THE HAWAII FIVE-0 NEWSLETTER
Issue 1 January 1999
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Welcome to the first edition of the Hawaii Five-O Fan Club Newsletter which is dedicated to bringing together all the fans of the longest running police drama in television history. Our staff has been working hard over the past few months to bring you a newsletter which is fun and informative. We will keep you up-to-date on all the latest Five-0 happenings such as major conventions or small get-togethers.
In this issue, you can read about the Chicago luau held last September; find out how Hawaii Five-O helped one member find her mother; test your trivia knowledge about our favorite actors; find out what some guest stars are all about, and see if you can find the episode titles in a word-search puzzle.
So, pull up a comfortable chair, put the theme song on the CD player and take a step back in time to rolling waves, beating drums and the greatest (and best looking) television cops ever!!!
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Hawaii Five-O debuted on CBS on September 20, 1968 with the pilot episode Cocoon. James MacArthur was not in the pilot but showed up in the very first episode Full Fathom Five on September 26, 1968.
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Did you know that Jack Lord’s real name was John Joseph Patrick Ryan?
Did you know that James MacArthur‘s middle name is Gordon and he just celebrated his 60th birthday Dec. 8th.
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FINDING MY MOTHER
How Hawaii Five-0 Has Influenced my life
by: Leilani Kimmel-Dagostino
I was originally born in Honolulu in 1949 but I was raised and educated in Chicago by my father and grandmother. While I was growing up I was always told that my mother had died of natural causes, but I was to learn that this was not true. When I was 13, my father died and my grandmother advised me that my mother and half brother may still be alive in Hawaii! A private investigator was hired to try and find their whereabouts. Nothing was ever found so the matter was dropped. Of course, I always wondered about them and never gave up hope that they might still be alive somewhere.
In 1970, I was an undergraduate student at Northern Illinois University when the Hawaii Five-0 series aired. As I watched the show which took place in the beautiful state of Hawaii, it reawakened a longing in me to find my mother and brother and to visit my birthplace. Every week I watched Jack Lord’s portrayal of Steve McGarrett as a painstakingly patient and thorough investigator who was out to find the truth. I was 19 years old and very impressionable at the time so I thought that I would go out there and launch my own investigation. That way I would know for sure that everything had been done to find my mother and brother. I saved up enough money for a round trip flight to Honolulu and to cover my expenses for two weeks. When I advised my grandmother of my plan, she was shocked and tried to discourage me. I replied that I was determined to find the truth myself and that she could either help me with any information that she possessed or not. She gave me an address off an old trunk in the attic that had been sent ahead of me with some of my mother’s things and wished me luck.
So began my adventure. I landed in Hawaii without knowing one single person and I checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel, a hotel I had seen on Hawaii Five-0. I methodically planned the best investigative approach that I could pursue knowing my time and financial limitations. I began my search at the Hawaii State Bureau of Statistics which used to be located kitty-corner to the Iolani Palace and the Hawaii State Capital Building. I learned from watching the Hawaii Five-0 show that they kept very good records of family lineage there. When I advised the staff there of my desire to find my mother and brother, they were not very encouraging but seeing how determined I was in my quest, they directed me to an area where I could pour over some microfiche records. The reason the staff could not offer much assistance was there were a lot of World War II children who were born out of wedlock to servicemen and Hawaiian locals who were now returning to find their birth parents. Their sudden arrival could be a cause of embarrassment to the parties involved especially if they had remarried and not told their spouses of these children.
