Hawaii
THE "Yes" show at the Polynesian Palace is now twice as long as it was. That's because the Long Twins, Long Jun & Long Bing are back. The identical twins are acrobatic wizards who've been performing on Princess Cruises, and are now permanent residents of the U.S. ... Emme Tomimbang is featuring the "Three Wine Men" on her new TV show, airing tomorrow night and again Sunday afternoon on KGMB-TV. That would be Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya, a frequent guest on Emme's shows, and sommeliers Lyle Fujioka and Richard Field sharing their favorite wines of summer ... Polynesian Palace
show long on acrobatsCALLED "Man of the Month," Gabe Baltazar is preparing to share his musical virtuosity at the Hawaii Jazz Festival this month, saluting his old boss Stan Kenton along with the Four Freshmen. A photo in the paper of a young Gabe in 1947 was taken when he was a finalist on a radio program on KULA, "The Voice of Young Hawaii." It was a half-hour show on Thursday nights, aimed at teenagers, which was put together and hosted by Punahou seniors Netta Alameida and Paul Loo. Loo, now a successful stockbroker, admits he and Gabe were both thinner then ...
NEW at Manoa Valley Theatre is "The Complete History of America (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, though any similarity between the Manoa version and the one playing in London is tenuous at best. Two of the three members of the local cast are with the improvisational group Loose Screws, although I fear more of what the audience sees came from them and was more hysterical than historical. The jokes are often ancient, but some bits, such as the one about the minutemen (portrayed by a misunderstanding twosome as minute -- as in exceptionally small -- men) were genuinely clever. I do wish, however, the preponderance of Hawaiian references and toadying plugs to local sponsors were eliminated ...
Stark Spanglered Banter
HE was a small kid living in Hawaii when the Pearl Harbor attack took place in 1941, and now Dick Spangler is acting as emcee for a series of Pearl Harbor Survivor news conferences around the country, sponsored by MilitaryWorld.com. Most recently meeting with survivors in San Francisco, Wilmington, N.C., and Boston, Spangler and company will be in Washington, D.C., this month and will host a survivor news conference on board the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor on July 25. Among those attending will be Maui-born Dr. Rodney West, who attended to the hundreds of wounded on Ford Island when Pearl Harbor was hit. According to Spangler, Dr. West is "a delightful and extremely sharp gentleman at the age of 90." ...
Too little, too late
WHILE Betsy McVay was grateful the Secretary of the Navy has finally cleared the name of her late husband, Kimo's father, Capt. Charles Butler McVay III, of any negligence in the Japanese sinking of the ship under his command, the USS Indianapolis, methinks it came just a wee bit late. Kimo, after spending over 50 years working to clear his father's name, died two weeks ago. At least Kimo's brother, Quatro, lived to see it. Full steam ahead, indeed! ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com