SHOW BIZ
Local actor in godfather role for 'Hawai'i' pilot
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
SHOW BREEZES: Branscombe Richmond, the Island actor based in Los Angeles, is in town to play an underworld godfather type in NBC's "Hawai'i" pilot. Cable TV channel surfers will remember him from such series as "Tremors" and "Renegade," and motorcyclists know he's a big biker fan, too. But the buzz is that Richmond's also dickering to open up a production company, with partners yet to be named. Mission: shooting projects with Act 221 tax credits. Stay tuned. ...
Mamma mia! Heads turned in the crowded dining room at Sarento's Top of the Ilikai when reservations manager Melissa Cambra led Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and their MTV entourage to the Wine Rack Room for a cozy dinner. Kids Jack and Kelly weren't there, however. Restaurant manager Jarrod Jones said the Osbournes were "very friendly and low-key, and Sharon Osbourne really knows her Italian food." ...
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'IDOL' TALK: James West and his son, J.J., are off to Hollywood to be with daughter Camile Velasco, 18, as she makes her quest to become the next "American Idol." You know, of course, that besides Velasco, Hawai'i has a second finalist among the 12 in Jasmine Trias, 17. Motorists are noticing the huge banner hanging in front of the high school, "Maryknoll, Proud Home of Jasmine Trias." ...
Had to happen. There's a William Hung action figure, available on Web sites, but it doesn't look him at all — more like a Ken doll with a different head. And a muscular frame? I don't think so. Back to the drawing boards — and shouldn't his doll be singing "She Bangs"? ...
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TROPICAL TOPICS: "Walk for Wili" is the theme of Saturday's Walk for Diabetes, which pays tribute to the late deejay Wili Moku. His radio peers are rallying for the cause; Dan Cooke of Krater, for instance, was involved in a pre-walk event Friday downtown. Pal and radio colleague Mike Buck of KHVH was a Type 2 diabetic with sleep-apnea problems who got a wake-up call not only from Wili's plight, but a brush with tragedy (he dozed at the wheel because of the sleep disorder). He's completed gastric bypass surgery and is a new man — once 504 pounds, he's lost 258 and the diabetes is gone. ...
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MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Bonnie Friedman, Maui-based foodie and publicist, is back from a Maui Visitors Bureau jaunt to the Big Apple. She accompanied Sansei and Vino owner-chef D.K. Kodama and his corporate chef, Tom Selman, who cooked for four media events at Riingo, one of the new hot spots at the Alex Hotel. MVB handed out 100 lei to Conde Nast employees, so it was a genuine aloha moment. Friedman also was at the "Today Weekend" show when Kodama taught hosts Lester Holt and Hoda Kotb to make sushi to "throw a hand-roll party at home." Big thrills, too, for Friedman — she sat next to doyenne of the dinner table Mimi Sheraton at the media dinner, and spotted Kim Raver from her fave TV show, "Third Watch," on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. ...
Call it "Unforgettable": Bill Sanders of Sanders Piano was quick to deliver a grand piano to the Battleship Missouri Memorial for a Natalie Cole performance recently. A crane was required to install the instrument, but Sanders didn't mind; he's a fan of Natalie's and her late dad, Nat "King" Cole. Daniel Ho was an opening act for Cole's Maui Arts & Cultural Center. ...
Blessed Union of Souls, a Cincinnati group featuring Elliott Sloan on lead vocals, stopped by the Perry & Price show at John Dominis recently and performed their No. 1 hit, "I Believe." The group was here for a military gig. ...
And that's Show Biz. ...
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