I never even suspected that I could be a member of this group until I could not find a record of my parents’ marriage license. I also could not find any certificate of death for my mother or brother, which was encouraging. The Freedom of Information Act had only been passed in recent years but there were still many records that were not available to me. That did not stop me in my investigation, however. The other people in the Bureau of Statistics office started to become interested in my case when I began to turn up every day asking for more records and more information. They knew I would never give up until I had found something one way or another. I became acquainted with one of the staff workers who offered to drive me around after work and help me investigate old addresses. This was a boon to me because I was too young to rent a car and I did not know the area. I began my search with the original address off the trunk that my grandmother had given me. The people living in the house said they remembered my mother but she had moved 10 years ago. They gave me a forwarding address. I sent to that address and the people living there said she had moved 7 years ago. I went to the forwarding address and the people said she had moved 4 years ago with no forwarding address. It appeared the trail stopped there.
I went back to my hotel and for the first time felt discouraged. I had been in Hawaii for two weeks and had come so close to finding my mother and brother. Could the investigation really end on this note after coming so far? I prayed for some break- through. The night before I was due to leave for home, I received a telephone call from the Manager of the Bureau of Statistics Office. He said he had never seen a person with such persistence and methodology of research. I said that I was just following the process employed by Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-0. He would never give up until he explored all of the possibilities and uncovered the truth and consequently neither would I. Anyway, he said that he had accessed some records for me that were not supposed to be seen and he had located and contacted my mother on my behalf. She was anxious to meet me and a meeting was set up for the next day. I asked for a description of my mother so I would be able to recognize her. He said that no description was necessary. If it was truly meant to be, we would meet and recognize each other immediately. If not, then things were not meant to be. At noon the next day I saw a woman in a crowd of people across the street who I immediately knew was my mother and she saw me and knew I was her daughter. We had a tearful reunion on the street and nearly stopped traffic. The ironic thing about it was that my mother worked as a cleaning lady at the Hawaii State Capital Building and she was right across the street all the time I was in the office doing my research and running all over the island chasing down old addresses.
Later that day I was to meet my half brother, Michael; my new half brother, Bobby, my mother’s husband, Gilbert and a host of relatives I never knew existed. It seems that everyone had known about me their entire life and it was only a matter of time before they knew I would return. My mother said that she and my father had never married and she already had another baby out of wedlock to raise. My father wanted to marry her and take everyone back to Chicago. Because my mother was Hawaiian/Japanese, she was afraid of the prejudice that she would face in the mainland. She told my father to take me back to Chicago because she believed that I would have a better chance in life there. She said she would follow later, sent a trunk ahead with some of her things, and then disappeared from sight. She always knew, however, that one day I would find her. And I did, thanks to Jack Lord’s inspired portrayal of Steve McGarrett!
It’s a real joy now to watch the series after 30 years to see what Hawaii looked like in the late 60’s and early 70’s when my adventure was happening. I guess it’s the nostalgia and the wish for a simpler, more innocent time. People cared to help you and Steve McGarrett always got the bad guy and put him away. It was a time of infinite possibilities. When I look back at that time now, I marvel at the fact that I was a naive 19-year old girl who believed that she could accomplish what everyone else told her was impossible. Yet Steve McGarrett made it look so easy and attainable!
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Guest Starring: HENRY DARROW By Lisa McKenzie
Between 1971 and 1977, Henry Darrow made three appearances on Hawaii Five-0. Fresh from his work on The High Chaparral, his first appearance was quite a departure from the happy-go-lucky Manolito on the NBC western. Johnny Oporta, in No Bottles, No Cans, No People was vicious and brutal, but strictly minor league with a longing for the bigs. His next villain was Billy Madrid in Loose Ends Get Hit , a wise guy intent on springing his boss from a murder rap, but ends up in fear of his own life. Darrow’s final entry was a secondary role as Stewart Longworth in Cop on the Cover as a mild-mannered dad being blackmailed for government secrets.
Born on September 15, 1933, Henry Darrow’s (real name Enrique Delgado) list of TV credits is extensive and stretches from the early 1960’s until the present. For trivia lovers, his first opportunity to work with Jack Lord was in the Point of Entry episode of Stoney Burke. He hit the big time as Manolito Montoya in the western High Chaparral which ran from 1967-1971. The seventies were filled with series work primarily in guest roles, some of the better being in The Streets of San Francisco, Night Gallery and Mission:Impossible. His feature film work includes costarring with Robert Duvall in Badge 373 and he also participated in the massive miniseries Centennial.
