Show Biz
Olympic flame passes through anchor's hands

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

DOTS 'N' DASHES: News8 anchor Howard Dashefsky has been in Columbia, S.C., to join other everyday heroes in the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay, a 46-state, 13,500-mile journey that was launched midweek in Atlanta, Ga. Dash carried the flame in Charleston, one of 11,000 such torch-bearers nationwide, and his reports have been airing on KHNL this week. The Olympic flame will arrive in Salt Lake City Feb. 8 to launch the opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics. He's expected to be back in the studios on Monday ...

On "The Weakest Link" the other night, the cast from "Third Watch" was on, including Hawai'i's Anthony Ruivivar, who didn't survive the vote-out, nor the gibes from Ann Robinson. Failed a math question early on, told her he attended a Jesuit school and that was enough ammo for her to nail him. Ouch! ...

ITEMIZATIONS: Tanner Henderson of Chant, one in the performing trio in the Honolulu Theatre for Youth's "Christmas Talk Story" (the others are Shen Sugai and Nara Springer), credits his son Connor for inspiration. Connor is his dad's biggest fan, and has been through the show's rehearsal process from the start, so when he attended a performance with his Kamehameha School third-grade class, he practically had the show memorized. Chant, meantime, is working on new CD material but regularly performs at Gordon Biersch and Kincaid's ...

Fresh from her starring role in "Sayonara" last weekend at Army Community Theatre, singer-actress Sherry Chock Wong segues into a radio gig, singing "Ave Maria" at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 in a KHPR Christmas special that also will feature Erik Hines, Mary Chesnut and Malia Ka'ai, among others. Chock also is vocal director of Iolani Schools' upcoming "Bye, Bye Birdie" musical, to be directed by David Saito and choreographed by Grace Bell Humerickhouse. John Alexander is musical director ...

Three Hawaiian Invasion concert midweek at the San Jose Civic Auditorium featured a host of local acts — Native Blend, Pati, Natural Vibrations, Three Plus, Ten Feet and Justin ...

Glad to report that Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" shows, at 12:45 and 7:45 p.m. Jan. 5 at the Hawai'i Theatre, are sold out — but to members of the sponsoring Hawai'i Public Radio and Hawai'i Theatre Centre. From this corner, not saving a couple of hundred seats for the general public was a public relations faux pas. Sure, anyone could have become a member to get early dibs on seats, but the inclusive gesture now makes Keillor's appearances a private party at a time when HPR needs a broader community reach to let prospective members know about all the good it does ...

WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Talk about paradise found — the bride arrived by canoe, while the groom and 80 guests (from as far away as Virginia and Pennsylvania) watched from the Feast at Lele beachside setting in Lahaina. And following a sunset ceremony performed by kumu hula Kekoa Yap, Kerri O'Connell became Mrs. James McDonald. McDonald is the executive chef of Pacific 'O and I'o restaurants in Lahaina. He leaves Tuesday for New York, with a lot cooking: like, lunch at the Conde Nast Publications employee cafeteria in Times Square on Thursday and dinner at the renowned James Beard House ...

And that's Show Biz ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz runs Wednesdays and Fridays; reach him at wharada@honoluluadver tiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.