Hawaii
WITH a Thanksgiving feast (literally) under your belt, you should have had a good night sleep, if only for the triptophan in the turkey. It was propitious that most Thanksgiving feeds took place in the afternoon. That allowed folks to get up and thank providence that they are a two-TV family. To risk the banal stereotype, this means one party (Hi, Mom!) could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade either on CBS or NBC or both, if you have a picture within a picture set. That would allow those more interested in football (Hi, Dad!) to take in the traditional Green Bay-Detroit game on Fox ... From bouncing back between channels, I found that CBS gave the Hawaii entries short shrift. The Old Lahaina Luau Hawaiian troupe had barely come on screen than the CBS announcers went to the crowd to hold inane conversations with onlookers -- "Where you from?" was typical. And no sooner did the Pearl City Band appear with their letters announcing themselves held high than CBS cut to a commercial ... NBC at least let the band play ("The Hawaiian War Chant" and "God Bless America," even if Katie Couric referred to the band's "hula hala" ... Macy’s broadcasts gave Hawaii
groups little timeAND now that Macy's had its big shot on national TV (and the networks ran a record number of commercials for various products and companies) today's the day Liberty House morphs into Macy's and the crowds checking out all the new merchandise should set records ... I can only hope you had as good a time giving thanks for friends, family and health as I did ... Unfortunately, local playwright and author Gardner McKay didn't live to enjoy it. His death Wednesday morning was reported in that day's Star-Bulletin ...
Fitting tribute
WHAT was originally called the East-West Center Theater was renamed the John F. Kennedy Theater just five days after the president's assassination and just a week before it was to be officially opened with three plays in repertoire. One, "The Man Who Came To Dinner," I appeared in playing "the man," Sheridan Whiteside, with just five rehearsals. It took a special session of the Board of Regents to rename the theater on Nov. 27, 1963. Cut to today: A bust of John F. Kennedy will now be displayed in the theater lobby. Late theatrical and film producer Steve Parker, a long-time resident of Hawaii, had been given a bust of the late president and wanted to find a permanent public home for it in Hawaii. His widow, Mikiko Parker, has donated the bust by sculptor H. Heilborn and it is now on view in the Kennedy Theater lobby ...IN case you weren't invited to the wedding of the year, the elaborate wedding of TV producer Al Masini to Charlyn Honda June 2 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel will be aired as a segment on "The Hawaiian Moving Company" Sunday at 6:30 p.m. and again at 10:30 p.m. ...
Kudos from Murph
COMPADRES G.M. John Langan and manager Tom Comog were guesting with Jo McGarry on her KCCN "Gusto" show when a call came in from fellow restaurateur Don Murphy. He was applauding Compadres for all it does in the community. Coming from a guy who is more giving than any 10 others combined, it was quite a compliment ...
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