Before Trini Kaopuiki and Malika Dudley started reporting on the weather on our airwaves, there was Marsha Fried on KHON.

Fried, now Marsha Bohnett, came to Hawaii 40 years ago with her husband, a member of the Air National Guard. She was soon a familiar face on local television as the “;weather girl”; on the KHON Eyewitness news team.

“;I didn't know what I was doing; they threw me into a swimming pool and told me to swim,”; Bohnett recalls.

With no rehearsals she was thrust into the job, learning as she went along, and spending time at the U.S. Weather Bureau. Soon she was writing and preparing her own forecasts.

Bohnett worked with what seemed like a revolving door of KHON anchors—Pat Wilkins, Dick Desmond, Mason Altiery, Don Picken, Bill Baist and Charles Stubblefield. She also worked with sports anchors Bob Basso, Chuck Leahey and Ray Sweeney.

She was among the first women on local television news, at a time when opportunities for women were few. She recalls receiving fan mail and being recognized in supermarkets. “;It was a good experience,”; she said. “;I really enjoyed it.”;

  Bohnett's work in television news was not her first foray on the small screen.

She appeared in print and TV commercials in her hometown of Phoenix, including ads for Cadillac, Dodge, Volkswagen and Porsche. In Chevrolet ads she appeared with a relatively unknown actor back then, Nick Nolte. Bohnett acted in local plays and served as announcer and co-host on “;The Red McIlvaine Show,”; appearing with guests ranging from Dick Van Dyke to Tennessee Ernie Ford to Pat Boone.

Her 9-to-5 job, though, was as a receptionist—she did the show during her lunch break.

The American Press Photographers selected Bohnett as their Miss Arizona in 1964, which led to photo spreads in the Saturday Evening Post and Chicago Tribune. That same year she graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with an interior design degree, and in the fall took some radio and TV classes at Arizona State University in Phoenix.

She entered the official Miss Arizona contest twice, losing to the eventual Miss America, Vonda Kay Van Dyke, in 1965.

  In 1966 Bohnett married and soon left for Hawaii. She walked into KHON early in 1968, to be hired by station manager Dan Kawakami to handle weather forecasts and surf reports.

She also did TV and print ads for Liliha Bakery, Outrigger Hotels, Hawaiian Electric Co. and McInerny.

In 1968, Bohnett appeared onstage in “;The Odd Couple”; with KHON colleagues Bob Basso and Bill Bigelow. “;I've always had a love for comedy. I enjoyed acting a lot.”;

There were also episodes of “;Hawaii Five-O”; and “;The Brian Keith Show.”; “;Jack Lord personally chose me for an episode of 'Hawaii 5-O,' and later he sent me a letter personally thanking me which I still have,”; she said.

But in 1970 Bohnett decided to leave the station, the daily grind of television news having taken its toll. She wanted to pursue other interests, travel and spend more time with her family: “;I didn't want to be a prisoner to the job.”;

  In the early '80s, Bohnett's daughter, Paula, was born. “;Raising a daughter and always being there for her was the most important thing,”; she said. “;I was the homeroom mother when Paula was at Punahou. I loved it.”;

Her first marriage ended in divorce, but in 1994 she was remarried, to Newell Bohnett, co-founder of the Sambo's Restaurant chain. The Bohnetts now split their time living in Honolulu and Malibu, Calif. She said she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family in Northern California and Phoenix.

“;I feel very blessed. God's been good to me. I look forward to the future, the past is good and the present is great.”;