Re: Hawaii Five-O - Any Interest Out There?
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Originally Posted by Jeff*H
Season 5 is where the new James MacArthur and Kam Fong shots began, Zulu left and Al Harrington was added.
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Zulu was actually fired at the end of the 4th season, following his getting into an argument with the series' publicist.
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Was one of the original cast members of "Hawaii Five-O" and played Kono Kalakaua for four seasons until the bulky actor was fired after disagreements with the show's publicist. Supposedly a racial slur was used and Jack Lord had him fired. The rumor that he quit because the role was not big enough and did not take full advantage of his comedic talents seems absurd and highly unlikely. Zulu was replaced by Al Harrington, who was slightly smaller in size.
Was convicted of second-degree negligent homicide after his vehicle hit and killed a bicyclist in 1986. He was fined $500 and placed on one year's probation. |
The last thing Zulu acted in that I'm aware of was an episode of Magnum, PI in 1982. In spite of Hawaii Five-O, his flat delivery didn't exactly help the man's career. He died just a few years ago.
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| In Season 9 Duke was added. |
If you mean to the opening credits, you're correct. However, Herman Wedemeyer made occasional appearances in the same role of Duke Lukela on the show starting in the 4th season. Originally Duke was an HPD officer. Wedemeyer played other roles (such an HPD police lieutenant) as early as 1968 when the show started. By the 8th season Duke was promoted and went to work on McGarrett's 5-O unit, and he was a regular, but his picture wasn't added to the opening theme credits (replacing a clip of an HFD firefighter welder) until the following year.
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| In Season 11, Kam Fong was removed |
In the 10th season finale, Det. Chin Ho Kelly was killed off. It was the most important episode to focus on Chin in years, and was the only Five-O cop to be murdered in this show.
Kam Fong's biography is one of the most interesting of any of the cast. From the IMDB:
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Was a Honolulu police officer from 1946-1962, when he retired and went into business as a real estate agent.
Campaigned as a candidate for the 1989 election as Hawaii governor.
Kam Fong's birth name was Kam Tong Chun, which meant "golden temple" in Chinese.
His first family died in 1944, after a B-24 bomber crashed onto his home.
Kam Fong was employed as boilermaker at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. He reported to work just after the attack and stayed there for three days. "I stood over the belly-up minelayer USS Ogalala, the only ship with a Hawaiian captain, and cried. I looked across the bay and saw the battleship USS Arizona burning and I cried," said Fong. He lived in Kalihi during WW II. On 8 June 1944, his first wife and two children were killed when two B-24 Liberators collided and the burning wreckage fell onto the homes of his neighborhood. |
