Show Biz
New orchid named after singer Reichel
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
FLOWER POWER: Till now, Keali'i Reichel has been known largely for his music and hula. Now add blooms to his resume. Reichel, the Maui-based kumu hula, composer and entertainer, has a new cymbidium orchid named after him, called — what else? — the Keali'i Reichel, an honor bestowed by fans Everett and Violet Stocksill in Harbor City, Calif., who registered the plant with the Royal Horticultural Society in Britain ...
We asked Reichel's manager, Fred Krauss, at the recent Ho'okena Christmas concert (Reichel was a guest; he sang The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas, Darling") if Reichel might do a yuletide CD next year. Krauss said (it was also confirmed by Reichel from the stage) that Reichel generally can't remember Christmas lyrics, so it's no easy task. Still, there's a whole year to get a project going ...
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PERSONALITY PARADE: Jackie Bay, sales and marketing director for the Don Ho show and an entertainment industry veteran from her Freddie Morris fanship days, ties the knot with George "Keoki" Cadinha, a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant, at 10 a.m. Jan. 5 at Kawaiaha'o Church, with a luncheon to follow at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Get this: she'll have 37 members in her wedding party, including 18 bridesmaids and groomsmen, two ring bearers, four flower girls, two conch-shell blowers, and two kahili bearers — but no mynah birds and no papaya trees. Ho will sing "Tiny Bubbles" at the party, appropriate since that's what he calls her, and Don Ho's Island Grill will provide sweet-potato haupia dessert pie, since that's her fave, with the Hilton's catering manager, Alan Akisada, bending the rules to accommodate the request.
Cadinha proposed to Bay when both toured with Ho on the Mainland; the groom to be was hospitalized, and that's when he asked for her hand. "I think he thought he was dying," Bay said. Her birthday is Jan. 2, and she figures she's getting the gift of a lifetime — a husband ...
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THE LOCAL ANGLE: Branscombe Richmond, the actor-singer, has spent quite a few months on tour with his Renegade Posse for Indian Motorcycles, Easyrider Magazine and at casinos in North America, will co-star in a film next year called "The Scorpion King," with The Rock, the World Wrestling Federation champ. Richmond will play the lead character's brother, Jesup. Other locals in the cast: Kelly Hu, as Cassandra, the sorceress, with Norm Compton serving as The Rock's double. Other Islanders involved: Tanawai Reed, Bill Ryusaki, Bob Apisa and Al Leong ...
Prince, the low-profile performer who was holidaying in Maui, joined Natural Vibrations at the Bada Bing in Kihei. Restaurant owner Phil DeMott said Prince made regular visits but only jammed with Natural Vibrations ...
Augie Rey has had a marvelous audience response at Nick's Fishmarket, where he entertains on weekends. Notables have shown up to perform — the likes of John Nolan, Russell Shimooka, Jan Brenner, Albert Maligmat, Sonya Mendez, Jeannette Trevias. And exientertainer Benedict Palmeri, owner of Image Beauty Salon. Restaurant manager Ben Dowling hasn't seen so many familiar faces in years ...
And that's Show Biz ...
Wayne Harada is on vacation, but prepared this column before leaving. Reach him at 525-8067,
e-mail at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.
