Hawaii
Charly Espina leaves
FM-100 for matrimonyHOW could Indianapolis-based American Trans Air not add summer service to Hawaii from the West Coast? After all, the airline's VP sports the magnificent name of Stan Hula ... Today's the final one on FM-100 for Charly Espina, who's heading to Maui as priority mail. She's Valley Isle-bound to be with her fiancé, Kahului letter carrier Mark Takahama, and his kids. Charly's not giving up radio, however. She's hooked on with KPOA and will continue to play Island music there, beginning Jan. 6. The two plan to wed on Lanai (like billionaire Bill Gates) in February ...
SPOTTED on Beretania, an obviously homeless guy, shoddily dressed, sitting in a doorway -- the kind of guy you'd like to be upwind from. But before you had a chance to feel sorry for the fellow and his circumstances, you noted the guy was talking on a cellular phone. You think they're not everywhere? ... Architect Des Brooks and his effervescent wife, Pauline, were in town and called, but we never managed to get together. Brooks used to live here and was with Media Five before moving back to his native Australia, hooking up with then-millionaire, now-fugitive Christopher Skase. He designed all the Mirage Hotels Skase owned. He also handled the massive refurbishment of Princeville on Kauai, which cost more than the original price tag to build. Skase now lives in Majorca ...
Big blue bar bill
COMEDY Central's Dave Atell did his rather blue material for the cameras at Hank's Cafe Honolulu the other night, much to the delight of the packed house. Hank Taufaasau was another who liked the show, but for a different reason. He presented Atell with one of the bar's now well known -- locally -- T-shirts that contained an "Anti F-word" patch. When Atell learned of the bar's keep-it-clean rule, he hit up his entire crew for a fistful of dollars and hoped that covered all his indiscretions ... Atell and crew completed their filming Sunday in a Kona Kai Canoe Club outrigger, $100,000 camera equipment and all, in waters off Ala Moana Park. They had a good outing, too, encountering a school of bottlenose dolphins and a huge sea turtle. It was quite a thrill for the folks more accustomed to the Hudson River. Host Brickwood Galuteria told Atell the dolphins were a good omen, and the comic deadpanned, "Bet the Dolphins." ...
A pair of thespians
ONE member of Diamond Head Theatre's cast of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," opening Jan. 31, may look familiar. He's Randi Ask, who does aromatherapy body work and Shiatsu, plus intuitive readings at Serendipity. But you might remember him as Jonathon on the TV sitcom "Mad About You." He also starred on the Apollo Comedy Hour for three seasons and guested on "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." ... And Noah Johnson, who was so good starring in "Equus" at TAG, The Actors Group, before heading back to the Mainland, was a huge hit in the titular role of "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Nashville. And now he's starring in "Much Ado About Nothing" for the same company ...
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