Ticket taker became star of Varsity Theater

For generations of island cinephiles, the face of the old Varsity Theater was that of the bespectacled, broadly smiling, unwaveringly cheerful gent known as "Uncle Joe."

Joseph Kaapuni died April 27 at the age of 82.

Kaapuni spent more than 30 years as an equipment operator for the Department of Public Works and appeared in several television commercials later in life. But it was as a ticket taker at the Varsity, the now-defunct art-house theater on University Avenue, that Kaapuni is perhaps best remembered.

"He had a very outgoing and generous personality," said daughter Joey-Lynn Springel. "He made everyone feel like they were special and like they were welcome. He wasn’t fake or two-faced; he was a for-real person. And no matter how short a time you might have spent with him, he had a way of getting into your heart."

After graduating from McKinley High School, Kaapuni served in the Army and was stationed in Frankfurt and Nuremberg, Germany, in the aftermath of World War II.

Back in Hawaii, Kaapuni met and eventually married his wife, Judi. They celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary a few weeks before he died.

Kaapuni first worked at the Varsity in 1965 but was fired for sneaking a drink in the parking lot during his shift, an incident he would acknowledge to friends and family with a mischievous glint in his eye, his daughter said. He was rehired in 1968, initially as a parking lot attendant.

"But then they put him at the door, and that was the end of that," Springel said, laughing. "He became an icon at the door."

Indeed, until he retired shortly before the theater closed for good in 2007, Kaapuni was a happy constant for theater regulars, a genial one-man welcoming committee whose warm and unpretentious personality lent a folksy feel to a theater known for the arty, highbrow films it screened.

There were times when Kaapuni had to use his polite-but-firm presence and disarming sense of humor to diffuse disagreements between customers or to enforce house rules against smoking or outside food. But mostly Kaapuni made his presence felt by remembering the names and faces of hundreds of regulars, striking friendly conversation with those arriving or departing alone, and listening attentively to those in need of a patient ear.

Talent agent Cathy Muller recognized Kaapuni’s down-to-earth appeal and, after some coaxing, persuaded him to try out for local commercials. Kaapuni acted in commercials for Longs Drugs and Hawaiian Airlines and once did a national ad for Coors. He also appeared in the 1991 film "Goodbye Paradise."

"He enjoyed it, but it wasn’t something he really felt qualified for," Springel said. "(Muller) wanted him to take on a speaking role, but he didn’t want to. He’d say, ‘I can’t do that!’ He didn’t think of himself as being special. That’s just how he was."

Springel said her father spent his last years baby-sitting his two granddaughters, taking care of his wife and volunteering at the KEY Proj­ect.

"Someone told me a long time ago that after God made my father he broke the mold," Springel said. "I used to think, ‘Nah, get plenty like him.’ But I’ve come to understand that he was right. My father really was one of a kind, and I’m so happy that so many people remember him that way."

Kaapuni is survived by wife Judi, daughter Joey-Lynn (Steven) Springel, granddaughters Des’ree and Danielle, and hanai son Darryl Chang.

A celebration of life is scheduled for May 27 at 9:30 a.m. at the KEY Proj­ect, 47-200 Wai­hee Road. Burial is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 30 at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.