Moe Keale
Encyclopedia
Wilfred Nalani "Moe" Keale (December 3, 1939 - April 15, 2002) was a musician of Hawaiian music, ukulele virtuoso, and an American
actor
. He was uncle to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
.
, he primarily had roles in movies and TV series that took place in the islands, including many appearances on Hawaii Five-O
, where he had a recurring part as Truck Kealoha in the show's final season. He also appeared as Officer O'Shaughnessy in the Hawaiian-based NBC sitcom, The Brian Keith Show
.
He was a beachboy, musician and singer, part-time electrician, radio deejay, as well as an actor. His first paying musical gig with his group the Four K's was at the Waikiki Tavern circa 1958, followed by the Tropical Club in Kailua-Kona. In 1964, he worked with the Puka Puka Otea Tahitian Show at Queen's Surf. He was picked off the beach for a New York City gig doing high dives off a simulated waterfall. His most noted role as Truck on Hawaii Five-O came as a result of his working as an electrician on the set.
One of the few in this century of pure Hawaiian ancestry, his father was a kahuna. Moe Keale was born on the island of Niihau, but raised on Oahu. He was a man shaped by the customs and values of his ancestral birthplace, learning to play the ukulele at the age of four. Conversations in the home were in Hawaiian, and songs were passed from generation to generation of those of Niihau. He would fondly recall his summers on Niihau, where stress was not part of the lifestyle. "I figured that heaven must be something like Niihau," he would recount.
Moe and Eddie Kamae
struck up a musical partnership that led to Moe becoming part of Sons of Hawaii
in 1969, and he remained with the group until 1977. He then went on to make three solo albums South Sea Island Magic, Aloha Is A Part of Me, A Part of You, and Imagine.
He was a deejay on KCCN in the 1980s.
At the time of his death, he was a hands-on co-owner of the Lomi Shop’s Keiki Wa‘a at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa at Windward Mall. The Lomi Shop promoted the art of healing through lomilomi (massage).
Moe had a near-fatal heart attack in April 2001, and ended up with a pacemaker implant. He used his extension on life to raise $260,000 for the American Heart Association
, in order to have portable defibrillators strategically positioned state-wide.
From 1984 onward, he and his band played two evenings a week poolside at the Sheraton Waikiki. It was while performing at the Sheraton that Moe was struck by his fatal heart attack that ended his life on April 15, 2002.
In 2003, the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts
instituted the Moe Keale "Aloha Is" Award.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was uncle to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole was a Hawaiian musician.He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993...
.
Career
A native of HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, he primarily had roles in movies and TV series that took place in the islands, including many appearances on Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, where he had a recurring part as Truck Kealoha in the show's final season. He also appeared as Officer O'Shaughnessy in the Hawaiian-based NBC sitcom, The Brian Keith Show
The Brian Keith Show
The Brian Keith Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1974. The series stars Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares.-Synopsis:...
.
He was a beachboy, musician and singer, part-time electrician, radio deejay, as well as an actor. His first paying musical gig with his group the Four K's was at the Waikiki Tavern circa 1958, followed by the Tropical Club in Kailua-Kona. In 1964, he worked with the Puka Puka Otea Tahitian Show at Queen's Surf. He was picked off the beach for a New York City gig doing high dives off a simulated waterfall. His most noted role as Truck on Hawaii Five-O came as a result of his working as an electrician on the set.
One of the few in this century of pure Hawaiian ancestry, his father was a kahuna. Moe Keale was born on the island of Niihau, but raised on Oahu. He was a man shaped by the customs and values of his ancestral birthplace, learning to play the ukulele at the age of four. Conversations in the home were in Hawaiian, and songs were passed from generation to generation of those of Niihau. He would fondly recall his summers on Niihau, where stress was not part of the lifestyle. "I figured that heaven must be something like Niihau," he would recount.
Moe and Eddie Kamae
Eddie Kamae
Eddie Kamae is one of the founding members of Sons of Hawaii. He is a 'ukulele virtuoso, singer, composer, film producer and primary proponent of theHawaiian Cultural Renaissance.-Biography:...
struck up a musical partnership that led to Moe becoming part of Sons of Hawaii
Sons of Hawaii
The Sons of Hawaii was a Hawaiian musical group that popular to mainstream audiences from the 1960s through the 1990s.-History:In 1960 they opened at the Sandbox in Honolulu and were soon the highest paid Hawaiian group in the Islands...
in 1969, and he remained with the group until 1977. He then went on to make three solo albums South Sea Island Magic, Aloha Is A Part of Me, A Part of You, and Imagine.
He was a deejay on KCCN in the 1980s.
At the time of his death, he was a hands-on co-owner of the Lomi Shop’s Keiki Wa‘a at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa at Windward Mall. The Lomi Shop promoted the art of healing through lomilomi (massage).
Moe had a near-fatal heart attack in April 2001, and ended up with a pacemaker implant. He used his extension on life to raise $260,000 for the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, in order to have portable defibrillators strategically positioned state-wide.
From 1984 onward, he and his band played two evenings a week poolside at the Sheraton Waikiki. It was while performing at the Sheraton that Moe was struck by his fatal heart attack that ended his life on April 15, 2002.
In 2003, the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts
Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts
The Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts is a nonprofit organization formed in 1982 to stimulate interest in the local recording industry and the music of Hawaii.-External links:*...
instituted the Moe Keale "Aloha Is" Award.
Discography
- Hawaii's Treasure: Uncle Moe Keale Live in Waikiki CD 0888 (Booklines)
- South Sea Island Magic (2000) CD 2059 (Mountain Apple)
- Imagine (1996) CD 1005 (Ord)
- Aloha Is a Part of Me (1995) CD 6426 (Surfside)
Television work
- The Brian Keith ShowThe Brian Keith ShowThe Brian Keith Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1974. The series stars Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares.-Synopsis:...
(1972) - Sanford and SonSanford and SonSanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
(1976) - Danger in Paradise (1977)
- Big Hawaii (1977)
- Stickin' Together (1978)
- The Islander (1978)
- Pearl (1978)
- The MacKenzies of Paradise (1979)
- The Paradise Connection (1979)
- Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
(1971–1980) - M Station: Hawaii (1980)
- Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
(1980) - Hawaiian HeatHawaiian HeatHawaiian Heat is an American drama television series that premiered on ABC on September 14, 1984. It starred Robert Ginty and Jeff McCracken as two Chicago cops who quit their jobs in the Windy City to become detectives in Hawaii. Their boss at the Honolulu Police Department was played by veteran...
(1984) - Gidget's Summer ReunionGidget's Summer ReunionGidget's Summer Reunion is a 1985 television film produced by Columbia Pictures Television for television syndication. It was written by Robert Blees and George Zateslo and directed by Bruce Bilson and starred Caryn Richman as Gidget.-Plot:...
(1985) - Blood and Orchids (1986)
- Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
(1981–1987) - Hawaii Five-O (1997)
External links
- Moe Keale at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...