Georgette Deemer — whose 16 years as Hawaii film commissioner launched the islands’ international film and television industry­ — died Sept. 1 in Honolulu after a long battle with cancer. She was 71.

Georgette Takushi Deemer was born Jan. 25, 1953, and spent her childhood in Nebraska while her father was in medical school. The family eventually returned to Hawaii and Deemer graduated from Punahou School. She continued her education with a Bachelor of Arts in communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a Master of Arts in telecommunications and film at San Diego State University.

In 1985, Deemer was appointed manager of the Hawaii Film Office, a post she would hold until 2001. Representing the administrations of Gov. George Ari­yoshi, Gov. John Waihee and Gov. Ben Cayetano, Deemer acted as liaison between the state government, the county film commissions, the motion picture and television industry, and industry-related labor unions.

Film industry observers credited her with almost single-handedly promoting an industry-wide awareness that Hawaii could provide facilities, and with it a trained workforce, up to national industry standards. When county film offices were created she persuaded them to market themselves as representatives of the state rather than individual islands. Deemer also oversaw the development and construction of the original Hawaii Film Studio facility at Diamond Head, developed a one-stop film permitting system, and was a tireless promoter of Hawaii as a premier tropical film location.

During Deemer’s 16 years as state film commissioner Hawaii was the home of three network television series — the original “Magnum, P.I.,” Jake and the Fatman” and “Baywatch Hawaii.” It was also the production site for big-budget films “Godzilla,” “Jurassic Park,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Waterworld” and “Windtalker.”

“She was probably the most composed, articulate, unflappable person I’ve ever worked with — which is really important in this business,” Honolulu Film Commissioner Walea Constantinau said recently. “Being able to stay calm and focused and dealing with a lot of that pressure, and be able to communicate effectively is a gift, whether it’s being in a hearing at the Legislature and (the legislators are) firing stuff at you, and you being able to eloquently respond back without upsetting them, or whether it’s dealing with a production that’s having some challenges, and navigating the complexities of that with style and grace, or whether it’s a member of the public who may be concerned about something and being able to explain things so that they’re calm.”

Constantinau met Deemer in 1993 after Mufi Hannemann, head of what was then the Department of Business and Economic Development, provided matching funds for the creation of county film offices. Constantinau became head of the Honolulu Film Office and Deemer welcomed her to the industry.

“She had already been a seasoned professional in the industry for a while, very well respected and operating at a very high level, and I was a real newbie to this whole film commission thing. She really helped me to understand what an interesting fine line you have to walk,” Constantinau recalled. “You have to help the productions. You have to be loyal to the productions that you’re attracting to come here to shoot, and yet you have to balance that with the loyalty that you have to the place and the people and the government. It’s this really interesting balancing act.”

From 2004 to 2012, Deemer served as communications director for the state House of Representatives.

In 2012, newly elected Mayor Kirk Caldwell appointed Deemer as deputy managing director for the City and County of Honolulu. For the next eight years she helped coordinate the administration’s communications on a wide range of public issues.

When Caldwell termed out at the end of 2020, Deemer retired as deputy managing director. She then joined him in co-­authoring a book, “Our Beaches Were Empty, Our Hospitals Full,” a collection of interviews with government, health care, education and business leaders about how they had responded to the economic and social impacts of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book was published in 2023.

“Georgette’s strong but calm presence led to decisions made on behalf of the people we served that were reasoned, fair, and always based on what was best for the community,” Caldwell said in a news release. “She never wavered from this approach. When she spoke, people listened. She rarely raised her voice, yet the strength of her convictions came through loud and clear. Georgette cared deeply for her family, her friends and colleagues, and her community. We will all miss her.”

A celebration of life will be held Sunday, Oct. 27, at Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary, 2233 Nuuanu Ave. Visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. with services to follow at 3:00 p.m.