Honolulu Lite Charles Memminger

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And now, the Don Ho you didn’t know

YOU thought you knew Don Ho? Here are a few things that I, your intrepid investigative humorist, dug up that you might not have known about Hawaii's greatest entertainer:

» Born on the same day as Ho on Aug. 13, 1930, was Vinegar Bend Mizzel, professional baseball pitcher with the Cardinals and Pirates and congressman from North Carolina.

» Famous people also born Aug. 13 include Wild West sharpshooter Annie Oakley, scary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, golfing great Ben Hogan and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

» At Honey's at Koolau, the restaurant named after his mother at the Koolau Golf Club in Kaneohe, diners can order Don Ho's Special Ramen Noodles.

» He spent a lot of his time when golfing at the Koolau Golf Club, allegedly the hardest course in the world, looking for the many, many balls lost and left behind by other golfers.

» He gave Glen Campbell the song "Galveston."

» He not only flew fighter jets for the U.S. Air Force in Texas, he survived a crash in one.

» The name of the 1963 episode of "Hawaiian Eye" that he appeared in was called "Maybe Menehunes."

» In the 1974 episode of "McCloud" called "Cowboy in Paradise," he played a character named "Al Moana."

» Famous unknown Al Moana line from that episode: "You're right, McCloud. I'm a singer, I'm not a shooter. I found that out from the boys in Las Vegas at the tables. Never play games with the big boys, man. They're bad winners."

» The punk rockers from the group NOFX were Don Ho fans and released a limited-edition single called HOFX with Ho's picture on the cover. Famous unknown NOFX song: "Drugs Are Good."

» Appeared with actor Joseph Cotton (of "Citizen Kane" and "The Third Man" fame) in a 1979 episode of "Fantasy Island" called "The Wedding." » Quote from his Waikiki show, attended by many senior citizens: "I sing 'Tiny Bubbles' at the beginning in case some of you don't make it to the end of the show. I sing it at the end because the rest of you might forget I already sang it."

» Appeared in the 1966 episode of "Batman" titled "The Cat's Meow," in which Catwoman tried to steal the voices of British pop singers Chad and Jeremy.

» After Scottish "rhinestone cowboy" singer Sydney Devine saw Ho perform in Hawaii, Devine made "Tiny Bubbles" his signature song and sold 15 million albums.

» Name of the 1967 "I Dream of Jeannie" episode he appeared in: "Jeannie Goes Honolulu."

» Appeared in the 1977 episode of "Charlie's Angels" named "Angels in Paradise," in which Charlie is kidnapped in Hawaii by the wicked Leilani Sako (actress France Nuyen of "Star Trek" fame).

» Famous unknown Ho Quote: "I've had too much fun all these years. I really feel guilty about it."