Former Honolulu resident Bobby Khamvongsa had his ups and downs in the film industry but was living his dream of being an actor, makeup artist and hairstylist in a highly competitive field in Los Angeles.
But his dream ended in West Hollywood, where his body was found lying in the street on the 300 block of North Orlando Avenue with multiple stab wounds at 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Authorities initially thought Khamvongsa was a victim of an automobile accident before discovering the wounds.
Khamvongsa, 27, was a graduate of Kaimuki High School, the same high school as the 29-year-old man who was being held as a murder suspect, friends said.
"He (Khamvongsa) really, really worked hard. He was the nicest, kindest person," said Kauila Barber, a well-known Hollywood makeup artist and hairstylist who hired Bobby as his first assistant.
Khamvongsa called his youngest brother, Jason, Friday night to congratulate him on his graduation from high school, Jason Khamvongsa said.
JASON Khamvongsa said he first received word about his brother’s death from a friend on Facebook in Los Angeles. The family has not received any telephone call from Los Angeles homicide detectives about the murder and the status of the investigation, he added.
"We’re kind of upset that we haven’t gotten phone calls," he said.
His father, Anong Khamvongsa, said his son Bobby wanted to be an actor and was working toward that goal. Anong Khamvongsa doesn’t know what happened.
"He was a good boy," the father said.
One of Bobby Khamvongsa’s roommates in Hollywood, Diego Jiminez, said the 29-year-old suspect called Bobby and then met Bobby and his other roommates at a club in West Hollywood on Friday night.
Jiminez said he had a drink with the group, then went his separate way to meet a friend.
He said the last contact he had with Khamvongsa was later that night — a text message saying he was going home.
Jiminez said he doesn’t know why Khamvongsa’s body ended up where it did, several miles from his Hollywood residence.
Barber said Khamvongsa worked with him, styling celebrities’ hair on a number of shows, including "Iron Chef" on the Food Network and "The Event" on NBC, and a new film called "Knots."
Barber said he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to kill Khamvongsa.
"I can’t wrap my head around something like that," he said.
