Hawaii-born actor James Shigeta, 85, who died July 28 in Los Angeles, appeared in nearly 90 movies and TV shows from 1959 to 2009. Condolences to his family.
Before being sought after for shows needing a handsome, accomplished Asian actor, Shigeta was best known as a singer. He and Hawaii’s Charles K.L. Davis had a good run on the mainland in the early 1950s as Guy Brion (Shigeta) and Charles Durand (Davis). They appeared on Bing Crosby‘s Chesterfield radio program on CBS in 1951. Showbiz greats such as Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, the Andrews Sisters, Fred Astaire, Dinah Shore and others appeared on that show.
In Hollywood, Shigeta was cast as a Chinese man in "Walk Like a Dragon" in 1960. Jack Lord was the star of that picture. Shigeta also appeared in a "Hawaii Five-0" episode starring Lord in 1968, the first season of the original "Five-0" series.
In 1983 and 1986, Shigeta was in "Magnum, P.I." episodes. In 1966, he portrayed Elvis Presley‘s helicopter charter business partner in "Paradise Hawaiian Style," filmed in Hawaii. In 1961, Shigeta was cast as Wan Ta, the lead in the film version of Broadway’s "Flower Drum Song." Hawaii’s Ed Kenney created the role on Broadway in 1958.
After the Shigeta-Davis duo ended its musical run on the mainland and Shigeta went on to Hollywood, Davis came home to Hawaii and later was a big draw at the late Dick and Joan Rodby’s Kemo‘o Farms restaurant in Wahiawa.
The Rodbys and Davis were good friends of mine. Joan and I were classmates at Stevenson Intermediate and Roosevelt High. She said Sunday that Shigeta and Davis sang together at Kemo‘o Farms a couple of times when Shigeta was between film roles and came home to visit. Davis told me laughingly that he and Shigeta were called Durand & Brion on the mainland to appear continental and added that he believes those names were chosen from French wine bottles …
POPPING THE CORK: Speaking of wine, the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival will run Aug. 29 through Sept. 7. The Halekulani will host the festival’s gala $1,000-a-plate dinner Sept. 5. The feast, "Halekulani Master Chefs Gala Series: Chefs Who Cook to Compete," features chefs Vikram Garg, Halekulani; Jose Garces, Garces Group, Philadelphia; Michelle Bernstein, Mitchy’s, Miami; Johnny Iuzzini, Sugar Fueled Inc., New York; Richard Rosendale, Rosendale Group West Virginia; and Hiroyuki Sakai, La Rochelle, Tokyo. They will compete in laying out the lavish six-course experience, which will be paired with fine wines.
A cocktail reception starts at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6. Wine seminars will be held at the Halekulani during the festival. For more info and tickets, go to www.hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com …
HALEKULANI is marking its 30th anniversary under the current ownership with the release of Celebrate, a private label wine created exclusively for the hotel. It is a cabernet sauvignon produced by Neyers Vineyard in California’s Napa Valley. It is available in La Mer, Orchids and House Without a Key for $30 a glass or $150 a bottle. If you have a good reason to celebrate at home you can pick up a bottle in the hotel’s boutique for $150 …
DANCING ON: Ballet Hawaii presents "Peter Pan," with choreography by Septime Webre, artistic director of The Washington Ballet, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Chef Ron de Guzman will prepare preshow dinners Friday and Saturday nights at Stage Restaurant in the Honolulu Design Center. Call Stage at 237-5429 or Ballet Hawaii at 521-8600 for reservations. Mention Ballet Hawaii or Peter Pan to your server and a portion of the proceeds from your dinner bill will be donated to Ballet Hawaii …
Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
