First it was the comedic schticks in nightclubs, like Territorial Tavern and Rap’s Place back in the day.
Next came the recordings, like “Poi Dog,” “Fate Yanagi” and “Room Service.”
And then the TV special-turned-DVD keepsake, “Rap’s Hawaii.”
Enter the biography: “Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story” (Farknocker Publishing). A long overdue book by his widow, Leesa Clark Stone.
It’s a fascinating read, on their courtship, their brief marriage, the launch of his career as a stand-up, his tenure in the Booga Booga spinoff.
And his buzzed-about death.
In retrospect, you need the video to fully appreciate the bounce and the breadth of his comic genius.
However, these in-print recollections of Reiplinger’s most famous lines will trigger smiles and giggles, like reuniting with a long-time-no-see friend:
>> “Russell, you get pen?”
>> “Not too sweet, not too rancid, but jess right.”
>> “What, boddah you?”
>> “Wait till I tell your supahvisah … you going get it!”
>> “My, this is the shortest runway I have ever seen … and the co-pilot said, ‘Look how wide.’ ”
His Punahou School activities (cheerleader, Japanese Club membership, Variety Show cast) surely influenced his art and triggered his interest in singing (he had to be trained) and acting (a natural comic).
For four decades, his fan base has quoted his lines. Budding comics emulate his humor, his timing, his contagious local-ness. YouTube thrives with his vintage schticks.
The funniest revelation in the volume is from the late Trappers singer Jimmy Borges, who was entering the Infinity nightclub at the Sheraton Waikiki resort one night as Reiplinger was leaving. “Rap was loquacious, to say the least. I had to pee badly and he caught me going in as he was exiting. He grabbed my arm and started to philosophize and wouldn’t let me go as he was wont to do. I literally peed my pants! Lucky, they were black slacks.”
The funny dude truly could make you wet your pants.
As for how Reiplinger died: Police reported he fell to his death accidentally, that suicide was not likely and there were no signs of foul play. Dr. Charles Odom said the initial autopsy findings suggest that Reiplinger likely died of a stroke, citing hypertension due to a discolored trace at the base of his brain, and that Reiplinger had an enlarged heart, a symptom of high blood pressure. “I don’t have any reason to believe there were drugs — none were found in his body (which was badly decomposed) and none at the scene,” said Odom.
Reiplinger’s cremated remains were scattered at sea, and in typical Reiplinger style, he had the last laugh: When Stone emptied the box containing his ashes at the front of the vessel, a gust of wind blew a huge cloud of Rap back toward people, coating them with a layer of his remains.
“PARADISE TO PARADISE: THE RAP REIPLINGER STORY”
By Leesa Clark Stone (Farknocker Publishing, $23.95)
The book is available at rapreiplinger.com and at Da Shop at 3565 Harding Ave.
