On Monday, April 6, 1959, when radio and television comedian Arthur Godfrey (1903-83) — arguably the most famous American TV entertainer of the 1950s — stepped onto the tarmac at Lihu‘e Airport from the Hawaiian Airlines charter plane he’d piloted
On Monday, April 6, 1959, when radio and television comedian Arthur Godfrey (1903-83) — arguably the most famous American TV entertainer of the 1950s — stepped onto the tarmac at Lihu‘e Airport from the Hawaiian Airlines charter plane he’d piloted from Honolulu, he was presented with a Hawaiian cape by Neal Schimmelfennig, Kuhina Nui of the Aloha Week Court.
Standing nearby and traveling with Godfrey during his two-day stay on Kaua‘i were his wife, Mary, the legendary Duke Kahanamoku and Duke’s wife, Nadine, and Haleloke Kahauolopua, a Hawaiian singer and dancer in his troupe.
Born in Hilo, Haleloke Kahauolopua had been a vocalist beginning in 1945 with the popular radio program “Hawai‘i Calls.” Hosted by Webley Edwards, the show featured live Hawaiian music conducted weekly by Harry Owens from 1935 to 1975, most often from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel in Waikiki. Haleloke also performed on the “Arthur Godfrey TV Show” for several years during the 1950s. On the show, she would sing and dance hula while Godfrey strummed his ‘ukulele.
By the way, during one of Godfrey’s frequent guest-host appearances on “Hawai‘i Calls,” Kaua‘i’s renowned singer and songwriter Larry Rivera sang his compositions “Wai‘ale‘ale” and “The Whole World Looks to Hawai‘i” at the Waikiki Shell.
And, another Kaua‘i born-and-raised musician, Larry Ramos, lead singer with the band The Association, first garnered national attention as a child when he performed on Godfrey’s radio and TV programs in 1950 and 1951.
Godfrey was among the many celebrated guests of Kaua‘i’s Coco Palms Hotel. During his stay, Godfrey became the 87th of 127 people or organizations to plant a tree in the Coco Palms coconut grove during an elaborate tree-planting ceremony created by manager Grace Buscher Guslander.
Before Godfrey flew back to Honolulu, he presented Willie Duarte, the outgoing and energetic owner of Duarte’s U-Drive, which handled Godfrey’s transportation, an extra-large ‘ukulele he’d designed and inscribed.
