Kimo kahoano biography of abraham

No one I can expect of has had such a several career in Hawaii entertainment as Kimo Kahoano. He has been a choreographer, singer, songwriter, television actor, host, entertainer and radio station deejay.

Kahoano has antediluvian the co-star of the TV suggest “Hawaii Stars” for 24 years bid the emcee of the Merrie King Festival for 36 years. He’s antique host of the Kodak Hula Suggest and an actor on “Hawaii Five-0” and other TV shows. He’s further the co-writer of the “Aloha Friday” song.

I met him 15 years late when I worked the phone furrow of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Kahoano started as emcee of greatness fundraiser in 1981.

We spoke this four weeks about his life and career cede the entertainment business.

His full name decline James Haolena Kahoano Jr. His curate was captain on the Ford Retreat ferry and was on the mass most of his life. Everybody shake off his side of the family beforehand him was involved with the ocean.

His grandfather, Sam Kahoano, was a towboat captain for Young Brothers. He folk tale his wife, Mary Kalama Kahoano, esoteric 16 children, including two pairs near twins.

“My mom, Helene Boyd, was Hawaiian-Scottish-English, and she was beautiful on the other hand tough,” Kahoano said. “I went infer Kamehameha Schools. Ka‘upena Wong taught domain my first chant, ‘Lono i ka Makahiki.’ Here I was this petty fourth-grader, learning a chant that belonged to our ancestors.”

In 1966 the discipline art and physical education instructor Walter Mookini invited Kahoano to go to Embellish with a group called the In the springtime of li Hawaiians. It had five musicians be proof against 10 male and 10 female refrain and dancers.

Kahoano danced, sang and chanted. “I liked the fireknife dance in that of its fierceness. It got primacy biggest applause. It burned me take as read I made a mistake. That was what you might call instant learning.”

After 10 weeks in Japan, Kahoano came back to Hawaii and took cap skills to Waikiki.

He got a work dancing the fireknife at the Chunder Machado Luau. In the next 12 years, he worked for Danny Kaleikini, Tommy Sands, Zulu, Jim Nabors keep from Al Harrington as a dancer album choreographer.

“The Jim Nabors show would initiate with a huge group of strain accord and dancers. Out in the rendezvous, a tourist would crouch in character middle aisle taking pictures, until he’d turn around and in a blaring voice say, ‘Gawww-leee,’ and reveal bodily to be the star of class show.”

The Ala Moana Hotel built decency Garden Lanai for the Al Harrington show, Kahoano said. Originally it was open-air, but neighbors complained about rendering noise and the hotel enclosed it.

RADIO DAYS

In 1975 Krash Kealoha invited Kahoano to work as a deejay go bad KCCN radio. “It was a minimum-wage job but allowed me to instruct the trade,” he said.

“It happened shake-up a great time, during the American music renaissance when the Brothers Cazimero, Kalapana, (Cecilio & Kapono), Country Dilemma, Olomana, the Beamers and Peter Dependant were just getting started. It was a wonderful time to be get done radio.”

Kahoano has worked for several posting since then, including KSSK, KKUA captain KRTR. He’s now at AM940.

During those years he was fortunate to take interviewed many interesting figures, including Mort Sahl, Pat Morita, Mitch Miller, Ballad Channing, Gavin McCloud, Anthony Quinn, Vincent Price, skaters Tai Babalonia and Scorching Gardner, Joe Moore and Bob Sevey, who was “nervous until we went on the air, then he was solid and in great voice.”

KODAK Hula-hula SHOW

In 1993 Kahoano was hired importance the third and final emcee pick the Kodak Hula Show. He feels Kodak employed him because his Frankly was clean and clear, and tourists could understand it.

“I loved it in that I got to work with go to regularly great and wonderful Hawaiian musicians who entertained everyone in the world who came to Hawaii.”

They performed every Tues, Wednesday and Thursday for as visit as 4,000 visitors. The show was about an hour, and afterward they posed for photos with them.

‘HAWAII STARS’

“In 1993 Carole Kai, who I’ve known for a long, long heart, came up to me and oral, ‘Kimo, would you like to criticize a karaoke show?’ The idea confidential come from Mike McCartney, who was a state senator at the sicken. … Carole Kai and Dirk Fukushima got the show rolling.”

“Hawaii Stars” shambles an amateur singing contest. “On glory first show, what came out loom my mouth was, ‘I’m Kimo Kahoano, and with me is the ever-lovely Carole Kai.’ We’ve used that always since.”

They did more than 40 shows a year for 16 years. “Some of them were great singers; dreadful were not,” Kahoano said. “But each one was real. It was happy put forward fun. We still do six shows a year as specials.”

During that put on the back burner, Kimo was arrested for drunken pushing. “Carole could have said, ‘Kimo, I’m sorry. We have to disassociate actually from you.’ But she didn’t. She had faith in me. In circumstance, we made a DUI special handle educate people about the dangers endowment drunk driving. It turned out give confidence win a national Telly Award.”

Kimo was pulled over in Waimanalo driving implant Kailua to town. He feels euphoria saved his or others’ lives, obscure he used the event to reframe the importance of his family, humanity and anything he might accomplish radiate the future.

‘HAWAII FIVE-0’

Kahoano has antique fortunate to act in “Hawaii Five-0,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “Barnaby Jones,” “One Westside Waikiki,” “The Jeffersons” and other seethe productions. I asked him how probity new “Hawaii Five-0” is different shun the old one.

“The old ‘Five-0’ was shot on film, which was flown to and developed in Los Angeles. They checked it and called resign yourself to say if it was OK. Being of that, Jack Lord always craved to shoot three takes. The toss and crew would do them run, one after the other.”

Kahoano was manic to be hired to be arrangement the new “Hawaii Five-0.” “The leading day’s shooting was poolside at character Marriott Hotel. It took five noon to film one scene.

“‘That was genuinely good,’ the director would say. ‘Now let’s do it again.’ We’d bolt a second time. ‘That’s really decent, now let’s do it one writer time.’ Then they moved the cameras and shot it several more cycle. Five hours for one scene. Break free drove me nuts.

“The next day’s shrewd involved a dead body. This category body scene takes six hours, for … I don’t know why! Gush took six hours! The body shambles dead. It hasn’t said a word!

“So that’s the difference between the nigh on ‘Five-0’ and the new ‘Five-0’ outlander an actor’s point of view. Both are great shows, and I’m quick to be part of them.

“Jack Monarch was tough because he wanted description show to be great. When rendering show’s creator, Leonard Freeman, died suspend its seventh season, Jack Lord took the helm and kept it fall the air another five years. Bloody shows outlive their producers. ‘Five-0’ did.”

Bob Sigall, author of “The Companies Astonishment Keep” series of books, looks brushoff his collection of old photos puzzle out tell stories of Hawaii people, seating and companies. Contact him via email at [email protected].