A Hawaii TV show was the most successful, longest-running weekly local prime-time show in the country. It dominated the airwaves for two decades and won multiple Emmy awards. What was it? Here’s one more hint: It began as a disco program.

It was called the "Hawaiian Moving Company."

"It all started in 1979 as a disco-dance show," says producer Randy Brandt. KKUA deejay Kamasami Kong hosted the Monday-night show. Viewers were invited to "move" around the nightclub scene while learning a few "moves" to use on the dance floor. The name "Hawaiian Moving Company" was a double-entendre.

After a year and a half, disco died and the show fizzled out.

But then, Hawaiian Host asked KGMB if there was a show they could sponsor. The "Hawaiian Moving Company," it was thought, could be reconfigured as a local magazine show.

"Kamasami Kong had moved to Japan," Brandt says. "Michael W. Perry was the next most popular guy in radio. He was young and hip. He was a perfect host. He is so comfortable on camera. The way he tells a story is magical."

"On the very first shoot," Perry muses, "we covered a new TV show that was filming in Waimanalo. It starred John Hillerman and some new guy with a moustache who drove a red sports car. Nobody knew Tom Selleck back then, and I was no exception!"

The "Hawaiian Moving Company" produced nearly 2,000 segments highlighting outstanding people, places and animals from all over Hawaii and the world. Viewers were taken from Niihau to Hana, Russia to Switzerland, Australia to Hong Kong, but always with a Hawaii perspective.

Perry believes the Hawaiian Moving Company was revolutionary. "In the days before cable, there was nothing that focused on local artists and musicians. We exposed such performers as Rap Reiplinger, Cecilio and Kapono, Frank De Lima and many others," says a proud Perry.

"The helicopter cowboys was one of the most memorable segments for me," Brandt says. "About 100 cattle had wandered off the Perreira Ranch onto federal land on Maui. The owners rented a helicopter, and a paniolo sat on its skids and roped each cow. The helicopter then hoisted them back to the ranch, one at a time. It was spectacular, and one of our most popular episodes."

Many segments were sold to other stations around the world, often for $100 a second. "A popular one was the skateboarding dog in Manly Beach, Australia," Brandt continues. "This bulldog could put one foot on the board, push with the others to get going, and bank to go around corners."

"We began a tradition that first year called ‘abusing the host.’ They put me up in F-15s and hoped I’d turn green," Perry recalls. "They made me meditate at a Buddhist temple. The priest would whack you with a stick if you didn’t do it right. I figured they’d give me a ‘tourist whack.’ I soon discovered there was no ‘tourist whack.’ It hurt!"

"I’m a quiet kind of guy," Perry says. "I like to read. I wouldn’t do most of these things if they weren’t part of the job. Tandem sky diving, F-15s, being with snakes, tiger sharks, wallabies, surfing cats, bats — I’d never do that in a million years."

As a gag, and to see whether anyone was paying attention, Perry and Hari Kojima switched roles once. "We put Hari in one of my shirts and my glasses, and he did the intro and outro for one segment. I ‘subbed’ for him in a ‘Let’s Go Fishing’ segment," Perry says.

"We thought the phones lines would light up. I mean, Hari and I didn’t look anything like each other, but no one called, no one wrote, no one even commented to us personally. Apparently no one noticed! I told the story earlier this year on KSSK, when Hari passed away."

Trips to Las Vegas, Disneyland and foreign countries were the most enjoyable, Perry says. "I took my wife and kids several times. We have an adopted daughter from Malaysia and took her with us on one trip. She saw young girls her age, about 11, washing their clothes on a rock in a stream, and told us that could have been her if we hadn’t adopted her. We were all moved."

The "Hawaiian Moving Company" came to an end about seven years ago. Producer Randy Brandt says it was "the best job I could ever have in television. It was a passport to go anywhere I wanted to go in Hawaii or the world and talk to anyone."

Bob Sigall, author of the Companies We Keep books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.