Danny Kaleikini, who died Jan. 6 at the age of 85, had a way of making everyone feel special.

Rodney Okuda said he chatted with him on many occasions. “When he talked to you, it was like he knew you all his life.”

Former U.S. Attorney Michael Lilly agreed. “Every time I encountered ‘Mr. Aloha,’ I was treated to a bear hug. He was always upbeat, friendly and happy. A true gentleman in all respects.

“Hawaii lost a great ambassador of aloha with his passing. It’s hard to imagine I’ll never hear that wonderful ‘Aloooooooha’ again. Goodbye, dear friend!”

Hospital visit

“I was in a hospital bed at Tripler in 1970 because of a gunshot wound received in Vietnam,” Hiroshi Kato told me.

“A nurse came into my room and asked if I would like to have a couple of musicians and a dancer perform for me. I was delighted because I recognized the hula dancer, Leina‘ala Teruya, a former Miss Maui (I am originally from Maui) and Miss Hawaii.

“One gentleman sang and played an ukulele, and the other played a guitar, while the former Miss Hawaii danced. After they did a second number, I thanked them and told the singer he was really good and should consider singing as a profession. He said mahalo and they left.

“Later that evening my wife visited me and asked if anything interesting happened. I said, ‘Yes! Miss Hawaii danced for me and the singer was really good.’

“She asked if I remembered his name, and I said I think it was Danny somebody. She said, ‘Danny Kaleikini?’

“‘How did you know?’ I said.

“‘You dummy,’” she answered. “In my defense, I left Hawaii in 1954 and was not aware Danny Kaleikini had his own show at the Kahala Hilton.

“But this was only one of many, many wonderful deeds done by him with no fanfare. He was a talented, kind and humble man. A true Hawaiian. Mahalo, Danny.”

Be the first to smile

Kaleikini was worried about what he saw was a diminishing of the aloha spirit. In 1991 he told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s Bud Smyser that our level of aloha was less than half what it was in 1959, when we became a state.

“Fortunately, the No. 1 thing to do is to start with ourselves to practice the aloha spirit. Be the first to smile. Most likely you will get a smile back. Be the first to offer a cheery word. Be helpful and considerate at every opportunity. Be fair.

“Bring your heritage, bring your culture, he tells newcomers, but learn the aloha way, too. Respect your elders, your tutus and kupuna, and learn from them. The old ways are the best, he believes.

“We all have to pitch in and save Hawaii’s most special asset.”

Come up and sing

Many helped him along the way, Kaleikini said. “Ray Kinney, the great bandleader, mentored me. In the 1950s I was working as a busboy at the Waikiki Sands.

“Kinney took me aside and said, ‘Young man, you have a talent. Come with me to the Royal Hawaiian and I’ll teach you how to select and sing Hawaiian songs.’

“Hilo Hattie mentored me, too. I was emceeing the show. She said, ‘Danny, where you learn to speak?’

“I was so pidgin English. I’d tell the audience, ‘We going bring on da girls, and they gonna wack the two sticks together, they gonna do the hula for you guys.’

“She said, ‘Danny, if you going to speak, you have to speak English. Nobody can understand what you’re saying. Only you know what you’re saying.’

“She took me aside and gave me many good lessons. She was an English schoolteacher and taught me to talk the correct way. They were my mentors. I got to learn and never forgot. I was very grateful.”

Kinney took Kaleikini to Chicago’s Edgewater Beach Hotel in 1960 for a two-month run of “Rage in the Tropics.” Nearly every large U.S. city had a Hawaiian­-themed bar or restaurant, and entertainers like Danny were in demand.

Kahala Hilton

In 1967 the new Kahala Hilton offered the 29-year-old Kaleikini his own Polynesian show. “Hardly anyone came initially, so I took a hula dancer and an ukulele player to Waikiki and played. We’d tell people, ‘Come to the Kahala. We have a beautiful Hawaiian show.’

“Fortunately, I was invited to the Expo in Osaka, Japan. I was there with Jesse ‘Takamiyama’ Kuhaulua, the great sumo wrestler from Maui.

“Because of it, I became known in Japan. I was invited to do many shows in Japan, and I worked with all the big stars there.

“I learned to speak Japanese. That really helped me. The Japanese really love Hawaii. They love hula. It’s fantastic.

“After that the Japanese started coming to my show, and I was sold out every night.”

“On one occasion I gave a lei to a lady in the audience,” Kaleikini recalled. “When I moved my arms back, her wig was stuck on my sleeve button! I put it back on her head, and it was crooked. The husband laughed. Everybody started laughing. I was so embarrassed. I kept apologizing.”

Caesar’s Palace

In 1973, Kaleikini was invited to perform at Caesar’s Palace with Paul Anka. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones are some of the stars who have performed there.

The only two Hawaiian names on a marquee, Kaleikini noted, were his, and Don Ho’s at the Flamingo.

“And now Danny Kaleikini, who was born and raised in the modest Hawaiian Homestead of Papakolea, was getting his chance,” Ben Wood wrote at the time.

“Caesar’s Palace is a long way from Papakolea, that’s for sure. In the six years he has performed at the Kahala Hilton’s Hala Terrace, he has reached the top echelon in Island entertainment.”

“It’s like a dream come true,” Kaleikini said. “Seeing my name on the marquee is unbelievable. I’m excited, scared and nervous about playing in this big room with a major star like Paul Anka.”

He was apprehensive, “But when Kaleikini walked out in his white suit and hit the first note to ‘I Am Hawaii’ loud and clear, it was clear that he was going to come through like a champ,” Wood wrote. “And he did.”

Old Plantation

Kaleikini retired from the Kahala Hilton in 1995 after 28 years. He spent time with many boards, charities, golf and family.

Bob Robinson said last fall his oldest daughter, Shelly, was visiting from Portland, Ore. “Shelly, my wife Susan and I were having cocktails at the Pacific Club.

“We were approached by two musicians who were going from table to table asking for requests for songs.

“I asked for my favorite, ‘Old Plantation,’ about the Ward Estate. It is seldom heard anymore. They were struggling to remember and sing it when Danny Kaleikini, who was also there with friends, passed by, returning to his table.

“He stopped and put his arms around the two and started to sing. His voice was strong, and the two musicians were thrilled, as were Susan, Shelly, and I.”

Epitaph?

What would you like as your epitaph? Wayne Harada asked him in 1987.

“I’d like to be remembered as Danny Kaleikini, Hawaiian at heart. Aloha is important to me. Being the Ambassador of Aloha is for real. I take that spirit with me wherever I go.”

We will miss you, Danny. Aloooooooooha.

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Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Send him your comments, questions or suggestions to Sigall@Yahoo.com.