FEATURE:

Hoaloha, a forever friend

Don Ho shared his world with us; he shared his life with Haumea

By Lynn Cook

Say Hawai‘i and music in the same breath and the immediate response is Don Ho. For almost 40 years Don held our hearts in the palm of his hand. He sang the songs of our youth, gave us stories to pass on to our kids and grandkids and made us feel like we were in his inner circle of beloved pals.

The amazing thing is that the “we” in this circle includes hundreds of thousands of fans all around the world. More than being our favorite star on a stage or the image of our perfect Hawaiian dream on a television screen, Don Ho made us feel we were part of his life.

Since his passing, in April 2007, many memorials have been suggested. Statues and parks, even buildings could be named to honor Hawai‘i’s favorite son. Waikiki already has a Don Ho Lane.

Photos from Watermark Publishing’s book about Don Ho’s life. Haumea and Don share a hug; Don played high school football for Kamehameha Schools; family and friends attend memorial service for Don on Waikiki.

To plant a thought, consider how easily this rolls off the tongue – Welcome to Don Ho International Airport in Honolulu. John Wayne, John Kennedy, John Foster Dulles and others have been so honored. Don Ho was the master of making people feel at home. What better way to be welcomed, arriving or returning?

From humble beginnings in Kaka‘ako and Kaneohe on O‘ahu, where he grew up, to stardom in television, movies and the velvet draped showrooms of Waikiki, Don was first and foremost a “local boy.” His stage was always filled with musicians, singers, dancers and visiting stars from around the world.

His goal was to give the audience the very best show he could. Managing stardom while delivering non-stop entertainment took a Herculean effort. Don did it all – that is until Haumea arrived.
For 20-plus years, Haumea Hebenstreit shared Don’s public and private life. You could call her producer, director and guide to Don’s fame and fun and you would be correct. What she says about the years, “we just laughed a lot!”

Born in Rarotonga and raised in New Zealand, Haumea had a life right out of the pages of a South Pacific travel journal. As a matter of fact her mother, Johnny Frisbie wrote that story, “The Frisbies of the South Seas,” about the life of her own father, author and Pacific islands traveler, Robert Dean Frisbie. Haumea was an athlete. At age 15 she earned the title of national diving champion of New Zealand.

Don during his time in the U.S. Air Force, left; Don at one of his Waikiki performances, right; blowing “tiny bubbles,” below left, and with his mother Honey, below right.

Her mother says with a grin that Haumea was a born leader with a following of fans from the age of 6; her geese, a turkey, two cats, a pig and the goat named Faust who would stand waiting at the curb for her school bus to bring her home.

At age 18 Hawai‘i called and Haumea arrived in Honolulu. Seeing an ad for a job at a dinner show she asked her dad, publisher Carl “Kini Popo” Hebenstreit, about working at the Don Ho showroom. “He told me he had heard about ‘that guy’ and didn’t think it was a good idea,” Haumea says with a smile. “Of course, I took the job.”

As a “newbie” to Waikiki, she had no idea who Don Ho was. The job was “basically doing the dishes for a dinner show of 700,” she says. “I only got a peek at what the show was like.”

About a month into the job Don Ho and his bodyguards walked through the kitchen. Haumea says when Don stopped and asked, “who’s ya maddah,” she answered, “Johnny Frisbie.” Don then asked, “who’s your faddah?” She answered, “Kini Popo.” Don couldn’t understand her New Zealand accent answers. The bodyguard translated, Don looked at her and said “out of the kitchen.”

Don is surrounded by some of the dancers from his show and welcomes Elvis Presley to one of his shows.

Possibly out of respect for her parents or for her Pacific Island heritage, Don moved her to the showroom stage as part of the line up of dancers. “Since I didn’t really dance, I needed help.” Hula classes with the Dela Cruz brothers got her ready for her first solo performance. “Don heard my mother was coming to the show. He told me I would dance ‘Beautiful Kaua‘i.’ I was ready but nervous.”

In typical Don Ho style, Haumea came on stage and Don started singing “Hawaiian Lullaby,” a dance she didn’t know. Telling the story now she laughs, “I broke out in a pure sweat. I bet I left a puddle of it on the stage. The next day I went into administration.”

From that time on, when Don called Haumea up to dance, the song was always “Beautiful Kaua‘i.” She learned the ropes of management, moved with Don to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome and became the one person he could always count on.

Haumea’s roll expanded. Taking on the job of show producer, she took a concept of Don’s and created a tool that has been copied by many other entertainers – the teleprompter. “Don’s focus was always on his audience. Once he was on stage he didn’t want to worry about lyrics.”

They pre-planned each show, orchestrating the song lineup. Haumea says well before today’s laptops and instant messaging, Don counted on her to electronically direct the show, “even though he often totally ignored my plan.”

Longtime Ho fan and good friend, University of Hawai‘i professor Cristy Kessler, describes the partnership of Don and Haumea as exceptional. “Don totally counted on her. You could see that it was unconditional trust and love. He knew she would just be there.” Don was fond of saying that when they traveled Haumea was the reason he wasn’t still standing at the airport.

For 10 years the Don Ho Show traveled all across the U.S. Haumea says that their favorite tours were the trips by bus. “We got to see the country, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Ohio, Don loved it.” So did the fans. His performances in casino showrooms and theaters large and small, from the east to west coasts, were sold out.

