The Hawaii Five-O FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Mr. Mike
The Hawaii Five-O FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
(Revised by Mike Quigley from information supplied by Karen
Rhodes, posted originally in alt.fan.hawaii-five-o)
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When was Hawaii Five-O originally on TV (its
prime-time run)?
September 26, 1968 to April 5, 1980.
When did the Hawaii Five-O pilot movie ("Cocoon") premiere?
A week before the series, on September 20, 1968.
It should be noted that either of these dates, as well as
any of the air dates of any other of the episodes during the
12-year run of the show, may vary from these "official"
dates (the CBS network airdates) in any particular local
market because of pre-emption or other schedule shifting on
a local level. Episode guides do not take these local shifts
into account; that would be impossible to track down and too
space-consuming to include.
Who created Hawaii Five-O?
Leonard Freeman, who died January 20, 1974 from
complications of heart surgery.
Who composed the main title theme?
Morton Stevens, who died November 11, 1991 of cancer. He
composed music for other TV shows like Police Woman,
Gunsmoke and The Wild, Wild West, arranged music for the
Boston Pops, and was musical director for concert tours of
Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Liza
Minnelli.
Is the soundtrack to Hawaii Five-O available?
Music from the TV soundtrack was available on Capitol LP
ST-410. It has never been reissued on CD. Most of the music
on this LP (which is around half an hour long) is taken from
the show's pilot movie. The main title (not the version from
this LP) can also be found on various TV theme compilation
CDs.
Were there any changes between the pilot movie and the
series?
In the pilot movie, Dan Williams was played by Tim O'Kelley.
Apparently a test audience in New York didn't think he did
such a good job. Leonard Freeman went looking for a new Dan
Williams, and settled on James MacArthur, who had appeared
in the movie Hang 'em High (1967) which Freeman had
produced. Aside from Danny Williams, there were no changes
as far as the primary characters were concerned. The movie
starred Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, with Zulu as Kono, who
seemed to be second-in-command, and Kam Fong as Chin Ho
Kelly. Secondary character changes included the Governor --
Lew Ayres in the movie, Richard Denning in the series;
Attorney General -- Philip Ahn in the movie, Morgan White in
early episodes of the series, who was dropped eventually in
favor of District Attorney (later Attorney General) John
Manicote, played by Glenn Cannon.
Is Jack Lord (Steve McGarrett) still alive?
No, he died in Honolulu on January 21, 1998 of congestive
heart failure.
What was Jack Lord's real name?
John Joseph Patrick Ryan.
When was he born?
At New York University, which Lord attended from 1938 to
1942, their records give December 30, 1920 as his birthdate.
According to records in the Library of Congress, it is
December 30, 1922. The figure of 1930 is one allegedly
invented by Lord himself for his publicity material. If 1930
is true, then he would have graduated from high school at
age 8!
How tall was Jack Lord?
Despite a rumour that he was quite short, Lord was actually
6 feet, 2 inches tall.
Did Jack Lord ever wear a wig or hairpiece?
No. According to Dave Donnelly, who has written about
entertainment for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin since the late
60's, and also appeared in some episodes: "I've been around
and near Jack Lord enough to assure you he never wore a
hairpiece. For all his failings, losing his hair wasn't one
of them. Granted, it was sprayed to within an inch of its
life and arranged to droop for what passed as 'casually'
across his forehead, but it's his."
What is James MacArthur's (Danny Williams) full name?
James Gordon MacArthur.
When was he born and where is he now?
December 8, 1938. He currently lives in California.
Wasn't his mother a famous actress?
Yes, Helen Hayes, known as "The First Lady of the American
Theater." She had an outstanding and long career on stage,
in movies, and on television. She died March 17, 1993, of
congestive heart failure. James MacArthur's father was also
famous, the playwright Charles MacArthur. These were,
however, his adoptive parents. Nothing is known about his
biological parents, since he was adopted as an infant.
Why did James MacArthur leave the series?
