Hilo Hattie
| Hilo Hattie | |
|---|---|
| File:Anonymous photo of Hilo Hattie, 1941.jpg
Hilo Hattie in 1941
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Clarissa Haili |
| Also known as | Hilo Hattie, Mrs. Carlyle Nelson |
| Born | October 28, 1901 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Genres | Hawaiian |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, Ukulele |
| Years active | 1920–1979 |
| Labels | Columbia Decca |
| Associated acts | Hawaii Calls Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians Easter Seals Hawaii |
Hilo Hattie (October 28, 1901 – December 12, 1979) was born Clarissa "Clara" Haili in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was a Hawaiian singer,[1] hula dancer, actress and comedienne of Native Hawaiian ancestry.[2]
Contents
Early life and career
Clara loved to dance the hula and sing in the church choir. She began teaching at Waipahu Elementary School[3] in 1923, entertaining her students with what would become her comedy hula routines. In 1930, she married Theodore Inter. By 1936, she had joined Louise Akeo's Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club[4] singing at venues around Oahu. The group got $25 per appearance[5] to distribute among the 25 members.
The Don McDiarmid Sr-Johnny Noble song When Hilo Hattie Does the Hilo Hop[6] became her signature tune. McDiarmid intended the 1935 song to be danced by the typical beautifully smooth hula dancer. But in 1936, while the band was performing as shipboard entertainment on a cruise to Portland, Oregon,[5] the seductive dancer meant to perform it fell ill. Hilo Hattie, who claimed to have never had a hula lesson in her life,[5] ran with it as a comedy piece, and it became a monster success in its time. Clara legally changed her name to Hilo Hattie, when she performed her second signature song, The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai, in the movie Song of the Islands. From 1939, Hilo Hattie was a favorite[7] among the military.
Fame, film, and television work
By 1940, Harry Owens was conducting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel orchestra and hired her. Hattie joined the Webley Edwards-hosted Hawaii Calls[8] broadcasts that went out to 600 radio stations around the world. From that point on, she became a global household name, touring the world and performing in movies and on television, with a recurring role in Hawaii Five-O as Mrs. Pruitt. In 1945, she was referred to as "the Polynesian Sophie Tucker"[9] when she entertained at the Holland Supper Club in Eugene, Oregon. The divorced Clara married bandleader and violinist, Carlyle Nelson, in Las Vegas in 1949.[10]
She was still touring the mainland in 1956,[11] when she performed four days and nights at the Merced County, California Spring Fair. Hilo Hattie and her Hawaiian Revue played the Peabody Auditorium[2] in Daytona Beach, Florida in January 1959. Hilo Hattie began doing two shows a night, six nights a week, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tapa Room[7] in 1960. It was an arrangement that continued for more than a decade. In 1961, she appeared in the motion picture Blue Hawaii [12] with Elvis Presley. In June 1963,[13] she entertained at the Sportsmen of Stanislaus luau in Modesto, California.
Later life
In 1972,[5] she recalled having once made an attempt at retirement but live performing was too much fun. Hilo Hattie died of cancer[14] on December 12, 1979. She is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Section U, Grave 653-A) under her married name, Clara Nelson.
Retail Stores
Hilo Hattie is the brand name of a group of stores selling Hawaiian and Hawaiian-themed merchandise. The store cites the name rights as having been obtained in 1979 with the purchase of Margolis Manufacturing and Retail Company (Hilo, Hawaii) from Richard and Evelyn Margolis. As of 2010, there were seven Hilo Hattie stores in the state of Hawaii; at one time the firm operated stores outside of Hawaii as well. The store filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and has subsequently been acquired by its principal creditors, exiting bankruptcy in 2010.
Discography
- Hilo Hattie at the Tapa Room (1965) LP album LSP-3442 (RCA Victor)
- Hilo Hattie at the Hawaiian Village LP album HH-100 (Paradise)
- South Seas Sadie / Hasegawa General Store (Decca)
- Hawaii's Favorite Music (2000) CD (Hula)
- Hawaiian Melodies (Columbia)
- My Hawaii (Hui)
Filmography
- Song of the Islands (1942)
- Tahiti Nights (1944)
- Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948)
- City Beneath the Sea (1953)
- Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955)
- Kismet (1955)
- Suicide Battalion (1958)
- Blue Hawaii (1961)
Television work
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1954)
- Hawaii Five-O (1968–1970)
Accolades
The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts awarded Hilo Hattie the 1978 Na Hoku Hanohano Sidney Grayson Award[15] for lifetime achievement.
Further reading
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References
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- ↑ McWhorter, A. J., "Hilo Hattie's Name and Fame Came with Lots of Laughter", Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Nov. 11, 2012, p. G9
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts
External links
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