James Kawika Piʻimauna "Rap" Reiplinger (July 16, 1950 – January 19, 1984) was a

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an comedian, whose humor is an integral part of Hawaii today.

Biography

After attending

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

, Reiplinger began performing professionally. In 1974 he helped create the comedy ensemble ''Booga Booga'' with James Grant Benton and Ed Kaʻahea. In 1982, he received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and bronze medal from the International Film and Television Festival of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

for the "Most Outstanding Television Production" for his television special, ''Rap′s Hawaii'', which he wrote and in which he starred. Reiplinger's writing, performance, and comic genius was part of the second

Hawaiian Renaissance The Hawaiian Renaissance (also called the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance) was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional Kānaka Maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based culture ...

of the 1970s and 1980s. Reiplinger was married to television journalist Leesa Clark Stone from October 25, 1983 until his death on January 19, 1984. Reiplinger died in 1984 from

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

-related causes at the age of 33 after going missing for a week.

Television

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

(1977) as Stu Hinman * Rap's Hawai'i KGMB (1982)

Discography

*''Poi Dog'' (1978) *''Crab Dreams'' (1979) (Won a Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for Best Comedy Album in 1979.)Na Hoku Hanohano Past Winners
*''Do I Dare Disturb the Universe'' (1979) *''Strange Bird'' (1981) *''Rap′s Hawaii'' (TV Special) 1982 Emmy Award (DVD 2003) *''Towed Away'' (1983) (Won a Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for Best Graphics in 1984.) *''Rap′s Aloha'' (TV Special) 1984 Broadcast posthumously. *''Poi Dog With Crabs'' (1992) (Poi Dog and Crab Dreams) Released posthumously. *''The Best of Rap'' (1993) Released posthumously. *''The Best of Rap, Too'' (1996) Released posthumously.

References

Comedians from Hawaii 1950 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American comedians American television personalities Emmy Award winners Punahou School alumni Drug-related deaths in Hawaii Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners {{Hawaii-stub Native Hawaiian male actors