Almanac: Don Ho
And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: August 13th, 1930, 87 years ago today ... the day singer and musician Don Ho was born in Hawaii.
Following service in the Air Force in the 1950s, Ho started performing at his family's bar with no thought at first of becoming a big-name performer.
Still, his popularity grew around the islands, and in 1966 he scored his mainland breakthrough with his big hit, "Tiny Bubbles":
From then on, the name Don Ho was all but synonymous with Hawaii, and he was a frequent presence on the nation's TV screens -- as in a guest appearance on "The Brady Bunch":
Famous for his laid-back style, Ho jokingly alluded to his popularity during a campaign pitch for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign: "Someday we may have a Hawaiian president ... President Ho!"
Though THAT was never to be, Don Ho was known as Hawaii's informal goodwill ambassador.
And long after his death in 2007 at the age of 76, that goodwill continues ... nothing tiny about it.
For more info:
