Don Ho, 76
For a good long while, Don Ho held court at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the sprawling resort complex on the end of Waikiki. The Honolulu Comedy Club was next door at the Ilikai, and on occasion, the proprietor of the HCC would get requests for comics to open for Ho.
The Male Half had an opportunity to do so, but turned it down. We’re foggy on the reasons, but it doesn’t matter now. It remains one of his show biz regrets.
At least the Male Half was able to get his elderly parents in to see Ho’s show in 1990. They were visiting Oahu (to coincide with one of our stints at the HCC), and they attended Mr. Tiny Bubbles’ revue at the Hilton and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Male Half’s mother was one of the millions of American women who had a special Hawaiian crush on Don Ho after the Tiny Bubbles single re-infectd the nation with Hawaiimania.
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