Fab 5 reunites
against cancerTHE much-awaited 1997 UH basketball season gets under way tonight when the annual "Midnight Ohana" takes place at the Special Events Arena. That's the first practice for both the men's and women's teams, and aside from working out, they'll have a slam dunk and 3-point shooting contest. They have to brush up on those "treys" because again this year the local division of the American Cancer Society is raising money from pledges for each 3-pointer made. And guess who the honorary chairpersons will be for this campaign. Taking on an entirely new opponent -- cancer! -- will be Al Davis, Jerome Freeman, Dwight Holiday, Bob Nash and John Penebacker, the Fabulous Five of old. Freeman is flying in from L.A. for the tip-off reception next month -- the others still live in Hawaii. And wouldn't it be great if the cancer folks could get Jim Leahey, now combating cancer himself, to help out in the campaign. He did play-by-play for so many memorable UH basketball games over the years ...
SPEAKING of the Cancer Society, tireless volunteer Indru Watumull was the inspiration for the beautiful green orchid awarded to the society's most outstanding donors and volunteers. The orchid is named Nani, which means "glorious and splendid" in Hawaiian and coincidentally means "grandmother" -- Indru's family nickname -- in her native Indian language ...
AFTER catching my breath following the sensational "Tap Dogs" show at Hawaii Theatre, I ran into Jim Nabors and asked if he would be incorporating tap dancing into his upcoming show. "Are you kiddin'?" he asked. "I plan to come out with a walker." Clever, those "Tap Dogs." The Aussie based company came up with six completely different ethnic types who together created a kind of microcosm of the world in dance. Loud? Yes, to be sure. Talented? Goes without saying. Fun? You bet! I enjoyed it every bit as much as "Stomp," and I loved that ... Dogging it
INCISIVE interviewing 101: In a rare "live" interview on KHNL News yesterday morning, anchor Diane Ako came up with two dynamite questions for her guest, 22-year-old actress Charlize Theron, doing some promotion for the film "The Devil's Advocate." Question No. 1: "What was it like working with Keanu Reeves?" Question No. 2: "What was it like working with Al Pacino?" I was dearly hoping Theron would say something like, "Well, you stand on your spot and say your lines," but she was much too polite for that ...
THE Jets are performing tonight at Polynesian Cultural Center. We're not talking about Adrian Murrell and other members of coach Bill Parcells' football team, although these Jets easily could form a team of their own. The original eight members of the Wolfgramm family from Tonga, who had some hit records in the '80s, are now being joined by nine other siblings on stage tonight. They're performing as part of the Tongan Festival, which runs through tomorrow. (Not much else to do in Tonga other than make beautiful music, it would seem.) ... No Jet lag
SORRY to learn of the death of 20-month-old Adam Makanaakua Morris Spencer, son of Traci Morris and Stephen Spencer and grandson of isle businessman Red Morris and wife Gail. The baby accidentally was run over by a car in a driveway in the town of Sisters, Oregon. Ashes will be scattered tomorrow morning at Kailua Beach and friends will gather at the Morris home in Kaneohe following the celebration of Adam's all too short life ...
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.