Bill Lee always has big trouble taking pictures
'cuz he has to fly alone.

The poor soul who unsuccessfully tries several times to take his own picture while on vacation is actually 41-year-old bachelor Bill Lee, of Pacific Heights. The 30-second commercial was the brainchild of Grant Miyasaki, art director for Hendrix, Miyasaki, Shin Advertising of Honolulu, the agency for Foodland and Sack 'n' Save.

The commercial first aired June 30 and will run through the end of July, said Brad Shin, the agency's creative director. The commercial was filmed over a seven-hour period June 24 at the Midkiff residence in Nuuanu.

In the spot, the Honolulu-born Lee, who attended St. Louis High School and the University of Hawaii, tries to take his own picture using his camera's self timer but there is always a malfunction. The commercial message is that a traveling companion could have taken the picture of him and flying has never been cheaper because of the companion ticket offer on Aloha Airlines through Foodland.

Lee, who was selected from 20 people, was an extra on "Magnum, P.I.", and had his first speaking role in the film "War and Remembrance." He worked as an entertainer in Los Angeles from 1988-90, where he did singing telegrams and had speaking roles on "General Hospital." His only other commercial was one in Hawaii for KFC-Blockbuster.

"This was no stretch for me at all," Lee said. "Everyone thinks I'm sort of goofy anyway and I'm always making faces so, hey, no sweat.

"Now if I could really find someone to travel with."

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