asked to play a woman pretending to be a gay man pretending to be a woman. Convoluted enough for you? She came across as a cute young woman with short hair while trying to be masculine ... Among those in attendance opening night were attorney Jan Weinberg and his wife, Brenda Dickson, who for 13 years appeared on "The Young and the Restless." I was there with an old friend, Katie Doyle, whose husband Bill Hummel agreed to watch their baby, Connor, to give her a night out. "I was in 'All My Children' for five years," she told Brenda and the soap suds started flying. Taking our seats, Katie gushed to the couple seated next to us, "My phone is turned off, I'm on a date and my husband is home taking care of my baby." The man delivered the perfect squelch: "I think I should mention that I'm a pastor." I offered to Katie, "Anything you'd like to add?" Nope ...
Portnoy's complaint
ATTORNEY Jeff Portnoy took a particular interest in the CBS movie Sunday, "Like Mother, Like Son," featuring Mary Tyler Moore as Sante Kimes, who with son Kenny, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a New York socialite. Portnoy had deposed Kimes when she lived at Portlock and allegedly kept foreign maids there against their will, later torching the home for the insurance. Portnoy is hoping the vengeful Kimes, who left a trail of missing persons in her wake, doesn't somehow get out of prison. "I've never been a proponent of the death penalty," said Portnoy yesterday, "but I might make an exception here." ...
What's a cat man do?
OPENING up Honolulu Ford offices in the pre-dawn hours, longtime employee Eddie O'Toole heard a "meow" and then another. There weren't supposed to be any cats in the place, so he eventually called the Hawaiian Humane Society and asked that someone come by to pick up an abandoned animal. It may take a while before we can get someone there, he was told -- "We only have one cat man on duty." Now if he'd found a bat, he'd have gotten relief in a heartbeat ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com