Chin Ho Kelly is getting married Monday, but it won’t be for the first time. The "Hawaii Five-0" character already has a wife and children — in the original series, which, of course, doesn’t count in the rebooted reality of the hit CBS police drama.
Still, it’s timely trivia.
Kelly, who was played by local actor Kam Fong, gave TV audiences a glimpse of his life during an episode that aired Feb. 4, 1970, which was late in the second season of the original series.
In "Cry, Lie," Kelly is accused of taking bribes and has to turn in his badge, said Fong’s real-life son, local actor Dennis Chun. He heads home to his wife, played by Evelyn Carlson. She jokingly tells her husband that the $5,000 bribe he is accused of taking is not big enough.
"It was one of his favorite episodes," said Chun, who has a recurring role as Sgt. Duke Lukela in the new version. "It gave him a chance to show another side of the character — family man, his feelings about being a cop. It was a very special episode for him."
Canadian "Five-0" fan Mike Quigley, who maintains a website packed with series trivia and fan commentary (www.mjq.net/fiveo), wrote that the 1970 episode highlights Kelly’s personal life: He goes to boxing matches on Tuesday nights and church on Sundays.
The new Kelly, played by Daniel Dae Kim, will marry Malia Waincroft, played by Reiko Aylesworth. The scene was shot at Paradise Cove in Ko Olina.
But if the happy couple wants to keep up with the original series’ characters, they’ll need to get busy. The Kellys in Kam Fong’s day had eight children.
"FIVE-0" production will take a holiday break starting Friday after finishing the 14th episode of a planned 24-episode season. Cast and crew will be back on set the first week of January.
Episode 14 — "Pu‘olo," which means "package" in Hawaiian — will feature a brief flashback of 16-year-old Steve McGarrett in a tense scene with his father. "Five-0" needed to find a teenager with brown hair and blue eyes for the first-ever appearance of a young version of the crime-fighter.
Nazarene Anderson, agency director of the Hawaii talent agency ADR, sent one of her young clients for a reading last week, but it didn’t work out. Anderson won’t identify the actor, who is in L.A., but said it was a good lesson to learn.
"There are very few parts for teenage boys," she said. "He understands that you go in and do your best and if it happens, great. If it doesn’t, you’ll have other opportunities."
WHEN production resumes next year on "Five-0," the show’s creators will already have a rough outline of how the second season will end in May. Paul Zbyszewski, co-executive producer, said the back half of the season will be filled with more twists and turns.
"Tom Sizemore’s coming back, Terry O’Quinn, and of course, Mark Dacascos as McGarrett’s arch nemesis, Wo Fat," he said in an email. "We’re also thrilled to have Ed Asner coming aboard to reprise a role he played in the original ‘Five-0.’ We’ll also dive back into our characters’ personal lives — a very pregnant Rachel will be back, along with Stan and Grace. And the identity of the mysterious ‘Shelburne’ will finally be revealed."
AND that’s a wrap …
Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
