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Wood Craft Ben Wood |
Chianese says
writing, acting make
‘The Sopranos’ greatDominic Chianese of "The Sopranos" says "a wedding of the writing and acting" is the reason for the huge success of the HBO series. Chianese, 73, plays elderly mobster Uncle Junior in the show. He was the guest of honor at a "Sopranos" party tossed by hbo at Pier 19 Saturday. On the dock, it was an Italian street fair with pizza dough-tossing Josh Arnold of Bob Festa's Boston's North End Pizza, plenty of food and drink and strolling violinist Rami Gepner. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and wife Nancy attended. Current Affair catered food from Meritage. Inside, the sexy Bada Bing dancers were working out and there was dance music by Paradise & Company with singers Sonya Mendez and Corey Funai. Chianese, a singer-guitarist, has a band in New York. He sang "Jamaica Farewell" and "The Coconut" as Olivia Stewart danced hula. Don Ho joined Chianese and sang his request, "Tiny Bubbles." In the series, Junior has been acting and talking strangely and showing signs of Alzheimer's. Not too good for the uncle of mob boss Tony Soprano. Asked if he could be rubbed out, he said he doesn't know because "they don't tell us" who is going to get hit ...
Sarah Wayne Callies lands two starring roles
Things are looking up for Hawaii's Sarah Wayne Callies. The Punahou grad has the lead in ABC's upcoming "The Secret Service" and the female lead in the big screen version of James Redfield's novel, "The Celestine Prophecy." In the ABC series, Sarah plays a young woman balancing her life and marriage with her duties as a Secret Service agent. Former "Alias" producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman-Counter are involved in this one so don't be surprised by similarities in the two shows. "Prophecy" is the story of a spiritual search in a Peruvian rain forest for a long-lost manuscript containing insights into the nature of human existence. Shooting begins in April in L.A. and Puerto Rico ...Dog Chapman nailed five fugitives in Kona over the weekend with the cameras rolling, according to Darcy Cook. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" series premieres on A&E in June. Darcy is Dog's agent and is doing wardrobe ...
Jerry Santos and Olomana have been playing excellent Hawaiian and hapa-haole music for 11 years at the Hilton Village. They perform in the lounge just outside the Bali-by-the-Sea fine-dining restaurant Friday and Saturday nights. Santos, a strong tenor, has Wally Suenaga on bass and guitarists Haunani Apoliona and Mark Yim working with him. Nalani Badua is the hula dancer ...
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Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of people, places and things every Wednesday and Saturday. E-mail him at bwood@starbulletin.com