Don and Haumea share a fun moment with Cha Thompson and Wayne Harada, entertainment editor of the Honolulu Advertiser, top. The calabash bowl is the one he always had at his shows to collect contributions for the ‘Aha Punana Leo programs. Don and Haumea in a happy moment, bottom.

From his first performances at his mom’s bar, Honey’s in Kaneohe, and every showroom show after, Don honored the members of the military. He sang their anthems and wished them well as they shipped out to places unknown. They came back, bringing their kids and grandkids. He often said that touring allowed him to take Hawai‘i to them when they couldn’t make it back to the islands.

Don was an Air Force fighter pilot. Haumea says, “every afternoon, no matter what we were doing, he would stop to watch the F-15s taking off for maneuvers over the ocean.” Those F-15 pilots were the “boys” who honored Don on the day of his memorial, flying in low and tight over the outrigger canoes as his ashes were scattered off Waikiki.

Don’s circle of pals included an assortment of high-ranking military officers. One afternoon a call came in to go to the helipad at the Hilton hotel. A Black Hawk helicopter swooped in and took them for a ride over the island, a tour Don never stopped talking about. Another day Don was invited to take a “little cruise” aboard an aircraft carrier. To return the favor Don hosted 200 of the crew, and their captain, at his showroom.

Then there was golf. The “big secret” of Don’s golf game was that he never putted. “That was my job,” Haumea says with a grin. “I was chief putter.”

Meanwhile Don would wander off into the woods, dressed in an army jacket with “about 100 pockets.” When he finally showed up to hit the ball she says his pockets were bulging with “lost and found” balls. “He was probably carrying 30 pounds of golf balls. Monday was his best day, the balls were almost all new,” Haumea explains, “because the Japanese played on Sunday. They never took time out to look for an out-of-bounds ball.”

Don’s golf tips included how to improve your game by humming “Tiny Bubbles.” He swore it was the perfect rhythm for the perfect swing.

Words that brought music to Don’s ears — hardware, drill bits, nail guns, Slim’s Power Tools and Home Depot. He had a passion for carpentry, constantly building and re-designing projects. His “gym” workouts consisted of yard work and remodeling. Haumea’s workout was keeping him “off the ladder to the roof.”

Don went from Honey’s to the famous Duke’s in Waikiki. He toured and played in Hollywood’s Coconut Grove, The Sands in Las Vegas, Harrah’s, Lake Tahoe, then on to the big showrooms of New York and Chicago. He had his own television show, appeared on shows hosted by Art Linkletter, Johnny Carson and Joey Bishop.

His Waikiki showrooms included the Polynesian Palace, the Hilton Dome, Hula Hut and, finally, his Hoku Hale Showroom. The stream of stars who came to pay homage to Don ran from Elvis to the visiting punk rock band of the hour.

Giving his audience “their money’s worth” was Don’s philosophy. Sold out showrooms proved he was right. An hour and a half, not including the picture taking before and the long, slow autograph lines after, was not unusual for a show. Seeing the Don Ho Show was the unfulfilled desire of one group of island visitors – cruise passengers.

Haumea and other family members take Don’s ashes out to sea off Waikiki before the public memorial.

Traditionally they flew in on a Saturday, sailed that same evening, cruised the islands and flew out on the day of their return to the Port of Honolulu. There were no evenings left for Don. With planning sessions that would test the Pentagon, Haumea and the cruise line’s director of entertainment, Pia Martin, squeezed in the show.

Eight hundred passengers, four hundred at dinner the other four hundred in the showroom, meant two 45-minute performances. Don said “no way.” Haumea made it work. The show equipment was loaded in Honolulu on Saturday. For a few weeks each fall Don and the band flew to the ship, docked on Kaua‘i on Thursday.

Two shows, hundreds of photos and autographs and Haumea had them off the ship and on the last flight back to Honolulu the same evening. No cruising for Don, he swore he got seasick.

Hundreds of magazine articles have been written about Don Ho. He was asked over and over to write his own story. His usual answer was, “can’t. Too many stories that could get me in trouble.”

In 2005 Don began a series of in-depth interviews with UH’s Cristy Kessler. Two years later, those stories became the basis for Don’s book. In the spring of 2007, Don sat down to “talk story” with veteran music biographer and former editor of Rolling Stone, Jerry Hopkins. The result, a hardcover book, “My Music, My Life,” by Don Ho with Jerry Hopkins, has been produced by Watermark Publishing. More than 300 historic photos, Don’s own stories and interviews by Jerry fill nearly 200 pages.

Beyond the printed page, the Mountain Apple Company has released the DVD of a one-time reunion show with Don Ho and his original band, the Ali‘i’s, titled “A Night in Hawai‘i with Don Ho.”

Despite health challenges and cutting edge stem-cell heart treatments, Don thrilled his fans to the very last weeks of his life. Each night he brought out a koa bowl and mentioned that any contributions would go directly to the ‘Aha Punana Leo Hawaiian Emersion School programs, educating youth in the Hawaiian language.

Television reruns may keep Mr. Five-0, Jack Lord, and “Magnum P.I.” high on the list of Hawai‘i’s stars, but Don Ho remains the icon, the ambassador of Aloha, the most remembered moment of a Hawai‘i experience. That magic continues on in Haumea Ho’s beautiful smile.

Lynn Cook is a Hawaii-based freelance writer, specializing in arts and culture. She is the editor of Island Air’s Holoholo magazine and writes for local, national and international publications

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