Contrary to popular rumour that he had a contractual dispute
with CBS at the end of the eleventh season, MacArthur told
attendees at the 1996 Five-O convention that he was in South
America on a holiday and just phoned his agent and said "I'm
not coming back," and it was as simple as that. He'd had
enough.
Where is Kam Fong (Chin Ho Kelly)?
He is living in Honolulu. In the late 1980's, he was heard
on his own radio show on a Hawaiian-music station in
Honolulu. He also ran a rather tongue-in-cheek gubernatorial
campaign at that time, using the campaign slogan "Give a
damn -- Vote for Kam!"
Why did Kam Fong leave the series?
Kam Fong's character Chin Ho Kelly was murdered in the final
episode of the 10th season, A Death in the Family. At the
Five-O convention in 1996, Kam said that he originally
wanted Chin Ho to "retire gracefully," and fought the idea
of having his character murdered. There was even talk of the
production company suing Kam for breaking his contract! Then
someone told him that it was an honour if you were a regular
in a TV show and you were knocked off ... this meant that no
one else could play your character. Despite Chin Ho's
demise, he reappeared to play a part in the "new" Five-O TV
pilot filmed in 1997!
Where is Zulu (Kono)?
Zoulou (now his preferred spelling), whose real name is
Gilbert Francis Lani Damian Kauhi, lives on the island of
Hawaii. Recently he has suffered from health problems,
including two heart attacks and two strokes. Despite this,
he was able to make it to both the Burbank and Honolulu
Hawaii Five-O conventions in the fall of 1996, and played a
role in the "new" Hawaii Five-O pilot filmed in the spring
of 1997.
Why did Zoulou leave the series at the end of the fourth
season?
There are two versions in the Honolulu newspapers from the
time: 1) Zoulou's agent/manager was unhappy with his role
not giving enough vent to his comedic talents; 2) Zoulou
uttered a racial slur against unit publicist Len Weisman, a
Jewish man, and when Jack Lord heard about it, he said that
such behavior would not be tolerated. #2 is regarded by most
as the "correct" reason.
Where is Al (Ben Kokua) Harrington?
He has retired and is living in Hawaii. He has been seen
recently playing a variety of parts in movies (including
Native American Indians!) and a Hawaiian production of
Shakespeare's Othello which shifted the action from medieval
Venice to 1830s Kauai with the Hawaiian warrior Othello
dealing with Russian colonists.
Why did Al Harrington leave the series?
No reason was ever given for Ben's departure (or his
arrival, for that matter!). However, during a 1996 Honolulu
TV show about Five-O, Harrington said that he was chosen by
Leonard Freeman to replace Zulu starting in the fifth
season, despite the fact that Jack Lord "didn't approve"
because Harrington was "too tall" or "too something." After
Freeman died in early 1974, Harrington said "the writing was
on the wall that I wasn't going to be there very much
longer." He survived until the end of the seventh season,
during which he appeared to be absent much of the time.
Is Khigh Dhiegh (Wo Fat, Steve McGarrett's nemesis) still
alive?
No, Khigh Dhiegh died of liver and heart failure in November
of 1991 at the age of 81. Although he was well-known for
playing Oriental villains, Dhiegh was born in Spring Lake,
New Jersey and was of Anglo-Egyptian Sudanese descent.
How do you pronounce Khigh Dhiegh's name?
Sounds like "kie dee"; rhymes with "Why me?"
Who played Che Fong?
Che Fong was played by three different actors. In "...And
They Painted Daisies on His Coffin" (#5), the Chinese
forensic scientist is played by Edward Tom (uncredited). In
"A Bullet for McGarrett" (#29), the part is played by Daniel
Kamekona. The role was finally taken over in "Blind Tiger"
(#38) by Harry Endo.
Is there a real "Hawaii Five-O" -- a state police agency?
No. Guidebooks have to keep telling tourists that Hawaii
does not and never did have a state police.
Why was it called Five-O, anyway?
