Jack Lord ailing?
ACMAL
Hi everyone! This item seems to keep popping up. I was surprised to see
this in this morning's newspaper, so I thought I d pop this tidbit on the
board.
From The Miami Herald, July 24, 1996 edition, section 2A
Actor Jack Lord, 73, star of the old Hawaii Five-O TV series, is
in the last stages of Alzheimer s disease at his Hawaii home, reports say.
His wife, Marie, tries to hide how bad Jack is and explains it
away by saying that he s eccentric, his longtime friend Buck Henshaw
said. But his old secretary, who had been with him for years, called up,
and he didn t even know her.
Any comments?
Best,
Anne
(Book me, Danno! Anytime!)
LT
In article <31F678...@gte.net>, Bryce Wray <bw...@gte.net> wrote:
>Must have been an AP or UPI report, because the same item, word-for-word same
>as the above quote from the Miami _Herald_ (and with more details), ran in
>today's Dallas _Morning News_. Pretty sad news, if true. Our local "Five-O
>reruns outlet" is now into the 1971 season, containing many personal favorite
>episodes from my long-ago teen years, so I find this report doubly sad to
>hear right now.
I came across a similar story a few months ago when I did a Nexis search
for Five-O stories (the article was from April of '95). It looks like the
story is probably accurate, unfortunately:
Daily Mirror
April 27, 1995, Thursday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 8
LENGTH: 814 words
HEADLINE: HAWAII JACK'S TRAGEDY;
ACTOR JACK LORD SUFFERING FROM ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
BYLINE: Ian Markham Smith In Honolulu
BODY:
THE actor who owned and starred in one of the most successful police shows
of all time has become a sick recluse- not even recognising his own relatives
or friends.
Jack Lord, who was tough cop Steve "Book Him Dano" McGarrett in Hawaii
Five-0, has Alzheimer's Disease.
The tragedy comes amid news that Hollywood producer Steve Tisch, who made
Oscar smash Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks, is planning to make a movie based on
the series.
Tisch hopes to follow the lead of other shows which have found their way
to the big screen, including Maverick,'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'The
Addams Family.'
On the rare occasions that Lord leaves his multi-million pound penthouse
flat overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Honolulu, he wanders the beach aided by
a stick and wearing a Panama hat that hides the dramatic change in his once
ruggedly handsome face.
"It's a tragedy to see him," says long-time friend Buck Henshaw who worked
as a set director on Hawaii Five-0. "When I phone up to talk to him, he
doesn't even know who I am. It is taking a terrible toll on his devoted wife
Marie. "I try to get her out for lunch once a month because she never goes
anywhere
"She tries to hide how bad Jack is and explains it away by saying that
he is eccentric.
"But the other day his old secretary, who had been with him for years,
called up to find out how he was doing and he didn't even know her."
Lord became a multi-millionaire through Five-0 which ran for 12 years
and 285 episodes from 1968.
Exotic
It helped put Hawaii on the map as a holiday location and was also the
forerunner of a number of series set in the exotic location including Magnum
P.I.'
When filming stopped in 1980, Lord sold his rights to the show - which
is still seen in re-runs around the world - for a massive, undisclosed figure.
Even though he invested much of the money wisely, he has reportedly turned
into a miser.
A neighbour says: " Jack pinches pennies until it hurts. Those who know
him can't understand why he's so tight."
Waste
TV executive Wallace White, who worked on Hawaii Five-O for the last
five years of its life, says: " Jack hasn't been seen at any public occasion
for four years.
"He never goes anywhere.
"It is such a waste but his mind has gone. We are all so sorry for him."
Bryce Wray
Mike Quigley wrote [and I've restored the post he was answering]:
>
>> ac...@aol.com (ACMAL) wrote:
>> Hi everyone! This item seems to keep popping up. I was surprised to see
>> this in this morning's newspaper, so I thought I d pop this tidbit on the
>> board.
>>
>> From The Miami Herald, July 24, 1996 edition, section 2A
>>
>> Actor Jack Lord, 73, star of the old Hawaii Five-O TV series, is
>> in the last stages of Alzheimer s disease at his Hawaii home, reports say.
>> His wife, Marie, tries to hide how bad Jack is and explains it
>> away by saying that he s eccentric, his longtime friend Buck Henshaw
>> and he didn t even know her.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Anne
>> (Book me, Danno! Anytime!)
>
>
> the know" have denied this, backed by reports from Hawaii of supposedly
> knowledgeable types who have access to Lord or those around him. But I
> heard from some Vancouver Five-O fan that he went to Hawaii a couple of
> years ago and met Lord who acted "strangely". The Alzheimer's business
> appeared in the National Enquirer a few years back. Despite what one may
> think about the Enquirer, I remember hearing during the O.J. trial a report
> on CNN or some "reputable" news source that the Enquirer was one of the few
> tabloids which made an effort to get its facts straight.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Drop by and visit the award-winning Hawaii Five-O Home Page, now at a new
> location: http://web20.mindlink.net/a4369/fiveo.htm -- Book 'em, Danno!
Must have been an AP or UPI report, because the same item, word-for-word same
as the above quote from the Miami _Herald_ (and with more details), ran in
today's Dallas _Morning News_. Pretty sad news, if true. Our local "Five-O
reruns outlet" is now into the 1971 season, containing many personal favorite
episodes from my long-ago teen years, so I find this report doubly sad to
hear right now.
On a more selfish note for us Five-O fans, this surely would kill any chance
of even a cameo by Lord in the planned Five-O movie. I'd HOPE, at least, no
one would try to exploit an elderly man who gave us all many fine hours of
enjoyment before he (apparently) fell ill.
--
Bryce Wray
bw...@gte.net
http://home1.gte.net/bwray/index.htm
Mike Quigley
ac...@aol.com (ACMAL) wrote:
> Actor Jack Lord, 73, star of the old Hawaii Five-O TV series, is
>in the last stages of Alzheimer s disease at his Hawaii home, reports say.
> His wife, Marie, tries to hide how bad Jack is and explains it
>away by saying that he s eccentric, his longtime friend Buck Henshaw
>said. But his old secretary, who had been with him for years, called up,
>and he didn t even know her.
This has been the subject of controversy for quite a while. Many people "in
Blurb
In article <31f64718...@news.mindlink.net>, Mr_Gi...@mindlink.net
(Mike Quigley) writes:
>on CNN or some "reputable" news source that the Enquirer was one of the
few
>tabloids which made an effort to get its facts straight.
<guffaw>
You got a good sense of humor, Mike! <wink>
Karen Rhodes
"Be here! Aloha!"