Though still in the planning stage, the family of the late Don Ho is hoping an annual remembrance kanikapila will become a tradition at the International Market Place, where a statue of the iconic entertainer at the Kalakaua Avenue entrance has become a draw.
Unveiled Aug. 13 on what would have been Ho’s 87th birthday, the statue by Kim Duffett is a beacon for fans and followers to extend Ho’s legacy.
It was Dwight Ho, eldest son of the entertainer, who spontaneously assembled kinfolk — “playing on my father’s wild and unpredictable side” — to sing one of his dad’s hits, “Pearly Shells,” at the launch. He might have stumbled onto something.
“I have no artistic talent whatsoever,” said Dwight, but the reunion of regular showgoers at Duke Kahanamoku’s, where Don shared his aloha and magic with visitors and locals, has sparked discussion with the developer Taubman Properties, which re-imagined the International Market Place, to possibly build on the remembrance.
“IMP likes the idea of an annual celebration, and we’re planning to meet,” Dwight said. Logically, the Queen’s Court, further into the marketplace than the statue, would be the gathering place. Stay tuned. …
Haumea Ho, widow of the showman, said her first impression of the statue was, “‘Oh, he’s so young,’ since I didn’t meet Don until 1981 when he was in is 50s already — older, more mature and very handsome.”
The rendering captures Ho in the 1970s, when he was in his 40s, but Haumea loves “the pose with microphone in his hand, reaching out to invite you on stage with him.”
She had an aha moment when friend Nancy Bernal snapped a photo of her fronting the statue “and there was an orb in the picture. He was there!” …
HOW TWEET IT IS
Comedian Frank De Lima’s latest musical parody, “Tweeting Donald” (sung to the melody of “Rockin’ Robin”) pokes fun at the tweets by President Donald Trump.
The melody — a 1958 hit for Bobby Day, penned by Leon Rene under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas and recorded in 1972 by Michael Jackson — features the POTUS dealing with internal chaos: “The White House has a spinning revolving door, I hire then I fire, they don’t have it no more, one of them just lasted little more than a week, some of my decisions I may still tweak tweak tweak.” Other lyrical darts: repeal and replace Obamacare, fake news, media leaks.
To download, visit frankdelima.com, and make a donation to De Lima’s student enrichment program. …
COUNTRY COMFORT
Singer-guitarist Jerry Santos, in his “Artist to Artist” stint with Henry Kapono, provided soothing, reflective sounds at Blue Note Hawaii recently. A brief Kapono-Santos give-and-take included different layers of “Nanakuli Blues,” aka “Waimanalo Blues,” but the evening belonged to Santos, a storyteller who provides lucid, personal and revealing insights humanizing his vocals. Like why and where he wrote his “Ku‘u Home o Kahaluu” signature (he missed his home base in the shadows of the Koolaus, while away in San Francisco) and his “Lot 6” address growing up (his roots were so rural, the home didn’t have the usual number/street designation).
Precious: A lengthy and luminous medley of songs he and his late Olomana partner Robert Beaumont created, sparking the renaissance of Hawaiian music as a pop hybrid, with Kamuela Kimokea on guitar and vocals. And his “I’ll Remember You” tribute to Don Ho, coupled with Olomana’s “E Ku‘u Sweet Lei Poina‘ole,” was chicken-skin — a contrast to Santos’ weekend gigs at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran Honolulu entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or email wayneharada@gmail.com.
