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Services for Arlene Duncan, 86, who died March 21, will be held June 6 at 3 p.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, her son Christopher wrote in an email from Seattle last weekend. Arlene was the widow of former Honolulu Star-Bulletin executive editor Hobert “Hobe” Duncan. Singer Keith Haugen, a former Star-Bulletin employee and close friend of Hobe, will sing at Punchbowl.
In 1967, I was hired full time at the Star-Bulletin as a copy editor and asked Hobe, my supervisor, if I could cover a concert by Thelonious Monk. Hobe gave me the OK. Days later he asked me to cover Waikiki entertainment. Later that year editor A.A. “Bud” Smyser named me entertainment editor, a job I held for 7-1/2 years. I met two of Hawaii’s finest on a trip to New York City where they were performing in 1971: superstar Bette Midler, now 71, and Yvonne Elliman, who could be called “the face” of the rock opera blockbuster “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Midler is nominated for a Tony Award for her leading role in the revival of the musical “Hello, Dolly!” The Tonys will be handed out June 11 in New York. Bette was interviewed on “CBS This Morning” on May 19 and “CBS Sunday Morning” on May 21.
In the May 19 show, the Radford High graduate said she was just 14 in her first stage show at Diamond Head Theatre and was fired for “upstaging the star.” Further research found she was soon hired back for the show. The theater’s artistic director, John Rampage, who was not with the theater at the time, said she was brought back and given a reprimand after being fired for being “over the top,” or “we call it pulling focus” in a supposedly somewhat tipsy scene with star Emma Veary in “Showboat.” Emma and I are both 1949 Roosevelt grads …
On my trip to New York in ’71 I met with Bette in the lobby of my hotel. She came in wearing a somewhat shabby coat and I was surprised she was so small. (She is 5-foot-1.) I asked if she would like to do the interview in my room where we would have more privacy and be more comfortable.
“No,” she said fast and firmly. I got the impression that young girl thought I had other things on my mind besides an interview. She was singing at the Continental Baths at the time and said, “You must see my show.” One of my biggest regrets is that I did not have the time to see her at the Baths where Barry Manilow was her pianist and arranger …
I did see Yvonne, the Roosevelt High graduate, in the Broadway version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” when it opened in 1971. She was on the original “Superstar” record album as Mary Magdalene and sang the smash “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” She was great.
In my New York interview with her I told her that I too was a Roosevelt grad. Right off she asked, “Did you play football?” Not very well, I replied. After her Broadway “Superstar” run ended she starred in the film version of the show …
Yvonne was with husband Allan Alexander, a local boy, at the Hawai‘i European Cinema Film Festival awards gala March 31 at the Moana Surfrider hotel to introduce producer-manager Shep Gordon, one of the honorees. Shep has managed her. NBC recently announced it will air “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” on Easter Sunday 2018. NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt says casting is underway and the goal is to use as many recording artists as possible to give “proper voice” to the score. Seems to me that Yvonne certainly has the “proper voice” and would be a natural for a role if she wants it …
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