Jimmy Borges dinner show raises $70K for endowment

‘For the Love of Jimmy,” the fundraiser for entertainer Jimmy Borges, raised more than $70,000 — surpassing its $50,000 goal — with money still coming in.

The splendid dinner-show gala, held Jan. 30 at the Banyan Court of the Westin Moana Surfrider hotel, was all about love and aloha for Borges, who has terminal lung cancer. He decided to live out his life his way — without treatment — and the challenging journey has been a mix of good and bad days.

Happily, Borges was in high spirits, meeting and greeting and taking pics with fans, friends, family and notables. All shared a common mission: to salute this master of his craft and help make his dream come true by boosting the Jimmy Borges Endowment Fund to provide scholarship assistance for future singers.

The show included numerous memorable moments:

>> Borges, 80, unexpectedly joined Melveen Leed, rising from his table amid family and friends to cling to the railing of the Banyan Court. In typical jazz-jam style, Leed’s bossa nova “The More I See You” segued into “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” with Borges chirping, too. The crowd howled with delight; this likely will be Borges’ final public performance. “I Wish You Love,” the parting song, was met with equal parts glee and concern because it took a lot of energy for Borges to pump up the pipes for this iPhone photo moment.

>> Kudos to Leed, too; she has never sounded better, with grace and glamour, discipline and respect, for her buddy Borges.

>> Yvonne Elliman offered ’70s nostalgia with “Hello, Stranger” and “If I Can’t Have You,” and created buzz with her revelation: “I got married.” While earlier ensconced in the bridal suite of the Moana Surfrider, she and boyfriend of 16 years Alan Alexander, a band member, tied the knot.

>> Willie K was smokin’ hot with his uncanny, diverse musical palette; he mimicked the Ink Spots for “If I Didn’t Care” with bluesy bits, then did Ella Fitzgerald-style scat singing, then offered a rousing Pavarotti operatic turn with “Nessun Dorma.”

>> Taimane Gardner, the ukulele sensation, dazzled with her energy and mobility, strumming and swirling like a tuneful tornado. She’ll headline a Hawaii Theatre concert March 25, so check her out.

>> Lucie Arnaz, an extraordinary trouper, showcased old-school charm and enchantment paralleling Borges-style respect for romantic storytelling via “Lulu’s Back in Town,” “The Tender Trap” and “Until Now.” But it was her incredible command and delivery of the island standard “Na Alii” — her enunciation, her explanation of the royal history of the tune, her slow and fast versions — that was her showstopper. (For photos of the event, visit honolulupulse.com.) …

BOUNCING BALL: We had dinner with the aforementioned Arnaz and actor-writer-husband Laurence Luckinbill, hosted by Jack and Cha Thompson at Azure at the Royal Hawaiian. The couple also caught the Royal Hawaiian’s Tihati Productions Monday luau show, “Aha Aina,” afterward, with cast members posing for pics with Arnaz.

She’s a filmmaker when not a singer, and revealed that a biopic on her parents is in the works, with Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as her mother, Lucille Ball. The screenplay is by Alan Sorkin, who created TV’s “The West Wing” and won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay of “The Social Network” (“Steve Jobs” is his latest biopic). Arnaz and her brother, Desi Arnaz Jr., will produce the film with Escape Artists.

“I never imagined we’d get a top star as Cate Blanchett,” said Arnaz of the Oscar nominee for best actress (for “Carol”).

She also never imagined that she’d learn (phonetically) and render “Na Alii” with such authority. “It was Patti Swalley (former Don Ho Show regular and mother of Ho’s performer daughter, Hoku) who taught me the song,” she said. …

HERE, THERE: Though she’s not a wine drinker, Mona Wood and husband, Max Sword, spent a wedding anniversary in Napa recently. …

ManoaDNA has been invited by Japanese broadcaster NHK to appear in the “Music for Tomorrow” benefit concert in Fukushima on March 6. They’ll join Senri Ota and Junko Yagami, Japanese recording artists who gave a charity concert in the islands last year to kokua Rainbow for Japan Kids. International artists involved include Bob James and Sergio Mendes; the event raises funds for the victims of the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake. …

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com. Read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at staradvertiser.com.