A stint as Det. Manny Quinlan in the series Harry 0 came along in 1974-75, reviving his popularity. Since then, series work has come fast and hard, including three different Zorro-related shows, making him not only the first Latino to play Zorro, but also the only actor to play both Don Diego and his father, Don Alejandro in separate productions.
Soap work carried Henry into the ’90’s with a successful role as A Martinez’ father in Santa Barbara, one that won him a Daytime Emmy. The Family Channel’s production of The New Zorro followed quickly, and after that, an appearance in the big screen Maverick. Star Trek: Voyager provided opportunity for two appearances as Chakotay’s father, Kolopak.
Today, Henry lives in Altadena, California, and is
still active both in television and in films, his latest effort is the
independent Hispanic film Tequila Body Shots, currently being shopped around for
a distributor. He also makes special appearances at Star Trek conventions and
western autograph and memorabilia shows, dishing out autographs,
anecdotes, chitchat with his fans and even the occasional kiss! With no
plans to retire, Henry keeps his fans happy with ample opportunities to watch
him work and meet him personally.
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THE CHICAGO LUAU
BY JUDY WESTERN
The weekend started out innocently enough. I took a couple of days off from work to make it a long, five-day weekend. On Wednesday afternoon I boarded a plane in Dallas, Texas and flew to Minneapolis. The plan was for Heather to pick me up at the airport. She was going to show me a couple of interesting spots in town. I’d tell you about them but I just don’t remember anything after getting into her car at the airport and putting a death grip on the dashboard. Not really, she doesn’t drive that badly, does she Flo?
Thursday morning, after massive quantities of coffee, we got in the car for the short 8-hour drive to Chicago. Lots of rolling pastures and happy cows between St. Paul and Chicago. We finally made it to the "Windy City" with time to spare. We were able to check into the hotel before heading off to find the first of our future partners in crime. Driving through downtown was definitely an adventure. Heather was driving and I was her navigator. Scary, Huh? I kept asking myself two questions: How many streets can they have come into one intersection? and: Are we going to make it through the intersection alive? A couple of times I wasn’t so sure. We finally made it to the bus station where Heather made me stay in the car while she went looking for Flo. Rumor has it that Heather had to pull Flo away from some guy she was talking to. She kept mumbling something about his tie. Neither one of them would confirm it, though.
Next stop, the airport to find Mom (Debbie) and Lisa. It was rush hour so we didn’t want to get on the highway. Never having been to Chicago, I decided we would take the quickest path according to the map. Wrong answer. Take my word for it, just because it is the shortest path doesn’t mean it’s the safest. Contrary to popular belief, we made it to the airport alive. Heather went in to the terminal while Flo and I waited. I don’t think Flo had said a word yet. That would change quickly enough.
Once Heather got back to the car with Mom and Lisa, we headed to the hotel and the weekend was about to kick off. The first evening was tame compared to what lay ahead. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, then back to the hotel for a relaxing evening of "I want to watch Jack"; "I want to watch JMac". This would set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Luckily for us, Leilani thought ahead and brought another VCR. Luckily, I say because Flo and Debbie can get pretty violent without their dose of JL. Again, rumor control has it Leilani’s pause button went through such a workout that weekend, her VCR is in permanent pause mode.
Leilani’s room was dubbed JL videos only, with Heather and my room having private viewing of JMac in H50, The Untouchables, and yes, 12 O’Clock High. Friday’s schedule started out pretty much the same way Thursday night had ended. Leilani and Flo became permanent residents of Leilani’s room watching JL (his tight jeans and the spinning spurs) in Stoney Burke and H50. The drool factor was pretty high all day. It got pretty intense.
