SHOW BIZ
Catching up with a couple of 'Five-O' alumni

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Glenn Cannon, who also has history with "Five-O" (he played the recurring character of attorney general John Manicote), still mixes acting with directing when he's not teaching at the University of Hawai'i. He will turn to a starring role when The Actors' Group presents Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys" June 3-July 4 at the Yellow Brick Studio. "I'm finally the right age to play the character," he says. ...

NAMES 'N' FACES: What started as a modest, garage-sale type of benefit turned into a mammoth fund-raiser for Penny Felimer Kalani, who has a blood disease and needs a heart transplant. The Sacred Hearts Academy grad will receive $20,000 from what ultimately became an islandwide mission of kokua, particularly since folks such as actress-singer Tia Carrere, a fellow grad, stepped in to beef up the effort. ...

With a pair of Willies aboard, how could folks not respond? Willie Nelson and Willie K headlined a concert at Maui Community College (Hapa and Marty Dread also were on the bill), and yep, they thrilled the audience of 2,000. Willie K will add his name to a golf fund-raiser for the Maui Memorial Medical Center on April 10; the Willie K Golf Tournament on Maui will include such folks as Melveen Leed, Kimo Kahoano, Horace Dudoit (of Ho'okena), June Jones, Emme Tomimbang, Eric Gilliom and Lehua Kalima Heine (of Na Leo Pilimehana). ...

RANDOM NOTES: Augie Rey, performing at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, seems like he's singing with the Aliis or the Raven Brothers. His backup includes Bobby King on bass and Carlos Barboza on keyboards, members with roots in earlier groups. Rey is thinking of redubbing his act Augie Rey & the Little Big Band. Hard to believe, but everyone performing has reached age 60. ...

Dulce Reyes Takase, who used to perform as Dulce Reyes, is in dire straits. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball and initially was told it was inoperable. But the family located a neurosurgeon, Dr. Takanori Fukushima, who removed 95 percent of the benign tumor last fall. Because of the tumor, Reyes was paralyzed on her right side and incoherent. She had a second surgery when her eyesight was affected, and is making gains in her recovery on Maui. An Aloha Airlines employee now on leave, she was a guest services rep at the Kahului lounge — a happy, welcoming face. Her friends are staging a benefit from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday at the Queen Kapi'olani Hotel to help with medical bills. The Society of Seven Las Vegas, Nohelani Cypriano, Ben Vegas, Jim Howard, Simplicity and Maunaloa are among those scheduled to perform; Kimo Kahoano will emcee. ...

AROUND TOWN: For UH-Manoa graduate Tim Golden, a simple phone call changed his life. While interning at Hawaiian Image Video two years ago, he was hired by Buena Vista Pictures as a production assistant to help in the media coverage of the "Pearl Harbor" premiere here. A month later, he spent a week with an "Entertainment Tonight" crew headed by producer Bonnie Tiegel. "Tim was an amazing worker; he didn't know the word 'no,' " said Tiegel. "He made everything happen." She hired the Hale'iwa resident as an "ET" production assistant, and he's been promoted to media manager for "ET Online." "I was in the right place at the right time," he said. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Wayne Harada prepared this column before going on vacation. Reach him at 525-8067 or wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.