My friend, Ron Jacobs, aka “Whodaguy,” died Tuesday at his home in Pearl City. He was 78. Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about RJ, as I called him, and in December, I gave him and Tom Moffatt Rearview Mirror awards for all they’ve accomplished in media.

Jacobs was one of the most brilliant visionaries and promoters in radio. He worked with Moffatt at KHVH when it was at Henry J. Kaiser’s Hawaiian Village Hotel, and the two of them turned KPOI into Hawaii’s first rock ’n’ roll radio station.

Jacobs elevated the disc jockeys into “Poi Boys.” Then he created a series of dozens of stunts and “thons” — short for marathons — that connected with Hawaii teens and made KPOI a must-listen-to station.

When Tom Rounds came to Hawaii and joined KPOI, Jacobs came up with an idea to get Hawaii listeners to know him and boost the station. He put Rounds in the window of Wigwam’s store in Kalihi and had him stay awake for eight days — 203 hours, 44 minutes and 40 seconds to be exact — setting a Guinness world record.

The “Wake-a-thon” was followed by similar stunts. Jacobs was proud of one stunt where he told KPOI listeners that Moffatt was locked in his office with dead fish. Dozens of them showed up to their Ala Wai station to “Free Tom.”

I think Jacobs told me it was only one fish, and may have been sashimi, and the door wasn’t locked, but it engaged listeners and got them into action.

Jacobs could be difficult and obnoxious. When I was working on my first book, 12 years ago, I found his phone number and called him. (Moffatt later asked me where I got the nerve to phone him.) I didn’t know what I was getting into.

I wanted to ask him about KGU and whether the call letters meant anything. He answered my question – they were issued by the Federal Communications Commission and didn’t mean anything, unlike most Hawaii stations.

Let me ask you about something else, I said. “Nope,” he replied. “You only get one question,” he said, and he hung up on me. I was dumbfounded. I don’t think I called him again for five years, but in the past few years, we became friends and had lunch every few months.

Jacobs told me recently that his very first car was a used 1932 Plymouth. On his first drive, he went to the Kau Kau Korner, which was one of Hawaii’s most popular drive-ins. It was on the corner of Kapiolani and Kalakaua from 1935 to 1960, until Coco’s took over the site.

Jacobs said his preferred beverage at the Kau Kau Korner was their orange freeze. On one occasion he sat next to Marlon Brando – apparently it was one of his favorite places when in the islands — and had a lively conversation with the actor.

One of Jacobs’ other car stories concerned roller derby at the Civic Auditorium and Elvis Presley in 1957. I wrote about this on May 30, 2014.

The Civic Auditorium was at 1314 S. King St., and many of our concerts, conventions and sporting events were held there.

Roller derby matches were spread over four days, Jacobs said. The first day, attendance was sparse. Jacobs and Moffatt were announcers and earned $10 a night. They suggested a deal with the promoter: Let us create a stunt that will bring more people on a future opening night, Jacobs said. The idea they came up with was a grudge match, roller skate-off contest between Jacobs and Moffatt. The “winner” would get $5,000, they told everybody, but in actuality, they’d split the money.

“Tom was the athlete and would ‘beat’ me,” Jacobs said. “The crowd loved him and cheered wildly. I ‘lost,’ and skated off, hanging my head.

“We filled the auditorium on Wednesday, and when we got paid, we each got a check for $3,000. (That’s the equivalent of $25,000 today).

“Moffatt and I took our money and each bought a brand-new 1957 Ford Skyliner,” Jacobs told me. “Mine was coral and white with a retractable hard top. Tom’s was black and white.”

A few months later, in November 1957, Presley came to Hawaii for his first concerts at Honolulu Stadium.

Jacobs came up with a stunt. They dressed up a DJ as Elvis, and Jacobs drove him around town in the convertible. Moffatt told KHVH listeners where they were and what they were doing. Thousands hit the streets to catch a glimpse. Another driver almost ran them off the road to get an autograph.

Later, back at the studio, they got a call from “Colonel” Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager. Elvis and he were a floor below them at the Hawaiian Village and invited them down.

Jacobs thought they’d be reprimanded but Parker loved the stunt and invited them to emcee Elvis’ concerts the next day.

Jacobs became lifelong friends with Parker and was a pallbearer at his funeral in 1997.

Jacobs moved to Los Angeles and turned KHJ into the nation’s top radio station. He made some of the country’s first music videos in the 1970s, and came up with the idea for the Home Grown albums. Later he worked with Casey Kasem to launch the popular “American Top 40” radio show. Ryan Seacrest hosts it today and it broadcasts in 29 countries.

John and Carol Williams, who worked with Ron Jacobs for more than 50 years, from Hollywood to Honolulu, said that “it wasn’t often that he showed his big heart to the world. Many, unfortunately, only knew the man’s abrasive side.

“Ron was an absolute genius, constantly seeking perfection in his work and challenging others to do the same. Always thinking, always creating — he was a unique talent who, in leaving us, leaves a giant hole in radio and the music world.”

Hawaii will certainly miss RJ, aka “Whodaguy,” and so will we.

Bob Sigall, author of the Companies We Keep books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at sigall@yahoo.com.