Show Biz
Nabors finds airline cuts spawning pizza envy

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

GOLLEE: With some airlines eliminating meals on flights, a traveler can get hungry. Jim Nabors, who was flying from Seattle to Los Angeles recently, saw a sign about his no-meals flight, so he ordered a huge take-out pizza to snack on in the friendly skies. "I was in first class, and indeed, there was no food, and you should have seen the looks I got from the others — brutal," said Nabors, who is the midst of rehearsing his "Merry Christmas With Friends and Nabors" playing Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 at the Hawai'i Theatre ...

Paige Finch, who is portraying the title character in "Annie," with her fellow "orphan" actors from the Diamond Head Theatre production, guested on the KSSK Hanohano Room show last Saturday, singing "It's a Hard Knock Life." After learning that many of the girls attend Punahou, co-host Michael W. Perry quipped, "Sorry to see that Punahou has fallen on such hard times and its students are dressed in rags." Nope, of course those were costumes ...

RANDOM NOTES: Frank DeLima performs at an Adult Friends for Youth fund-raiser, which starts at 4:45 p.m. today at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. Not surprising, of course, since AFY is involved in the annual statewide Student Transition Conventions for grade schoolers transiting to middle school, which he co-hosts with Lynne Waihee ...

Robert Cazimero is off to Japan this week; that's one reason uke whiz Jake Shimabukuro is performing at Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace. We asked Robert if he was going to seek turkey yesterday in sashimiland, and he quipped: "Nope, I'll have sashimi instead" ... By the way, Shimabukuro, who was on the Blues Traveler bill last weekend at the Waikiki Shell, is a longtime Blues fan. So he enjoyed hanging out with the band after the show at a party at the Bamboo (formerly Waikiki Marc) Hotel. The band, impressed by Shimabukuro's artistry, suggested he start Mainland tours en route to the big time ...

Bill Kaiwa, Frank Hewett and Keith and Carmen Haugen took the stage a couple of nights back at Jerry Santos' and Olomana's show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village ...

AFTER HOURS: A USO-style show a couple weeks back, organized by Chriss Heyd for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's managing director, William Hurley, was staged for the crew of the USS Nimitz, which was here on the first shore leave since being deployed to action in the Middle East. No public announcement was made, for security reasons. The sailors got a first-cabin production at the hotel's Coconut Grove, with all talent donating time and forsaking pay — DisGuyz, soldiers of the Royal Guard precision rifle drill team, Kuhai Halau O Kahalepuna Pa 'Olapa Kahiko, Johnny Valentine, Ladies Night (Jennifer Barber, Traci Toguchi and Kristina Babaran), Randy Smith, Tino & the Rhythm Club, the Paradise Sisters (Sonya Mendez, Terri Spruill and Amy Fox), Twist & Shout (Albert Maligmat, Mark de Mello). KINE's Brickwood Galuteria emceed, and 1997 Miss Universe Brook Lee was flown in from L.A. The aforementioned Smith, whose Frank Sinatra homage show is on view weekends at Esprit, performed "What Is America to Me," a tune ol' blue eyes recorded on Sept. 11, 1945. DisGuyz' national anthem and their "Our Nation in Song" were crowd-pleasers; ditto, Maligmat as Ray Charles doing "America the Beautiful" ...

And that's Show Biz ...