Hawaii was the fiftieth state in the union. (The original
title was "The Man," but producer Leonard Freeman changed
his mind.)
Was the team's office filmed in the real Iolani Palace in
Honolulu?
No, that was a standing set at the studio. The way Iolani
Palace is laid out, the office suite as we see it would not
have fit in the building! There was a lot of exterior and
interior photography done at the palace--remember that
beautiful koa-wood staircase McGarrett took two at a time!
Why did the Five-O team move their offices in the ninth
season?
The move, shown taking place in the season opener, "Nine
Dragons", was necessary because they could not do any
exterior or interior filming at the palace because it was
undergoing extensive renovations. So the fictional Five-O
team "moved" to the old Territorial Building. Five-O moved
for real, too, because their lease on the Fort Ruger studio
was up. The office shots in the Territorial Building are not
of a standing set -- that is the real space in the
Territorial Building, which became the temporary studio for
the production.
Where was Hawaii Five-O's studio?
They began in an old, rickety, un-airconditioned Navy
warehouse at Pearl City that was nicknamed "Mongoose Manor".
Next they moved to a studio facility at Fort Ruger on the
eastern side of Diamond Head. The local neighborhood
association balked, however, charging that the studio in
their midst would lower property values and be a noise and
traffic nuisance. In 1976 they moved piecemeal to a new
studio site on Diamond Head Road.
What was the governor's name?
There is some misinformation in some references on TV shows.
There are at least two such references which have the
governor's name listed as Philip Grey. However, that was a
different character played by Richard (the governor) Denning
in the episode "24 Karat Kill" in the first season -- a U.S.
treasury agent named Philip Grey. The governor's name shows
up first in "The 90-Second War". It isn't mentioned, it's
seen. There is a scene where Jonathan Kaye has McGarrett,
Army & Navy brass, and the governor in the secret Diamond
Head bunker. Each man has a nameplate. The governor's
clearly reads: Paul Jameson. That name is also used in "A
Capitol Crime" when Barnard Hughes's character demands to
speak to "Governor Paul Jameson."
Why did some Five-O episodes run under the title
"McGarrett"?
CBS had a late-night 'series' to compete against the talk
shows (Johnny Carson in particular), which consisted of
reruns of their best shows such as Five-O, Magnum, P.I. and
others. They even bought an additional fourth season of the
cancelled ABC series T. J. Hooker for this gig. They
selected episodes from the twelfth season of Five-O to run
in this slot, and changed the title to McGarrett. As to why
they changed the name, who knows what evil lurks in the mind
of TV network execs!
What was the license number of McGarrett's car?
F6-3958. McGarrett was the only member of the team to have
the same license number through the entire run.
What was Steve McGarrett's home address?
In early episodes, 404 Piikoi Street. This is an actual
address, though it is not in a residential area. In fact, it
is across the street from the Ala Moana Shopping Center, and
is the actual address for a record store called "Records
Hawaii." Back when the show was being produced, this address
was the administrative/production office for Five-O. That's
where they'd meet every morning before going to work at the
studio or on location. The building that is there now (the
record store) is not the same building that was there then.
In 'V' For Vashon: the Father, he's living at 2085 Ala Wai
Blvd., which is also a real building -- it's apartments.
Did Hawaii Five-O ever win any Emmy awards?
Yes. Two. Morton Stevens won them for the music to the
episodes "Hookman" and "A Thousand Pardons, You're Dead."
Are there any plans to make a theatrical movie of Hawaii
Five-O or revive it on the small screen?
Click on this link for detailed information.
Is there a Hawaii Five-O WWW page?
