Whatever
Happened To...
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ben and Gloria Tamashiro gained fame as Harry and Myra in Bank of Hawaii television commercials. Their most recent TV appearances were in ads for the Hearing Aid Center.
Harry and Myra of TV ad fame
still going strong in communityQuestion: What ever happened to Ben and Gloria Tamashiro, who appeared as the fictional couple Harry and Myra on the old Bank of Hawaii television commercials?
Answer: The Tamashiros, who became celebrities after the popular television commercials, remain active in community work and their own personal pursuits.
They also continue to appear in television commercials, though less frequently. Their most recent commercial work was in 2000 for television ads for the Hearing Aid Center.
While it has been six years since their popular bank commercials aired, strangers still stop them on the street and call them Harry and Myra, Gloria Tamashiro said.
The couple starred in their first Bank of Hawaii commercial in 1986. In 1989 they signed to work exclusively for the bank's ad campaign, which ran until 1997.
The Tamashiros, retired civilian workers for the Army, were amateur actors with Kumu Kahua Theatre when someone saw them and encouraged them to audition for the bank ads.
The Tamashiros continue to act when they find the opportunities. In 1994 and 1998 they performed on stage in "Our Hearts Were Touched with Fire," a tribute to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, of which Ben was a member.
The Tamashiros also can be spotted at craft fairs around town. Gloria, 78, sews patchwork house slippers, quilts and children's clothing, and sells them at the fairs. Her handiwork allows her to stay in touch with friends and "make some pin money," she said.
As longtime members of the Manoa Valley Church, the Tamashiros also keep busy with a variety of church activities.
Gloria participates in the church's women's group projects, while Ben recycles the church's aluminum cans.
Ben, 85, has a passion for writing, reading and researching historical and biblical subjects, and also contributes to the church's monthly bulletin.
In 1999, Ben's writing was used as an inscription on a Los Angeles monument that commemorates the Japanese-American soldiers who fought in World War II.
This update was written by Leila Fujimori.
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