SHOW BIZ
'Today' anchor enjoys private lu'au on Big Isle
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
PORTS OF PARADISE: She's back in her "Today" show chair, but NBC's Katie Couric was in our midst recently. She and her main squeeze, TV producer Tom Werner, were part of an extended family entourage ensconced at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on the Big Island. They immersed themselves in a variety of activities, including a private lu'au on the lawn of the resort's Eva Park Woods Cottage, played host by managing director Kurt Matsumoto. The fare was authentic Hawaiian and music was customized by Danny Akaka. ...
And Couric and her daughters showed up at Cheeseburgers in Paradise in Lahaina after being told by friends that she "must eat there." Good news for Cheeseburgers partners Laren McShane and Gartner and Edna Bayliff; they report, too, that their latest burger joint in Las Vegas, Cheeseburger at the Oasis, has attracted a lot of Hawai'i locals. ...
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MENTIONABLES: His name's not yet being bandied about in trailers or press material, but Hawai'i actor Randall Duk Kim has a role in the forthcoming "Matrix 2," starring Keanu Reeves. Kim has been to Australia for filming and may be going back for more footage. ...
Colon is history, but 'ukulele stylist Jake Shimabukuro keeps on strumming. That he is the No. 1 'uke stylist now is verified by the turnout at his recent 'Ukulele Symposium, with 230 signing up for the workshops, 400 attending the student recital. Also, a Willows dinner show sold out two weeks in advance. ...
Commissions are nothing new to acclaimed Maui artist Jan Kasprzycki. But this was a commission like no other. A huge box of hundreds of bottles of nail polish arrived at his studio with a most unusual request. He was asked to "paint" a 16-by-16-inch centerpiece of what would eventually become a 55th birthday card for the founder and owner of OPI nail polish company, George Schaeffer. The best part is that Kasprzycki and his wife Kathy get to join 180 of Schaeffer's closest friends on a celebration trip to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. ...
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HERE 'N' THERE: Diane Ako, KHNL News8 anchor-reporter, has a busy life. While working the news full time, she's also taking classes at the University of Hawai'i, aiming for a master's in political science. She and new hubby Claus Hansen recently bought a Makiki condo, so the move-in also is part of her busy schedule. If all that hasn't been stressful enough, folks at the courts recognized her when she got a temporary restraining order against a man who has been stalking her for two years. ...
Dirk Fukushima, a partner of the Hawai'i Stars Presents production company, had a surprise yakudoshi birthday party Saturday night at Sansei Restaurant & Sushi Bar at Restaurant Row. His colleague, Carole Kai, was among those present; she coaxed visiting pal Kevin Iwamoto to attend, thinking that the celebration was for one of Fukushima's aunts. "Carole didn't know it was Dirk's yakudoshi; they probably didn't tell her because she has a big mouth," said Iwamoto, home from Sunnyvale for a family service. He also dined at Keo's in Waikiki. ...
It all started with Tom Fairbanks at The Old Wailuku Inn. Then came general manager Tom Alejado at Sansei in Honolulu, who is now at Sansei in Kihei. And then executive chef Tom Selman, also at the new Sansei in Kihei. And now there's executive chef Tom Lelli at Manana Garage. So, how does Grapevine Productions' Bonnie Friedman, who counts all these Toms as her clients, keep them straight? "I just call them in alphabetical order," Friedman says. ...
And that's Show Biz ...
Wayne Harada's Show Biz runs Wednesdays and Fridays; reach him at e-mail wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
