Former Kahala Hilton public relations chief Kay Ahearn, 80, died Aug. 5. Services will be held Sept. 6 at Star of the Sea Chapel in Kahala.
Kay was much more than a PR woman dealing with media at the hotel, now The Kahala Hotel and Resort; she was more like a manager helping to see that guests, who included top Hollywood celebrities and Washington dignitaries, were given the utmost care. I knew Kay well, starting in 1967 — well enough to have a couple of dates with her. Nothing progressed very far because Kay was married to the hotel and gave it her all for 17 years.
She did one big favor for me that I will never forget. I bought a frozen suckling pig just before my 1974 wedding to Brita Simon of Germany, also known as The Frau. I asked Kay if she would get Kahala chef Martin Wyss, also a good friend, to defrost and cook that pig. Martin did a delicious job and Kay brought the porker to my apartment where we held the reception. She called the suckling pig her date for the party.
Pianist Kit Samson, who had the band in the hotel’s Maile Lounge, will play music at Star of the Sea. Donations may be made to the Hawaiian Humane Society …
Services for actor-singer James Shigeta, 85, who died July 28 in Los Angeles, will be held 10 a.m. Sunday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Visitation will start at 9 a.m. for the Hawaii-born Roosevelt High 1947 graduate and former Marine who served in the Korean War. Aloha attire is requested. Private interment will be at Punchbowl’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific …
Emmy highlights: Two of my favorite moments from Monday’s Emmy awards came when Billy Crystal gave a heartwarming speech about his friend the late Robin Williams, and when Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on her way to the stage to accept the best comedy series actress award for "Veep" and Bryan Cranston grabbed her and planted a big fat kiss on her lips that lasted 11 seconds. Cranston later was presented the best actor in a drama series Emmy for his role on "Breaking Bad." He will be well remembered for that Emmy kiss, too …
Reporter Gary T. Kubota‘s play "Legend of Ko‘olau" premieres in Los Angeles Oct. 11 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre, near the Geffen Contemporary Museum. For tickets, go to legendofkoolau.com. Gary is a Honolulu Star-Advertiser staffer. The play, which premiered in Honolulu at the Hawaii Theatre in May, is touring. It was selected for creation funding by the National Performance Network of New Orleans in 2013 …
Actress-singer-dancer Samantha "Sam" Stoltzfus, who has been on isle stages for three years, recently departed for New York to advance her career. She worked at Murphy’s when she was not on stage …
I found Woody Allen‘s "Magic in the Moonlight" to be an easygoing, comfortable and enjoyable romantic comedy, with excellent performances by Colin Firth and Emma Stone, shown below, left. It has beautiful photography of French Riviera scenes, sporty cars and fancy people decked out in expensive post-World War I fashions. Jazzy, toe-tapping music was another plus. There was even a singer (I use the term singer loosely) who played ukulele. The story is easy to figure out but with Allen, things are never dull. I liked it so much I plan to see it again …
Romano’s Macaroni Grill is holding a back-to-school supply drive through Sept. 30. Donate new school supplies and Romano’s will give you dessert free and the opportunity to win a $100 gift certificate. The supplies will go to elementary school students …
Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
