Hawaii
LAST week publisher Don Over was sitting in his office, happy that no practical jokes had been played on him following his latest Mainland jaunt. Unbeknownst to Over, his editor, Carl Lindquist and the gang at Trade Publishing had rigged (with considerable difficulty) a gigantic whistle from an old steamship in the air conditioning duct behind Over's desk. The 300-pound compressor needed to operate it was located in Lindquist's office, directly below. At a carefully planned moment, the whistle went off, blowing Over out of his chair and up the wall. The blast -- which could be heard for blocks -- might well have deafened him, but the only aftereffects were ringing ears. Said Over, "I thought it was the end of the world." (Oct. 28, 1969) ... 1969: Whimsical whistleblower
pulls one over on DonTHIS week's Time magazine has a story on Mayor Fasi's $40,000 payment to the Teamsters to keep the buses rolling. Says Time, "Federal planners have worked out any number of ways to subsidize mass transit, but chances are the Fasi dodge never occurred to them" (Oct. 29, 1970) ... A lot of pressure on KHVH-TV's Bob Berger to bring in the Nebraska-Oklahoma game Thanksgiving Day. He now plans to talk with ABC-TV in N.Y. in the hopes of getting permission to carry the game. Barring an upset in the interim, it would pit the No. 1 and No. 2 college teams in the nation. (Oct. 28, 1971) ...
MODEL Denise Michele Tom, best known for her Playboy uncoverage, back in town for a few days from her L.A. base where she's been handling modeling assignments. Denise can be seen playing "strip poker" on the cover of Robert Palmer's new Tower L.P. And to her surprise, as she was motoring down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood the other day, she discovered herself in a giant billboard plugging the album. (You remember billboards, don't you?) (Oct. 29, 1976) ...
PUNS and Sue T: Sue Teehan, sales manager for Waianae Cablevision, has to cope with the verbal jousts of two colleagues, Eric Uptegrove and Ernie Longcore -- we're not making up these names, either. They constantly come up with word play to keep her on her toes. Indeed, perhaps they could put out their own dictionary. To wit: McDonald's Space Laser -- Ronald Ray Gun; Moral Support -- Chastity Belt; Feline Stretcher -- Kitty Litter; Proletariat Sports Jacket -- Class Action Suit; Soused Sparrow -- Tequila Mockingbird. 'Nuff already.' (Nov. 2, 1980) ...
ENTERTAINER Jim Nabors will be doing his final show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome soon. Notice has been given to cast members of the show that it will not be extended beyond Thanksgiving at the latest. While the official reason for the cancellation is that doctors told Nabors the nightly show was "physically too tough" for him, there have been rumblings that all was not sweetness and light between his organization and that of the Hilton folks. Word on the street is that Don Ho's being paged to replace Nabors in the Dome and a hotel spokesman said that is a "possibility," although "nothing is firm" on that score. It's no secret that Ho has eyed the Dome for years, and promoter Irv Weled, who books the Dome, also represented Ho in the International Market Place takeover of Duke Kahanamoku's. One seer has Ho moving to the Dome and utilizing some of Nabors' cast, while the Aliis carry on without him in the Market Place. But again, nothing is firm. (Nov. 3, 1981) ...
AMONG the many interesting stories in the 288-page centennial issue of Honolulu magazine, now on newsstands, is one on the oldest restaurant in Honolulu (Wo Fat) and the newest, Metro/Rockchild's, opening this week on the site of the Ranch House in Aina Haina. The story quotes (without attribution, by the way) a quip in this column that the new eatery looks like a "gay Mayan temple." Jack Simpson, president of Spencecliff, the company that owns the property, is quoted as saying, "It's not a gay Mayan temple at all. The Mayans didn't build that way. It looks like a gay Incan temple." Okay, if you say so, Jack. (Nov. 3, 1987)...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
The Week That Was recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com