Margaret Doversola — a central figure in Hawaii’s television and film industry for more than three decades — died Friday at her East Honolulu residence. She was 78.
Lane Doversola described her mother as “a haole with a British accent who loved Hawaii.”
“She didn’t have to stay here, especially after my dad died (in 2008), but she preferred Hawaii to anywhere else and she loved the people who lived here.”
Lane Doversola grew up alongside her mother. At 4 years old she made her debut as a featured extra in the original “Hawaii Five-0.”
“My favorite memory is her giving advice to actors and performers and singers, and up-and-coming professionals in the business. She wanted to help people. If they wanted to just be writers or something else (in the business), she wanted to help. She always promoted local (talent), and she always pushed for equal pay for them even though (the shows) always paid more for mainland hires. She really, really pushed for the local people. And when a show needed extras as cops or first responders, she tried to get real cops and real first responders to be the extras.”
Born Margaret Jean Collard in Manchester, England, in the final year of World War II, she was raised in Australia from the age of 7. Margaret Doversola earned a degree in education at Brigham Young University Hawaii in 1966. After a year as a teacher, she was inspired to make a career change.
She spent a short period of time on the staff of Webley Edwards’ internationally broadcast radio program, “Hawaii Calls,” and then became a production secretary at “Hawaii Five-0.” Series star Jack Lord took note of her professionalism and hired her as his personal assistant.
In 1980, Doversola became an assistant casting director for Hawaii’s next big television series, “Magnum, P.I.” Three years later she became the show’s casting director.
“Back in the day, if you were interested in pursuing a career on television, she was the person that you went to,” Julia Nickson reminisced during a call from Los Angeles. Nickson broke into television and film after she came to Hawaii from Singapore to attend the University of Hawaii.
“We all knew that we didn’t have the experience to be actors, but we wanted to learn about the industry. Everybody who was anybody could become an extra, and she handled the extras as well as the local actors, so you would always deal with Margaret,” Nickson said. “She would call you and give you your call time, where you would be and what to wear. We were always excited to get a call from Margaret and be on set and learn things that we could not learn in an acting class. She really gave us that opportunity.”
In the decades that followed, Doversola cast actors for local and national commercials, major movies and national television programs including “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Byrds of Paradise,” “Baywatch,” “Lost” and the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0.”
Doversola contributed to the local film and television industry as an adviser and mentor for several generations of Hawaii actors. She conducted workshops to help actors heighten their skills and also coordinated production work with members of the Teamsters union and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, producers, directors and the occasional “stage mother.”
She retired after completing the pilot episode for the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0” in 2010.
“She really fought so hard for me to be the governor in the new ‘Hawaii Five-0,’” Nickson said. “I went in and I just read for her what she put on tape, and it went really well, and she was so excited that I was a contender. I don’t know if (the producers) looked at my reel, but she was so adamant that I had done the best reading and so passionate about it. She always fought hard for her people.”
Doversola is survived by her daughter.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. July 16 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 219 Lunalilo Home Road in Hawaii Kai. A celebration of life will follow from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