Mike Quigley maintains The Hawaii Five-O Home Page at
http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/ and there are several others as well:
* Carol Coley's Jack Lord Page at
http://members.aol.com/michelnman/jacklord.html
* Central Dispatch at
http://hawaiifive0.home.mindspring.com/, home of The
Hawaii Five-0 Fan Club and info on the Five-O mailing
list
* The Hawaii Five-O Car Page at
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/5196/HawaiiFiveO.html
* The Hawaii Five-O Main Title Theme page at
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/6823/
* Heather Henderson's Jack Lord Page and James MacArthur
Page, accessible through
http://scc.net/~heather/jack.html
* Jeff Fox's Five-O Trivia Page at
http://www.cinenet.net/users/jfox/hawaii-5-0.html
* Joe Roberts' Five-O page at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/joe_roberts/hawaiifi.htm
* Home page of Karen Rhodes, author of Booking Five-O, at
http://home.earthlink.net/~ladyjaguar/index.html
* Liz Clare's Herman Wedemeyer Home Page at
http://www.realtime.net/~mclare/wedey/wedey.htm"
* M&E Five-O Page (in German) at
http://members.aol.com/edruta/fiveo.htm
* Mark Musante's Five-O page at
http://www.ministryofpeace.com/h5o/
* Tiki Traders' Hawaii 5-O Trivia, Background Info page
at http://www.west.net/~tikigods/50.shtml
* Tim Krell's Five-O Fun Page at
http://news.chapman.edu/students/tkrell/hawaii/five-o
* Todd Witteles' Five-O page at
http://www.cs.ucr.edu/~tutup/h5O.html
Is there a Hawaii Five-O fan club?
The Iolani Palace Irregulars, founded by Karen Rhodes, was
the international appreciation society for Five-O for
several years. Unfortunately, it ceased to exist in April of
1998. Its successor, The Hawaii Five-O Fan Club, is
accessible through http://hawaiifive0.home.mindspring.com/.
If you want to write to them via postal mail, their address
is The Hawaii Five-O Fan Club, 11130 Kingston Pike, Suite
1-220, Knoxville, TN, USA 37922
Is it Five-O (as in "open") or Five-0 (as in "zero")?
Five-O (as in "open").
Revised July 10, 1998
.
coop...@yahoo.com
"Jeff" <j...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:r4CdnaznrrJ...@fcc.net...
The more I get into CSI miami the more I see Caruso's performance as
Horation Caine so much like Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett on Hawaii 5
0.
I really here certain mono syballic nuances that sound ala McGarrett.
I wonder if David Caruso was a Jack Lord/McGarrett fan.
Funny too though there was an episode on Hawaii Five-o called
"Tsunami"
when
the bad guys had manged a false alert of a Tsunami to be put out so
they
could do a major robbery.
Anyway, just my two cents.
jeff
Reply
McGarrett Dec 18, 2:59 pm show options
Newsgroups: rec.arts.mystery
From: "McGarrett" <coop5...@yahoo.com> - Find messages by this author
Date: 18 Dec 2004 14:59:52 -0800
Local: Sat, Dec 18 2004 2:59 pm
Subject: Re: OT. Horatio Caine VS Steve McGarrett
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You are 100 percent correct! I am a huge Hawaii Five O fan and Jack
Lord is what made this program the success is was and continues to be.
I don't know if any of you out there know but there will be a Hawaii
Five-O movie coming out in the future! It's has been in the works for
several years, but it's coming together.
Breaking News
WARNER BROTHERS TAKES OVER THE FIVE-O MOVIE!
See article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/09/news/story3.html
On one of the Hawaii Five-O sites there was even a poll you could take
where you voted for who would be the best Steve Mcgarrett. Tommy Lee
Jones was highly voted, Alec Baldwin, George Cloony, and Harrison Ford.
I wasn't real happy with the ones voted on except maybe George
Clooney, as he might be able to pull it off, but then one night I
turned on CSI Miami and saw David Caruso! Boom!! It hit me! He was
like McGarrett!!. He had it nailed down pat. He doesn't have the
handsome features that Jack Lord had but he more then makes up for it
by his performance.
I don't think he has a chance of making the cut for the movie which is
a real shame, because he really could do the part, but when I saw your
post, I had to reply because it has been on my mind ever since I have
been watching CSI Miami!
McGarrett