SHOW BIZ
Maui dining spot the place to be for actors

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

SIGHT 'EMS: Jennifer Love Hewitt has been having a wowie of a Maui visit, frequenting the Hula Grill in Ka'anapali nighttime, and doing a music video daytime. She's in "The Tuxedo" with Jackie Chan. ...

Part-time Maui resident Kelsey Grammer, star of "Frasier," also was a Hula Grill diner with his wife, model Camille Donatucci. ...

Singer Nancy Sinatra and her just-wed daughter dined with Tom and Sweetie Moffatt the other night at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar at Restaurant Row. Sansei staffers also provided the backstage munchies for Journey's two-nighter Thursday and Friday at Blaisdell Arena. ... The Sinatra party were guests of the Moffatts at Journey's Thursday show, too, staying for the backstage party. ...

TALK ABOUT PEOPLE: It's been a busy time for pianist Kit Samson, who performed with his Sound Advice at last night's 'Ilima Awards at Diamond Head Theatre. The band also played at a black-and-white affair Saturday night aboard the Falls of Clyde for friends and employees of Dr. Christopher Tortora's Hawaiian Eye Center. On Thursday, Samson flies to Manila to record some tracks from his next CD, "Kit Samson Plays Michel Legrand." He returns to the Ala Moana Hotel Oct. 31. ...

Singer Ann McCormack descended upon the Don Ho show the other night at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel to catch up on old times. "He's still packing 'em in," she marvels. ...

"Joke-toberfest," from 8 p.m. Friday at the Wave Waikiki, brings comedy back into the limelight, with Paul Ogata, Mel Cabang and Kento the Asian Invasion sharing the spotlight. ...

Compadres owner Rick Enos made a beeline for Sasabune, the sushi haven, after arriving with daughter Lauren, a recent University of Arizona graduate. With newfound friends Mark Brandon of Binder Casting and Jeff Lee, associate director of "The Lion King" (the pair auditioned locals for possible roles), all agreed the "trust me" menu at Sasabune was ichiban. ...

Ted Nakamura of Ted's Bakery (famous for those haupia and chocolate pies) literally took the cake — to Atlantic City. As pal Mike Choi of Edsung Foodservice tells it, Nakamura hand-carried a huge box containing a quarter-sheet of his chantilly cake to a Retail Bakers Convention. Seems a New Yorker sampled the cake during a North Shore visit, liked it so much, and wanted one for his daughter's wedding. So Nakamura carried the cake from Honolulu, through Los Angeles, through Philadelphia, then to Atlantic City, a journey that included two five-hour flights and one 30-minute segment. How much did it cost? Hawai'i prices, which is $20-plus, but the gent was so grateful that he gave Nakamura an extra $20. Talk about service beyond the call. ...

MEDIA NOTES: Ad executive David McNeil and wife, Helen (he's the McNeil in McNeil Wilson Communications), married late in life last year, but wasted no time in starting a family. "We're having twins — in March," said McNeil, who imagines his life will radically change. ...

Wally Zimmermann is back in the news fold, producing the KHON morning show. ...

JJ Michaels is new program director at 97.5 KPOI. ...

And that's Show Biz ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays; reach him at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.