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Hawaii Dave Donnelly |
Gordy’s been berry,
berry good to meIF Jimmy Borges starts singing less jazz and more Motown, there's a good reason. He and wife Vicki are back from attending his 50th class reunion in Oakland, and ended up enjoying some sailing, shopping and snoozing at the Balboa Island home owned by Honolulu Symphony President Carolyn Berry. While there, Jimmy ran into ex-Trapperette Christie Burton, who he describes as "still drop-dead gorgeous," from his old days at Trappers. And who could forget her? Anyway, Christie invited Jimmy and Vicki to have lunch with her and "a very close business associate" at the latter's Bel Air estate. Turns out Christie's associate is Berry Gordy, Mr. Motown himself, and the two discussed at length the most important things in their lives -- music and golf. Berry even won a buck from Borges on the nine-hole golf course he has in his back yard. Said Borges, in spite of losing a dollar, "I'd like to belong to his country club." So if you suddenly hear Borges singing things like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" instead of Sinatra, you'll know why ...
THE Borges family wasn't through with their memorable trip, however. Ex-Trappers girl Christie surprised them with tickets to see "The Producers" at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, starring Jason Alexander and Martin Short, who got fabulous reviews comparing them favorably with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who did the show on Broadway ...
Now you TV...
IS it just me, or does one local news show after another come out with lines like, "Paul (or Kim or Joe or somebody) is taking the day off?" It seems to occur on a daily basis, making some viewers feel they're in the wrong line of work. Is reading a few minutes worth of news somebody else has written such a pain that they need day off every week or two? Since I've not taken a day off, save for union holidays and vacation, in over nine years, I feel I have a right to ask ... Another TV gripe: Commercials with multiple repetition: "Aflack," "Can you hear me now," "I lowered my cholesteral" or the locally made king of repetition hill, "That's my bank," spoken on one 60-second spot 13 times! ... I'm also sick of spots written by a lazy copywriter which shows two people washing a car, and one -- usually the husband or father -- gets sprayed by a hose. Come on guys, come up with something new, will you? ...
State of the art
THE anchor tenant in the Garden Island's "Fashion Landing at Kauai Lagoons" will be called Harry Joe's and will be set in the current site of the Whaler's Brew Pub overlooking Kalapaki. This isn't going to be the little stand-up pub, however. Harry Joe's will accommodate 1,000 patrons with a restaurant located away from the stage and a high-tech proscenium stage, dance floor, balconies and VIP areas, multiple bars and patio dining. It'll also have a multi-track recording and broadcast studio. Sounds more advanced than anything in Honolulu. Owner Harry Witz has done the sound for the last two Rolling Stones' concerts, plus such artists as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, Guns & Roses, Kiss and many more ...
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968. The Week That Was runs Sundays and recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns. Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com
