Hawaiian Eye
Encyclopedia
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company
television network.
) and his half-Hawaiian partner, Tom Lopaka (Robert Conrad
), own Hawaiian Eye, a combination detective agency and private security firm, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Their principal client is the Hawaiian Village Hotel, which in exchange for security services, provides the agency with a luxurious private compound on the hotel grounds. The partners investigate mysteries and protect clients with the sometime help of photographer Cricket Blake (Connie Stevens
), who also sings at the hotel's Shell Bar, and a ukelele-playing cab driver Kim Quisado (Poncie Ponce
), who has "relatives" throughout the islands. Engineer turned detective Greg McKenzie (Grant Williams
), joins the agency later on as a full partner, while hotel social director Philip Barton (Troy Donahue
) lends a hand after Tracey Steele departs.
/Warner Brothers Television detective series of the era situated in different exotic locales. Others included Hollywood-based 77 Sunset Strip
, Bourbon Street Beat
, set in New Orleans, and Miami's Surfside Six. In reality, all were shot on the Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles, making it easy for characters—and sometimes whole scripts—to cross over. Although the shows aren't spin-offs
in the traditional sense, Sunset was the first in this chain of "exotic location detective series". In this regard, Hawaiian Eye was the most viable of the Sunset look-alikes, lasting four seasons. The show's debut coincided with several real-world developments that helped contribute to its longevity. These were the granting of statehood to Hawaii, the advent of mass tourism to the new state brought about by the introduction of jetliners for commercial passenger flights, and the promotional efforts of Henry J. Kaiser
, whose real estate projects in Honolulu included building the hotel complex originally known as Kaiser's Hawaiian Village and later the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.
The program did well in the ratings on Wednesday evenings. In its last season, it was placed on the Tuesday schedule opposite CBS's The Red Skelton Show
and a new NBC
Western
drama Empire
set on a modern New Mexico
ranch. Skelton survived the competition, and Empire was cut to a half-hour program called Redigo
the following season and was soon cancelled.
published a single comic book, Hawaiian Eye #1, in 1963, which detailed an adventure of Cricket and Phil Barton. In 1962 a single novelization by Frank Castle also appeared on bookshelves in America.
A Warner Brothers Music record of the show featured some songs performed by Stevens and Robert Conrad, a rerecording of the title song and some Warners stock music.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network.
Premise
Private investigator Tracey Steele (Anthony EisleyAnthony Eisley
Anthony Eisley was born Frederick Glendinning Eisley in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose father was a general sales manager for a large corporation. Father of Amanda Eisley, Jonathan Eisley, Nan R...
) and his half-Hawaiian partner, Tom Lopaka (Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
), own Hawaiian Eye, a combination detective agency and private security firm, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Their principal client is the Hawaiian Village Hotel, which in exchange for security services, provides the agency with a luxurious private compound on the hotel grounds. The partners investigate mysteries and protect clients with the sometime help of photographer Cricket Blake (Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
), who also sings at the hotel's Shell Bar, and a ukelele-playing cab driver Kim Quisado (Poncie Ponce
Poncie Ponce
Poncie Ponce is an American actor, musician and stand-up comedian. Born in Maui, Hawaii, he moved to Los Angeles, where from 1959–1963, he played the role of cab driver Kazuo Kim in the Warner Bros...
), who has "relatives" throughout the islands. Engineer turned detective Greg McKenzie (Grant Williams
Grant Williams
Grant Williams was an American film actor and operatic tenor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Scott Carey in the seminal science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man , which has since become a cult classic.-Early life:Born John Joseph Williams in New York City to a Scottish father...
), joins the agency later on as a full partner, while hotel social director Philip Barton (Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
) lends a hand after Tracey Steele departs.
Background and run
Hawaiian Eye was one of several ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
/Warner Brothers Television detective series of the era situated in different exotic locales. Others included Hollywood-based 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
, Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat is a private detective series which aired on the ABC network from 1959-1960 and featured Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which...
, set in New Orleans, and Miami's Surfside Six. In reality, all were shot on the Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles, making it easy for characters—and sometimes whole scripts—to cross over. Although the shows aren't spin-offs
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
in the traditional sense, Sunset was the first in this chain of "exotic location detective series". In this regard, Hawaiian Eye was the most viable of the Sunset look-alikes, lasting four seasons. The show's debut coincided with several real-world developments that helped contribute to its longevity. These were the granting of statehood to Hawaii, the advent of mass tourism to the new state brought about by the introduction of jetliners for commercial passenger flights, and the promotional efforts of Henry J. Kaiser
Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
, whose real estate projects in Honolulu included building the hotel complex originally known as Kaiser's Hawaiian Village and later the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.
