Don Ho Movies
Alternately tagged as a novelty act and as Honolulu's answer to Dean Martin, the baritone lounge vocalist Don Ho was best known for his signature tune, "Tiny Bubbles," and for his trademark raspberry-colored sunglasses. The Kakaako-born chanteur signed with Sinatra's label, Reprise, in the early '60s, which issued his first album, The Don Ho Show, in 1965. Ho landed a massive hit with "Tiny Bubbles" in the fall of 1966, and issued a handful of albums in the ensuing years, but after 1969, Ho's record sales plummeted. To keep himself afloat as an entertainer, he not only became a club staple in his native Hawaii, but branched out into occasional film and television roles. These included guest appearances on such series programs as The Fall Guy, Charlie's Angels, Sanford and Son, The Brady Bunch, and I Dream of Jeannie (where the entertainer seemed particularly at home in the beach-laden setting of Cape Canaveral). Circa 1996, Ho signed for one of his only feature film roles: that of Alberto Bianco, a vile landlord who oversees several dilapidated tenements, in the MTV-produced, FX-laden picture Joe's Apartment. (The film's detractors decried the producers' decision to pass up an onscreen number by Ho and bequeath the singing roles to 5,000 cockroaches instead.) Several years after participating in the documentary Waikiki, in the Wake of Dreams, Ho died of heart failure in Honolulu. He was 76. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 2001
To many people around the world, the Hawaiian island of Waikiki has long symbolized an exotic paradise on Earth, and the advent of convenient and inexpensive air travel has transformed the island from an idyllic stop for adventurous travelers to one of the world's leading tourist attractions. Waikiki: In the Wake of Dreams is a feature-length documentary that offers a look at the history of the island, both as a striking find for offshore explorers and as the sometimes-campy focus of enthusiasts of exotica. Waikiki: In the Wake of Dreams features vintage performances from Hawaiian entertainers Don Ho and Arthur Lyman, clips of Bing Crosby, George Burns, and Gracie Allen performing in islander mufti, and an interview with Hawaiian senator Daniel Inouye. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ho
This film is based on an innovative short film made for MTV about a guy living in a horrible downtown apartment filled with scores of mischievous, smart-alecky roaches. The story chronicles the adventures of Joe (Jerry O'Connell), a hapless rube from the rural Midwest who journeys to the wilds of New York City. Mugged repeatedly on his arrival, his luck seems to turn when he finds an affordable apartment in a very dubious neighborhood. Unfortunately, his landlord (Don Ho) is more interested in evicting or, if need be, murdering his tenants, so that the building can be turned into a (highly profitable) penitentiary. Joe finds the allies he needs in his apartment's cockroaches, who sing and dance their way into his heart. This film should be of interest for fans of 1930s musicals; it makes reference to Busby Berkeley's elaborate dance phantasmagorias and the odd water ballets of Esther Williams. Many of the scenes utilized real roaches who were "choreographed" via tiny filament harnesses and other devices. Animal rights activists will be pleased to note that no roaches were intentionally harmed during filming. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, (more)
- 1976
In the conclusion of a two-part story, a gang of jewel thieves have planted their stolen gems on Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), who is in Hawaii to attend a junkman's convention with his son Lamont (Demond Wilson). Pursued all over Honolulu with the bad guys one step behind him, innocent Fred (who has since "misplaced" the loot) has no idea what is going on -- even with that Hawaii Five-O music playing incessantly in the background. Singer Don Ho makes a guest appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1967
In the second of three episodes filmed in Hawaii (else why would Don Ho be making a guest appearance?), Tony (Larry Hagman) and Roger (Bill Daily) tell a little white lie to Jeannie (Barbara Eden) in order to take a vacation at Waikiki. Once Jeannie discovers that her Master has not gone to the North Pole as he claimed, she pops up in Honolulu to find Tony escorting Eleanor (Brenda Benet), the daughter of an admiral. In order to avoid Jeannie's wrath, Tony cooks up another falsehood, claiming that Eleanor is an endangered princess, and that he is the girl's bodyguard--and the tangled web gets tanglier by the minute! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
