School receives trove of Don Ho relics

The late Don Ho is alive and well — “Tiny Bubbles” and all — at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu.

The university’s ʻUluʻulu Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi recently acquired the complete collection of the entertainer’s films, videos and personal memorabilia from the Donald Tai Loy Ho Trust.

In about a year the public will be able to access an online collection of about 6,000 videotapes, films and audio recordings chronicling Hawaii’s most famous entertainer during a career spanning from the early 1960s through 2007.

“We are honored by the trust’s faith in the ‘Uluʻulu Archive to preserve the incredible influence and legacy of Don Ho — an icon who defined our island home for audiences around the globe,” Chris Lee, founder and director of the University of Hawaii Academy for Creative Media System, said in a news release.

The ‘Uluʻulu Archive is the state archive for moving images, the only archive in Hawaii dedicated to preserving and digitizing Hawaii’s moving-image heritage while making it available online.

THE collection already includes thousands of items with themes such as sports, parades, Hawaiian sovereignty, kupuna, volcanoes and the life of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

“We have over 25,000 audiovisual items in our permanent collections — and growing — the largest moving-image collection in the state,” ‘Uluʻulu head archivist Janel Quirante said.

Quirante said the Donald Tai Loy Ho Trust first contacted ‘Ulu‘ulu in June. Following discussions and site visits to ‘Ulu‘ulu, UH-West Oahu and the trustees finalized details of the gift in July.

“We received six pallets of collection material in September 2015. This includes 150 boxes containing approximately 6,000 videotapes, films and audio recordings,” she said.

University archivists will now catalog and digitize the media and make the files available for streaming online.

Already the archivists have come across videotape recordings of “The Don Ho Show,” which aired daily on ABC TV from 1976 to 1977, Quirante said, and a recording of “Singer Presents … Hawaii-Ho!” — the first color television special to be produced entirely on location in Hawaii.

The physical materials of the collection will be stored in ‘Uluʻulu’s temperature- and humidity-controlled electronic vault.

The high-resolution, uncompressed digital preservation masters will be stored on servers at UH-West Oahu and UH-Manoa. A catalog and streaming video clips will be available through the website at uluulu.hawaii.edu.

“Anybody can register as a researcher with us to view full-length footage on our streaming server,” Quirante said. “As long as you have Internet access, you can view our digital collection online.”

Born in Kakaako and a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and UH-Manoa, Ho became an international singing success in the 1960s and 1970s and was a Waikiki showroom regular until he died in 2007. He recorded his top hit song, “Tiny Bubbles,” in 1966.

In addition to starring in his own television series, Ho made many guest appearances on popular shows of the time, including “Laugh In,” “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Sanford and Son,” “Batman,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “McCloud,” “Fantasy Island” and lots of variety shows.