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Donald Tai Loy Ho (; August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian
traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...
musician, singer, and entertainer. He is best known for the song "
Tiny Bubbles "Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the Easy Listening charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" ...
" from the 1966 album of the same name.


Early life, family and education

Ho was a singer of
Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...
, Chinese, Portuguese,
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
, and German descent. He was born in the small
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
neighborhood of Kakaako to Emily (Honey) Leimaile Silva and James Ah You Puao Ho, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the
windward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point ...
side of the island of
Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...
. He was a graduate of the
Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...
in 1949 and he attended
Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...
on a football scholarship in 1950, but he returned home to earn a
Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in sociology at
University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...
in 1953.


Career

In 1954, Ho entered the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
, doing his primary training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi and spent time flying C-97s with the
Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...
. Transferred to
Travis Air Force Base, California Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 Kilometre, km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, California, Fairfield, i ...
, he went to the local city of Concord and bought an electronic keyboard from a music store, and recalls, "That's when it all started." While in the military, Ho traveled from state to state with his young family until he was called home to help his mother with the family bar business, Honey's. Ho left the Air Force in 1959 due to his mother's developing illness and began singing at her club in Kaneohe. Honey's became a hotspot for the local entertainment and the growing customers from the Kaneohe Marine Base servicemen. Ho always honored the military remembering his own years of military service. In 1963, he moved the Kāneohe Honey's to
Waikīkī Waikīkī (; ) is a Honolulu neighborhood and the eponymous Waikīkī beach on its south shore, on the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. (Despite situational use of the spelling "Waikiki", typically in materials aimed at tourists, t ...
. After much success, and little room to grow, promoter Kimo Wilder McVay sought Don to play at a night club called Duke's owned by
Duke Kahanamoku Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer, lifeguard, and popularizer of the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born three years before the overthrow of the ...
, where he caught the attention of record company officials. Ho was originally signed to
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
.McLellan, Dennis (April 15, 2007
Don Ho, 76; singer was best known for 66 hit 'Tiny Bubbles'.
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''
He released his debut album, ''The Don Ho Show!'', in 1965 and began to play high-profile locations in
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,
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
and New York City. In 1966 he released his second album, a live compilation called ''Don Ho – Again!'', which charted in the early part of that year. In the fall of 1966, Ho released his most famous song, "
Tiny Bubbles "Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the Easy Listening charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" ...
", which charted on both the pop (#57 Billboard) and
easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
charts and caused his subsequent album, also called ''
Tiny Bubbles "Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the Easy Listening charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" ...
'', to remain in the album Top 200 for almost a year. Another song associated with Don was " Pearly Shells". From 1964 to 1969, Don's backing group was The Aliis: Al Akana, Rudy Aquino, Benny Chong, Manny Lagodlagod and Joe Mundo. In his stage show, Ho would make jokes about being sent in the mid-1950s to
Keesler Air Force Base Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nati ...
, Mississippi and being Hawaiian. Don Ho enjoyed asking for a show of hands of veterans of World War II. He would ask for all the Pearl Harbor survivors to stand. He would tell the men from the
European theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...
, "you got your glory in the movies" that they could watch. The veterans of the
Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
were invited on stage to join the hula dancers. Ho's music used typical 1960s pop arrangements, which meant light instrumentation and Hammond organs. He was well-positioned to capitalize on the newly admitted state's growing popularity as a tourist destination during the decade due to cheap air travel and the popularity of
Tiki bars A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktail, Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is b ...
. His shows would be attended by celebrities in addition to ordinary tourists. During the second half of the decade, a growing movement emerged in Hawaii to produce more traditional forms of music that subtly accused Ho of being too commercialized and marketed to tourists. His popularity never seriously suffered however, and his shows remained popular with vacationers. Guest appearances on television series such as ''
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'', ''
The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...
'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...
'', '' McCloud'' and ''
Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...
'' soon followed. Although his album sales peaked in the late 1960s, he was able to land a television series on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
from October 1976 to March 1977 with '' The Don Ho Show'' variety program which aired on weekday mornings.The Motley Fool (March 31, 2006)
Interview: Don Ho.
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Advertiser Staff (April 15, 2007)
HAWAI'I'S ICON DON HO, 1930 – 2007: Don Ho dies.
''
The Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions. ''The ...
''
His daughter Hoku performed with him in his Waikīkī show and in 2000 went on to become a nationally known recording artist in her own right. In 2005, he sang a song that was used as the opening theme to the direct-to-video and DVD movie '' Aloha, Scooby-Doo!''.


