I was pleasantly surprised when I went to Murphy’s for a tasty Irish burger shortly before St. Patrick’s Day and was seated across the aisle from my longtime pals Al Harrington, Jimmy Borges and Cal Lui. They invited me to have lunch and join their conversation. Both Jimmy and Al were in the original "Hawaii-Five-0," Al as a regular and Jimmy as a guest 16 times. Cal, a Saint Louis ’54 graduate, and James MacArthur, an original "Five-0" mainstay the guys loved, were in a small travel-industry biz together. James played Jack Lord‘s "Danno." Our Murphy’s waitress was Jan Diehl, who worked at Trappers in the Waikiki Hyatt where Jimmy sang for a decade. Lynette Adams stopped by the table to say hello. Lynette works with Kimo Kahoano on his "Aloha Friday" show on AM940 from 6 to 8 Friday mornings. Jimmy and Al have been interviewed on the program.
Al was an all-star running back for Punahou (class of ’54) and Stanford (’58). He was drafted by Detroit but, being a good Mormon, chose to go on a mission. "I went on a mission, too," said Jimmy, bringing much laughter from us, as we knew Jimmy’s mission in his younger days always involved beautiful models, flight attendants, singers and other such attractive ladies. Jimmy would have been a Saint Louis graduate (’53) had his family not moved to the Bay Area when he was in sixth grade. Like Al, Jimmy was a star high school running back. He entered San Francisco State and played football for a year before his focus shifted from the gridiron to music. Both he and Al call the late Herman Wedemeyer their football hero. Herman was a Saint Louis grad who was an All-American halfback at St. Mary’s College in 1945. Herman was also a "Five-0" regular.
Al, who taught at Punahou, was a singer and storyteller who went on to star in big Polynesian shows in Waikiki. While he was at Stanford, Hilo Hattie (Clara Inter) would come to San Francisco and headline shows at a Fisherman’s Wharf nitery called Waikiki Beachcomber. Al was a fireknife dancer in those days, and she wanted him in her shows. He said he loved it when she would call him and say, "Eh boy, you still in school?" …
STANDING TALL: "A Tradition of Honor" will be repeated on KGMB Thursday, 8:30 p.m. It is part of the celebration of the "American Heroes:Japanese American World War II Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal" exhibit at Bishop Museum, running through April 14. The documentary tells the story of the legendary Japanese-American World War II units — the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military IntelligenceService …
ROMANO’S Macaroni Grill at Ala Moana Center has stepped up for the 35th Annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk on Oahu, scheduled for May 18. On every first and third Wednesday of the month now through May 15, 20 percent of customers’ bills will be donated to the Oahu charity walk … Happy birthday to Charlie Beeck, owner of Tropical Roofing and Raingutters, who marked another one with his daughters Kealoha and Lei, and friends Scott and Estre Okamoto, Olivia Kwong and Jackie Smythe Saturday at Michel’s …
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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
