Scott Katsura never let a minute of negativity prevent him from pursuing his life’s dreams.
Driven to become a singer in the 1980s at a time when the idea of launching a national entertainment career from Hawaii seemed far-fetched, he practiced in the shower when no one was home, sometimes to a round of door pounding and “Shaddup, you sound terrible!” when his family returned unexpectedly.
The singer/actor from Hawaii doesn’t believe negativity and self-doubt should stop anyone else, either, and recently added another accomplishment to his resume, that of author. He wrote “I’m Writing My Own Story — A Kid’s Guide to Becoming an Extraordinary Person,” taking it to schools nationwide and across the Pacific Rim in Australia, Asia and South America, as well as Europe.
To keep spreading his self-financed message of empowerment, the singer, with six albums to his credit, come up with a unique fundraiser that he dubbed The Greatest Love of All project, a tribute to Whitney Houston that takes the lyrics of her signature song to heart. For those unfamiliar with the song or who have forgotten since it topped the charts in 1986, it begins, “I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way / Show them all the beauty they possess inside.”
The fundraiser centers around an eBay auction, taking place Friday, of two custom-made Dolce & Gabbana ensembles that Houston wore during her “My Love Is Your Love” European tour in 1999. The pieces are a red fox fur coat with zebra-print denim pants and a hand-painted flower gown with train — each outfit carrying an asking price of $1.5 million. Each is also one of a kind and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
The garments were a gift from Houston to an Arista Records executive, a friend of Katsura’s who knew he was a fan and wanted him to have them.
“Whitney Houston was the most influential person for me. Even though I never knew her, she was my inspiration for leaving Hawaii to pursue my career in 1989,” he said. “I tried to learn everything about her. I knew she was from New Jersey, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m really bad with geography. Back then I thought New Jersey was a Southern state.”
He knows better now that he calls New York City home.
“I was just a kid from Halawa Heights who was never good at school and never fit in anywhere. A lot of times I just went to the beach and sometimes I would come home and my mom would ask, ‘Eh, how come you so tan?’ I would just say we had class outside.”
His book details how personal responsibility and the choices people make inevitably write their life’s stories, with his own trajectory and Houston’s as primary examples.
There is a tendency for people to remember only the final details of famous lives. In Houston’s case it was that of an illustrious career followed by a drug-fueled downward spiral and death by accidental drowning in her bathtub in 2012.
“People forget that 90 percent of her life was extraordinary and positive,” Katsura said. “I’m not gonna make excuses for her. She made some poor choices, but things are never as simple as they seem.”
Katsura, 53, said his rapport with students stems from telling truths they can relate to if they’re not the best students or don’t come from a background of social and financial advantage.
“I’m not coming in and saying, ‘I did this, and I did that.’ I tell them I came from a vulnerable place where I never fit in and I made a lot of mistakes, but success is about the choices you make and your willingness to learn.”
