Support is surging for Willie Kahaiali‘i, the beloved Maui-based entertainer known as Willie K, who continues to receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment to combat lung cancer.
A GoFundMe.com page has been established online where fans, friends and boosters may kokua with donations and tout messages of wellness. Willie, who’s helped many in the past, was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma lung cancer, which can be aggressive. He remains optimistic and is hoping for a speedy recovery.
Three separate fundraising events are in the works, though specifics are scant: March 17 in Hilo; April 21 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center; and April 24 on the luau grounds of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. These early announcements serve as a save-the-date reminder. Willie is expected to appear at all three. Participating performers and ticket details are not yet finalized. …
Meanwhile, Amy Hanaiali‘i did the first of two pinch-hitting gigs for Willie on Feb. 20 at the Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort; she was joined by Kamuela Kimokeo, singer-guitarist-funnyman. Together, they offered a casual, warm aloha to Willie, sharing jokes, tales and tunes that made the 80 minutes fly by. Two standouts from Amy: “Haleiwa Hula,” with her luscious and pearly tones, and “Hanaiali‘i Nui La Ea,” about joyful island eating. Her second Willie show will be March 20. …
OSCARS PREDICTIONS
The Academy Awards unfold tonight in a delayed broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, and here’s how I pick ‘em in seven categories:
>> Best picture: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
>> Best director: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
>> Best actor: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
>> Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
>> Best actress: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
>> Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
>> Best song: “This Is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Former Laie resident Keala Settle, who portrayed the bearded lady Lettie Lutz in the musical starring Hugh Jackman as circus icon P.T. Barnum, sings the musical’s nominated tune — a timely anthem for outcasts and a battle cry for being different. …
DOUBTING THOMAS
Thomas Magnum, the private investigator character that made Tom Selleck a household name, will be reintroduced with a Hispanic actor in CBS’s new “Magnum P.I.” next season.
Peter Lenkov, who reimagined both “Hawaii Five-0” and “MacGyver,” has locked Jay Hernandez to be the new Magnum. Not sure if the mustache, aloha shirt and Ferrari will remain part of the franchise; not sure if the diversity card (the California-born Hernandez is of Mexican descent) will matter, but it should.
The pilot will be shot in Hawaii, and being set in our midst, you’d think Lenkov and company might have finally hired a Hawaiian to star, especially if a white actor was no longer part of the template. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim are lead producers and are co-scripting, with Justin Lin (“The Fast and the Furious” movies) directing. Casting has not been announced for the other “Magnum” characters, including Theodore “TC” Calvin and Orville “Rick” Wright, originally played by Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti, respectively, though the Jonathan Higgins character, played by the late John Hillerman, is undergoing a gender change as Juliet Higgins (echoes of Grace Park as Kono Kalakaua in Lenkov’s “Hawaii Five-0.”)
At one point, an ABC prospect envisioned the lead Magnum to be the next-generation daughter of the gumshoe, which might have yielded a cameo for daddy Magnum. Moot point now. …
CORRECTION
Those Eddie and Myrna Kamae historical Hawaiian documentaries, which constitute a mini filmfest, will air March 18 through 24 on PBS and also will be streamed on pbshawaii.org from March 23 through April 6. An incorrect date was listed in last Sunday’s column. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
