Whatever
Happened To...
Stage and TV actress
Linda Ryan has decided
to leave the islands
Question: What ever happened to Linda Ryan?
Answer: Linda Ryan, a fixture in Hawaii theater for decades and executive director of the alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration First Night Honolulu, has not been in the limelight since the late 1990s.
STAR-BULLETIN PHOTO / 1993
Her last public stage performance was in 1995, and she has kept a low profile since resigning in 1997 as executive director of First Night.
Ryan said she has put public performing "on hold" because she does not want to make the commitment for rehearsals, which can last several weeks.
"You get to a point in your life where you feel you've done most of the plays and musicals over and over again. ... I don't want to do 'Guys and Dolls' again,'" she said.
Ryan, whose credit includes stage as well as regular guest roles in "Hawaii Five-O," is preparing to leave the islands. She has not decided where she will go, but she will make that decision when she buys a one-way plane ticket next week, she said.
"I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a precipice -- and I'll either fall or sprout wings."
Ryan quit her job two weeks ago as office manager for her brother's movie rental company, Hawaii Media Inc.
The 61-year-old British-born entertainer came to Hawaii when she was 14 and "left Hawaii forever four times," she said. Even though she will be moving away again, she has plans for a return visit in May for her son's wedding.
Ryan said she has been working since she came to Hawaii. She has worked in the islands, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada and the mainland.
Ryan was the host of a Hawaii talk show and made guest appearances on national television. Although she last appeared on the public stage in 1995, Ryan has continued performing in private homes as part of the Drama Group, a private drama appreciation club.
Ryan taught at Chaminade University, chairing the fine-arts department, from about 1980 to 1990. She resigned to join First Night Honolulu and headed the nonprofit organization for six years before resigning in 1997.
Ryan resigned over disagreement with her employer over fund-raising strategies for the financially troubled organization, which is now defunct.
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