ShowBiz
KHNL anchor to say wedding vows soon
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
ABOUT PEOPLE: Diane Ako, KHNL reporter and anchor, will tie the knot with Claus Hansen, owner of Affordable Caskets and Moanalua Mortuary, on Nov. 1. The nuptials will be private, with only the bride and groom and Ako's dog, Kona, present, plus the Rev. Curtis Kekuna. Ako originally wanted to tie the knot on surfboards at sea — since all three (the couple, plus the dog, not the reverend) surf — with Kona serving as "flower girl," but it will be a land dealie instead.
A reception follows at a Diamond Head estate, with about 100 invited. But the honeymoon will precede the wedding because that's the only time the busy pair could schedule a trip to Hansen's home in Denmark ...
Hilton Waikoloa Village's Imari Japanese restaurant has been a turnstile for the celebs. In for sushi and more: Chris Weber of the Sacramento Kings, with Tyra Banks, the model-actress; Barbara Lazoroff, wife of noted chef Wolfgang Puck; Juliette Lewis ("Natural Born Killers," "The Other Sister"); Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis; and Donny Osmond and his wife and sons ...
Out Maui way, Sarento's on the Beach in Kihei has been a hangout for notables, too: the aforementioned Webber and Banks, actor Richard Chamberlain and pals, sportscaster Jim Nantz and his wife ...
At sister restaurant Nick's Fishmarket Maui, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and his family dined. Ditto, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt; wonder if her companion was Patrick Wilson, the co-star of the Broadway musical, "The Full Monty"? They've been an item ...
HERE 'N' THERE: David Farmer, executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, is back from a New York/San Francisco trip, where he saw "The Lion King," "Proof," "Mountain Language/Ashes to Ashes" and "The Seagull." The last play, directed by Mike Nichols, starred the likes of Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, John Goodman, Marcia Gay Harden, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Natalie Portman, with a local connection — production manager was Peter Lawrence, former University of Hawai'i teacher and Broadway maven ("Miss Saigon," "Les Miserables," "Sunset Boulevard"). Farmer shook hands with Tom Selleck at the stage door of "A Thousand Clowns," too ... And at San Francisco's Geary Theatre, he caught Bill Irwin and David Shiner in their "Fool Moon" revival, but his second-row aisle seat was an easy target for the comedic duo, who dumped a bucket of popcorn on his head ...
OUT 'N' ABOUT: Fred Hemmings, of Nick's Fishmarket and the state Legislature, is back from New York City, where he attended a reunion for ABC-TV's "Wide World of Sports." The gathering included Peter Jennings, Jim McKay and Bill Fleming, and honored Roone Arledge, a TV legend. Hemmings was a surf commentator in the 1960s ...
Nick's Fishmarket g.m. Ben Dowling has been "looking after" KHON-2 anchor Joe Moore for decades, so it was somewhat fun to meet Moore's late-night news producer, Brandon Foth, who made his first Nick's visit with Debbie Goldberg, a visiting New Yorker. Goldberg even wound up swing-dancing in the Society of Seven Las Vegas show on another night at the Outrigger Waikiki ...
And that's Show Biz ...
Wayne Harada's Show Biz runs Wednesdays and Fridays; reach him at 525-8067, e-mail at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.