Work with other artists

A protege of Don Ho was Robin Wilson.


Personal life


Family

Ho married twice and had ten children by three women. He first married his high school sweetheart, Melva May Kolokea Wong, on November 22, 1951; they had six children together. They were married for 48 years, until Melva's death on June 8, 1999. After Melva's death, Ho had four more children from two subsequent relationships; he lived at his Diamond Head residence with his children and their mothers. His children often worked with him, either onstage, backstage, or with his business. He loved to work with his children, teaching them the entertainment business. In September 2006, Ho married Haumea Hebenstreit, who was a production assistant for his show at the Waikīkī Beachcomber. The following is a list of Ho's relationships and children: *Melva May Kolokea Wong (August 17, 1932 – June 8, 1999) m. November 22, 1951 **Donald "Donnie" Ho, Jr. (May 28, 1952 — March 20, 2010) **Donalei Ho (born 1953-1954) **Dayna "Danna" Kolokea Ho-Henry (February 21, 1955 – May 11, 2007) **Dondi Kaleinani Ho-Costa (born 1956-1957) **Dorianne "Dori" Ho (born 1957-1958) **Dwight Ho, m. Lydia Ho (born 1960-1961) *Elizabeth Guevara **Kea Ho **Kealii Ho *Patricia Swallie ** Hoku Christian Ho Clements **Kaimana Grace Ho *Haumea Hebenstreit m. September 2006


Illness and death

In 1995, at age 65, Ho suffered a mild stroke, after which his health began a steady decline. By 2002, he had developed
cardiomegaly Cardiomegaly (sometimes megacardia or megalocardia) is a medical condition in which the heart becomes enlarged. It is more commonly referred to simply as "having an enlarged heart". It is usually the result of underlying conditions that make the h ...
, an enlarged heart, unrelated to coronary artery disease, leaving him with only 30% of normal cardiac capacity. Despite his failing health, Ho was always hopeful and resilient to find a solution to his health issues. He also continued his nightly performances making a few concessions, such as trading in his glass of Scotch, which he kept on top of his piano at shows, for pineapple juice. Ho was diagnosed with
cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of primary diseases of the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. A ...
in 2005 and had a
pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...
implanted.Ryan, Tim (December 23, 2005)
Ho comes to terms with getting older.
''
Honolulu Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...
''
Ho still experienced a number of problems afterwards, including an episode when his pacemaker malfunctioned during a concert. On another occasion, he was making repairs to the roof of his house when his heart suddenly started racing. He contacted a
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
company specializing in treating heart conditions with adult
stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
s working in conjunction with Dr. Shoa, cardiac surgeon and pioneer of the use of adult stem cells for
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
. On December 6, 2005, Ho had his own blood-derived stem cells injected into his heart by Amit Patel and his fellow surgeons in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. The treatment went without incident and it was reported that his heart would be boosted back to 75% capacity. Later in the month, Ho said, "I'm feeling much better and I'm so happy I came up here to do it." In regard to his health problems, he remarked "I'd been going around for years acting like I was 40. And then when all this happened, someone told me 'You're 75.' Everyone gets old. Why did I think I was exempt?" Ho had a new pacemaker installed on September 16, 2006. On April 14, 2007, he died in his Waikīkī apartment from heart failure. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea. Since Ho's death, his estate has been in limbo because of numerous management conflicts and legal changes that transpired while he was struggling with his mental and physical health.


References


External links

* *Don Ho's autobiography, ''DON HO: My Music, My Life'' with Jerry Hopkins.
Obituary
from the
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Obituary
on the
Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Don 1930 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American songwriters American male film actors American male pop singers American male songwriters American male television actors American military personnel of Native Hawaiian descent American musicians of Chinese descent American musicians of Portuguese descent American people of Portuguese descent Hawaii people of Chinese descent Hawaii people of Portuguese descent Kamehameha Schools alumni Male actors from Hawaii Male actors from Honolulu Military personnel from Hawaii Military personnel from Honolulu Mountain Apple Company artists Musicians from Honolulu Reprise Records artists Singers from Hawaii Songwriters from Hawaii Traditional pop music singers Ukulele players from Hawaii United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni