Royal Hawaiian and Matson honor Waikiki’s beachboys

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Matson Navigation have teamed up to pre­sent "Waikiki Beachboys," a photo exhibit showcasing the legendary watermen who fronted the beach of the famed resort from the late 1920s to the late 1940s. The exhibit opens in the hotel’s Coronet Lounge on Wednesday and will run through Dec. 31. There is no admission charge, and it is open to the public.

These men were beach royalty in their day. They taught the well-heeled guests who arrived on Matson liners and stayed primarily at the Royal or Moana hotels how to surf and took them out in outrigger canoes to ride the waves. They were tough, strong guys who also kept bad guys off the sands of Waikiki. Some of them were singers and entertainers. Many had nicknames.

Olympic swimming champ Duke Kaha­na­moku, the fastest swimmer in the world in his prime, was the most famous beachboy. His statue fronts Waikiki Beach. He won gold in the 100-meter freestyle in the 1912 and 1920 Olympics and picked up another gold in 1920 in the 200-meter relay. He won two silver medals in the 1924 games and returned to the Olympics in 1932 as a member of the U.S. water polo team.

Kahanamoku appeared in movies in the ’20s, ’30s and ’50s. He was undefeated in elections for Hono­lulu sheriff, starting in 1932, and served nearly 30 years. Kimo McVay opened a nightclub in the International Market Place in the 1960s and called it Duke Kaha­na­moku’s after making an arrangement with Kaha­na­moku. Don Ho gained national fame performing there with the Aliis.

One night I had the honor of sitting across from Kaha­na­moku and his wife, Nadine, in the club. Tavana’s Polynesian revue was onstage. After eating his food, including a big bowl of poi that was always there for him, Duke dozed off as Tavana started introducing him. Nadine kicked him in the leg and said, "Tavana is introducing you." Duke sat up straight, grabbed his glass and said loudly, "Suck ’em up!" and everyone cheered. "Suck ‘Em Up" is the title of one of Ho’s hit songs …

ACTOR Don Stroud, 69, grew up on Waikiki Beach in the 1950s when he was 10 and later became known as the "haole beachboy."

The 1960 Kaimuki High grad knew many of the old beachboys featured in the Royal exhibit. Some were his mentors, and others were in the next wave following the older men. One of his great mentors was Steamboat Moku­ahi, father of wrestler Sammy Steamboat. Others he learned much from were Chick Daniels, Blackout Whaley, Mud Werner, Rabbit Kekai, Wata Wata­nabe, Blue Makua and Dukie Kua­hulu, a sailor on the inaugural Hoku­le‘a voyage.

In 1960, at age 17, Stroud placed fourth in the Duke Kaha­na­moku World Surfing Championship at Makaha. Stroud, the only blond beachboy, was hired later that year as Troy Dona­hue‘s stunt double in surfing scenes for ABC’s "Hawaiian Eye" series. That opened Hollywood’s door to movies and TV for him. Stroud has appeared in some 150 movies and TV shows, co-starring in many. He also appeared several times in the original "Hawaii Five-0" and once in the new one.

His most recent big-screen role was in Quentin Tarantino‘s "Django Unchained." Stroud, a cas­ual shorts-and-slippers guy, had to wear a white dinner jacket to play a villain in 1989’s "Licence to Kill" starring Timothy Dalton as James Bond. He was the drummer in "The Buddy Holly Story" in ’78 and actually played the drums. Stroud said he will be sure to visit the Royal Hawaiian exhibit …

NINETY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Betty Ho invited friends to lunch at Assaggio Ala Moana on June 26. Nery Heenan, Judy Murata and Denby Fawcett were guests along with Fawcett’s husband, Bob Jones, the lucky guy with the girls. Heenan’s husband, Dave Heenan, was also invited but couldn’t attend. Ho is the widow of Chinn Ho, one of Hawaii’s most important businessmen …

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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.