The program did well in the ratings on Wednesday evenings. In its last season, it was placed on the Tuesday schedule opposite CBS's The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as...
and a new NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
drama Empire
Empire (1962 TV series)
Empire, an hour-long Western television series set on a 1960s ranch in New Mexico, starred Richard Egan , Terry Moore , and Ryan O'Neal . It ran on NBC for a season between September 25, 1962, and May 14, 1963...
set on a modern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
ranch. Skelton survived the competition, and Empire was cut to a half-hour program called Redigo
Redigo (TV series)
Redigo is a 15-week Western dramatic series, set on a New Mexico ranch during the early 1960s, which aired over NBC from September 24 to December 31, 1963. It starred Richard Egan as ranch owner Jim Redigo, Roger Davis as Mike the ranch hand, and Elena Verdugo as Gerry...
the following season and was soon cancelled.
Cast
The series regulars, who were shown during the opening credits, are listed below in the order in which they debuted during the show's four year run.| Character | Actor | Role | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson Lopaka | Robert Conrad Robert Conrad Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep... |
Private Investigator | 1959–1963 |
| Tracey Steele | Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley was born Frederick Glendinning Eisley in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose father was a general sales manager for a large corporation. Father of Amanda Eisley, Jonathan Eisley, Nan R... |
Private Investigator | 1959–1962 |
| Chryseis "Cricket" Blake | Connie Stevens Connie Stevens Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:... |
Photographer and Singer | 1959–1963 |
| Kazuo "Kim" Quisado | Poncie Ponce Poncie Ponce Poncie Ponce is an American actor, musician and stand-up comedian. Born in Maui, Hawaii, he moved to Los Angeles, where from 1959–1963, he played the role of cab driver Kazuo Kim in the Warner Bros... |
Cab Driver | 1959–1963 |
| Greg McKenzie | Grant Williams Grant Williams Grant Williams was an American film actor and operatic tenor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Scott Carey in the seminal science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man , which has since become a cult classic.-Early life:Born John Joseph Williams in New York City to a Scottish father... |
Private Investigator | 1960–1963 |
| Philip Barton | Troy Donahue Troy Donahue Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:... |
Hotel Social Director | 1962–1963 |
Recurring characters
- Lt. Danny Quon, played by Mel Prestidge, was the Hawaiian Eye's main contact with the Honolulu Police DepartmentHonolulu Police DepartmentThe Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
.
- Moke, played by Doug Mossman, was the chief uniformed security officer for Hawaiian Eye. He went by several variant names in the first season before the writers finally settled on one.
- Paul, played by Andre Philippe, was the MC at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village Hotel.
- Bert, played by Sam Rawlins, was the doorman at the Hawaiian Village Hotel.
- Teo, played by several actors including Ralph Hanalei and Keone, was a uniformed security guard for the Hawaiian Eye agency.
- Roy Hondine, played by Rush Williams, was a columnist for a major Honolulu newspaper.
- Sunny Day, played by Tina ColeTina ColeTina Cole is an American actress and singer. She is best-known for her role as Katie Miller Douglas on the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons. She was also a member of the King Family Singers.-Family:...
, was a singer at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village Hotel. The role was created after Connie Stevens temporarily left the series in the fourth season over a contract dispute.
- Sgt. Alika, played by Makee K. BlaisdellMaKee K. BlaisdellMaKee K. Blaisdell was an American actor. One of his major roles was playing the title character in the short-film Johnny Lingo.-Career:...
, was a detective for the Hilo police force and appeared in several episodes that took place on the Big Island of HawaiiHawaii (island)The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
.
- Bubbles Smith, played by Karen Griffin, was a temporary girlfriend of Tom Lopaka in several second season episodes.
Guest musical acts
All of the Warner Brothers detective shows of this era featured a musical interlude, generally performed by a series regular. On occasion, Hawaiian Eye had a guest act perform:- Sterling Mossman and his Barefoot Bar Gang. A real policeman by day, Sterling also performed nights at the Barefoot Bar, one of Honolulu's most popular tourist attractions from 1952–1969.
- Arthur Lyman and his exotic tropical sounds. In one episode Connie Stevens sang a version of the title song accompanied by Lyman's group.
In other media
A limited amount of spin-off material accompanied the series. Gold KeyGold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
published a single comic book, Hawaiian Eye #1, in 1963, which detailed an adventure of Cricket and Phil Barton. In 1962 a single novelization by Frank Castle also appeared on bookshelves in America.
A Warner Brothers Music record of the show featured some songs performed by Stevens and Robert Conrad, a rerecording of the title song and some Warners stock music.
External links
- Hawaiian Eye at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...