Heather and I set up housekeeping in our room with JMac video screening only. Lisa was another permanent resident of our room. Debbie kept moving between the rooms. To this day, I’m not sure if she went to watch JL or Flo and Leilani’s reaction to JL’s scenes.
Debi showed up with her daughter (a JL fan who also took up residence in Leilani’s room). She brought all the necessary paraphernalia for a luau: a blow-up rubber pineapple tree, paper leis , bamboo curtain, a tiki god that couldn’t face the wall and more videos among other things. The plan for the day was to watch videos then go to dinner at a local Polynesian restaurant. There were those who kept trying to add body piercing to the schedule, but we kept ignoring them.
After seeing the episode of "The Untouchables" that JL was in, I don’t think I’ll be able to take this show seriously for a while. ("I like your tie. Ya wan’ it?") It’s amazing how the meaning of a conversation can change through the generations. No disrespect intended to the hard core JL fans, but you have to watch this episode to know what I’m talking about.
The ride to dinner brought on the birth of "car dancing". I don’t want to go into much detail in this to save embarrassing the less talented of the group. Suffice to say we got a lot of interesting stares as we went through the streets of Chicago. This trend started the previous evening and would continue until we separated on Monday. We almost lost Flo, Debbie and Lisa at one point during the drive when they saw another driver in a Hawaiian shirt. No child locks on Heather’s rear car doors. Could have been pretty ugly, but Heather sped away in time.
The dinner itself was quite uneventful until the dancers were looking for volunteers to learn the hula. We, of course, volunteered the lesser talented of the group, Leilani! She did a great job. So what did he wear under that wrap again, Leilani?
After dinner is when the party really started. We have pictures to verify this. A video was also taken, but Debbie swears she has erased the evidence. Yeah, right. As we were walking back to the cars, some unknown culprit turned on the tape and played the Macarena in the parking lot of the restaurant. We were just getting coordinated when three locals came up and joined in. No shame in this group. This was not to be our only "Dancing in the Dark" incident. Yes, we were all still sober at this point.
We moved on to another Polynesian bar/giftshop to collect souvenirs and partake of the bar’s ambiance. We did have one person who was under age and the bar wouldn’t let her in, so we decided to move on. (No, it wasn’t Flo.) With all the late night Thursday activities, everyone went back to the room and the party broke up a little early. Was it 1 or 2 a.m. when we finally made it to bed?
Saturday’s plans included a ride on the Untouchables Tour. We almost lost Leilani when she flashed her 5-0 badge at the tour guides. Gangsters don’t like coppers. The tour was pretty interesting. We got to see a lot of the city of Chicago; its history and a number of historic places. After the tour, we did some shopping at the Viacom store while waiting for a seat at a pizza restaurant. They did have a couple of H50 t-shirts and coffee mugs. Just the wave, no photos.
After eating, it was back to the hotel for more JL and JMac sightings. The viewings were not for the faint of heart. While the drool factor was very high, so were the critiques. It would take a fan with thick skin to sit in those rooms.
Three of us snuck away to see some of the Chicago nightlife. Heather, Lisa and I made our way to a local Blues bar for the evening. We heard some great music and had a fun time. Debbie, Leilani and Flo stayed at the hotel and continued to watch JL episodes.
Morning came early Sunday. This was the morning we were all going to get to take a ride in Steve McGarrett’s car along the lakefront. Michael Timothy showed up to take us for a ride. He was great. He would have to be to put up with this crew. Mike made three trips, taking adoring fans to the lakefront, then waiting while each of us had our picture taken with Steve’s car. He’s taking great care of it. We’re lucky a fan like Mike is in possession of Steve’s car.
We ended the morning taking group shots in front of the car. Then we walked from the parking lot back to the hotel. Someone kept singing the theme song to "The Love Boat", or at least part of it. Who was that again? Most of the group went to get sandwiches. Guess I should have stayed with the group at this point. I keep hearing bits and pieces pieces about the incident at the Subway shop. Sounds interesting.
