One of the most beloved local entertainers on radio and television during the 1950s and 1960s was Lucky Luck. This month we look back at his popularity and talk to some people who knew him well.
Robert Melvin Luck was born in Waco, Texas, in 1918. His father ran a traveling carnival, but his family settled in St. Louis so the young Luck could have a more stable environment. While attending high school, Luck sang in the glee club with future Hawaii Gov. Bill Quinn.
Luck earned a football scholarship to the University of Alabama, but his true desire was to give radio a try. By exaggerating his experience, he was able to get a sportscaster job at WPAD in Paducah, Ky. The station quickly figured out that he lacked any on-air experience, but his enthusiasm impressed station managers so much they could not let him go.
Like so many others of his generation, Luck was inspired by the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor to enlist in the Marines. In February 1942 he was sent to Samoa as part of the 1st Marine Division. Luck quickly learned the Samoan language so well that he was made an interpreter. He eventually became a lieutenant and was placed in charge of a Samoan village of 200 residents as well as Samoan Marines.
After World War II ended, Luck was shipped off to Hawaii. When he saw an ad in the newspaper for Club Pago Pago, he was glad to immerse himself once again in the Samoan culture he had fallen in love with. He also fell in love with the club owner’s daughter, Ruth Kenison. They eventually married and had three sons.
In 1946 Luck decided to get back into radio and was hired by KGU, and from there he went on to KPOA, where he became a colleague of Hal "Aku" Lewis, who was also starting his radio career in the islands. Luck had a radio show, "Lunch with Lucky."
"I used my pidgin on the air. Letters of protest flooded the (Honolulu) Advertiser. People read the letters and tuned to my program. It was a success," recalled Luck in a 1965 interview with the newspaper.
When Luck rejoined KGU, he also had his own popular television shows on KONA (now KHON), appearing on the station’s inaugural broadcasts in 1953. At one time Luck had three television programs on the air, including an early morning cartoon show he hosted and a daily afternoon kid’s show called "Lucky’s Keiki Time." His Sunday evening show, "Lucky’s Lanai," was an hourlong variety program filled with comedy, music and dancing. Luck also kept himself busy entertaining tourists and locals alike at the Queen’s Surf with Jesse Kalima.
"We would go grocery shopping together, and it would take two hours," said son Rob Luck, a 1965 Punahou graduate and now Oregon resident. "People would come up to him, and he would always take the time to talk with everyone."
Luck also had successful morning radio shows at KHVH and KULA. On KHVH television (now KITV), "The Lucky Luck Show" in the early 1960s had an announcer and producer by the name of Bob Sevey. In 1965, Luck returned to KGU as Aku departed for KGMB.
In May 1967 Luck joined KCCN radio and its all-Hawaiian-music format. "Lucky Luck is the man who made early Hawaii TV and radio sing, laugh and occasionally cry for joy," said Bob Basso, who worked with him there. "He had pioneering contributions to the real spirit of aloha, and no one personified it more caringly than Lucky. He was a happy, positive guy, everybody’s uncle. I loved Lucky. He was a great part of my life."
Luck’s popularity led him to do commercials for Young Laundry, Leonard’s Bakery and Lucky Lager Beer. He also wrote Hawaiian cookbooks and recorded Hawaiian music albums. His local television success helped earn Luck movie roles in "The Devil at 4 O’Clock," "Blue Hawaii" with Elvis Presley and "Kona Coast." He even had his own feature film, "Unlucky Luck," in 1963, along with appearing in nearly a dozen episodes of "Hawaii Five-0" as well as on "McCloud" and "The Brian Keith Show."
In the early 1970s, Luck moved to Anchorage to work for KHAR radio, but he returned to Honolulu for a few years before finally settling in Las Vegas.
"He had a gift for language and an ability to absorb culture, which really gave him a feel for the local culture. People here appreciated his sincerity and generosity," said Rob Luck.
Luck died of cancer in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 1977. His longtime friend the Rev. Abraham Akaka delivered his eulogy at the Outrigger Canoe Club, and his ashes were scattered at sea.
A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.
