Hawaii
1970: Spencecliff closes down
2 island businessesSPENCECLIFF is allowing its lease on the Hob Nob downtown to expire at the end of the month, and another Spencecliff house closing down is Old Plantation, the former Trader Vic's. Spencecliff exec Al Dumphy became engaged in the old Trader Vic's on Ward Avenue 23 years ago -- on Dec. 31, to be exact. Now, 23 years later to the day, he's part of the team closing up the place. And even more amazing in this day and age, he's been with the same gal for those 23 years. (Dec. 10, 1970) ...
STILL more national recognition for the Star-Bulletin's fine cartoonist, Corky Trinidad. He received a letter from Henry Kissinger concerning two cartoons Corky did when the presidential adviser visited China. Kissinger found the cartoons "delightful" and asked Corky, "If Chou En-lai has not already put in a request for them, may I ask for the originals?" Then yesterday, Corky received a call from the White House, and one of Kissinger's aides asked Corky if he could include the original of a cartoon he did featuring young David Kissinger as a gift for the 10-year-old son of Henry. (Dec. 8, 1971) ...
PIANIST Gary Graffman wants to be bronze so others will be green. To explain, when Graffman was in town for a concert series with the Honolulu Symphony, he tried to grab as much of the sun's rays as possible, lounging on the beach during the day and rehearsing at night. The idea was to have a Hawaiian tan when he performs in Carnegie Hall, something that is sure to make already gloomy New Yorkers all the more envious. (Dec. 9, 1976) ...
SHEIK Shamsuddin al-Fassi is heading an entourage of Arabs occupying 28 rooms in the upper reaches of the Sheraton-Waikiki. His son, Mohammed S.A. al-Fassi, who is also vacationing in the group, is the fellow who bought that mansion in Beverly Hills and painted it a bilious green, decorating the statues on the property with skin tones and black pubic hair. The group is having a high time in Waikiki, spending $350 a day just to have 24-hour room service. They've been ordering what one observer called "tables and tables of food all day long -- full adult dinners for a 3-year-old." The telephone bill is going to be as enormous as the room rent; one call alone came to $622. There are 18 guards on 24-hour duty to ensure privacy of the sheiks and their entourage. That chartered plane sitting at Honolulu Airport is just waiting for al-Fassi to give the order to return. All together now: "It must be nice." (Dec. 10, 1978) ...
THE only thing longer than the Honolulu Marathon, it would seem, is the coverage of it. I watched in fascination as a mass of humanity ran, jogged and walked by my Kahala Avenue vantage point near the 24-mile mark. Most seemed unconcerned about who had won except for Dr. Jack Scaff, the runner's guru, who trotted by at 3:33. "Who won?" he asked, and learned for the first time that Don Kardong had pulled it off more than an hour earlier. (Dec. 11, 1978) ...
THE current People magazine assembled a panel of cookie lovers to hold a tasting of chocolate chip cookies. Adjudged the tastiest in the land were none other than Hawaii's own Famous Amos cookies. Wally Amos is pictured with a huge cookie on which he'd written "Aloha." And while Wally beat out Mrs. Fields cookies "by a crumb," according to People, the picture of Debbi Fields proves she's better-looking that Amos, even if not as famous. (Dec. 14, 1983) ...
THIEVES probably seeking Christmas shopping loot -- where are our priorities? -- have robbed seven banks in the past three weeks. For years I've been advocating that anyone wearing sunglasses in a bank be asked to remove them. Nearly every bank robber is photographed wearing shades, making it more difficult to identify them. (Dec. 8, 1994) ...
"The Week That Was" recalls events culled from Dave Donnelly's three-dot columns over the past 30 years. Donnelly continues to write his "Hawaii" column Tuesdays through Fridays in the Star-Bulletin.
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