At this point I moved to the JL viewing room. We were watching an episode of Stoney Burke. JL had a kissing scene which we saw a number of times. Flo and the rewind button again. That evening dinner was scheduled for Chinn’s restaurant. Take a hint, bring a lawyer with you if you want to get seated without standing in line at Chinn’s. Thanks Mike. Actually, the show we put on in the bar might also have had something to do with us getting a seat earlier. Once again dinner was great. I have sworn off Mai Tai’s since that evening though. Once dinner was over, the auction started. The waitress even got into the action and bought a photo of JL. Between the great photo of JL and the fact all proceeds were going to JL’s favorite charity in Hawaii, she couldn’t resist. (ed. note: the proceeds netted $206.)
After closing down the restaurant, we were moving back to the hotel to watch the infamous last Wo Fat episode. On our way out to the parking lot, the Macarena tune was being played. Once again, the wild wahines started doing the dance in a Chicago restaurant parking lot. This one had a little different twist to it. Flo came up with "the Wave" version. Yes, we have photos, But, where did the butt shots come from again? Mike had control of the camera at this point. I don’t care what anyone says, that was my evil identical twin in the pictures.
The evening ended with a groan. We watched "Woe to Wo Fat". It was tough and yes, we barely made it through, but we did survive.
Monday consisted of good-byes. I made it out early before anyone got up. I wanted to get home with enough time to relax and get some rest so I could go back to work. I really enjoyed the weekend and from what it looks like, made a number of lasting friendships. Can’t wait for the reunion tour.
The group: Debbie, Heather, Lisa, Flo, Leilani, Judy, Mike, Marta, Debi, and Dana (the little one in front)
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Trivia: We all know that McGarrett made his tires squeal (in almost every episode!) by putting WD40 oil on the ground under the tires - but did you know that when a scene called for McGarrett to drive right into the camera, the scene was filmed backwards. He was actually driving away from the camera, not towards it. One specific scene is in Honor is An Unmarked Grave where this occurs.
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Did you know that Zulu (also spelled Zoulou, real name Gilbert Pauhi) played Kono Kalakaua. "Kono" is said by some sources to be the Hawaiian equivalent of "John". "Kalakaua" is a tribute to one of Hawaii’s most popular kings, David Kalakaua, whose fun-loving personality earned him the nickname "The Merry Monarch". In early press materials, Kono was said to be the descendant of Hawaiian royalty, though this was seldom dealt with on the show (it was alluded to in "The Big Kahuna"). Kalakaua is also the name of a street in Waikiki. (Thanks, Liz)
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And now a word from our sponsors:
The Center for Jack Lord Research is looking for the following Jack Lord episodes on VHS: Dr. Kildare - A Willing Suspension of Disbelief and the movie The True Story of Lynn Stuart. Anyone who may have information about these programs can contact the Center at either the fan club or email address listed above.
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Memorial contributions can be made to the Jack and Marie Lord Trust c/o Hawaii Community Foundation, 900 Front Street Mall, Suite 1300, Honolulu, HI 96813. This fund was established in 1988 and was set up by the Lord’s to benefit their favorite charities. We have been assured that while personal responses are not possible, Mrs. Lord is made aware of all contributions.
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From Jerry Picard a reminder that last fall Kam Fong underwent surgery for cancer. Jerry spoke to Kam’s son Dennis who said his dad was a bit down. Anyone interested in sending cards to wish him well may do so. The address is Kam Fong, c/o Dennis Chun, 2578C-2 Pacific Hts. Rd. Honolulu, HI 96813.
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Answers to the Word Search Puzzle: The Box, Execution File, Dear Enemy, Hit Gun for Sale, The Hostage, Image of Fear, Killer Bee, Odd Man In, The Ransom, Paniolo, The Reunion, Samurai, Stringer, Second Shot. How many did you find?
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See you in April
Be There, Aloha
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