1. Danny "Kaniela" Kaleikini was an American singer, musical artist, and entertainer.
38 Facts About Danny Kaleikini
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Best known for his long-term residency at the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii, where he performed for 28 years, Kaleikini is often called "The Ambassador of Aloha".
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Danny Kaleikini grew up in Papakolea in Honolulu, as one of nine children.
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Danny Kaleikini was of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, Irish, and Italian descent.
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Danny Kaleikini was bilingual in English and Hawaiian, and grew up learning to speak the Hawaiian language from his mother and grandfather.
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Danny Kaleikini went to Royal Elementary School, where he played in the bell choir.
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Danny Kaleikini attended Roosevelt High School, where he sang in the choir and performed in a 16-piece orchestra.
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Kinney became a mentor to Danny Kaleikini, who learned from entertainer Leinaala Ignacio.
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Danny Kaleikini started working in the luau shows, and eventually became the headliner at the Tapa Room after the death of Alfred Apaka, performing together with hula dancer and singer Lani Custino.
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In 1967, Danny Kaleikini landed his show as the headline entertainer at the Hala Terrace at the Kahala Hilton, the first successful show outside Waikiki.
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Danny Kaleikini continued the residency at the Kahala Hilton for 28 years.
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Danny Kaleikini was actively involved in promoting the show, taking a hula dancer and a ukulele player to Waikiki to perform songs during the day to build interest.
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Danny Kaleikini sang and danced with the moonlit Pacific Ocean as his backdrop, and mingled, and joked with the audience, calling on his friends to perform.
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Danny Kaleikini played the rare Hawaiian nose flute, which took him five years to master.
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Billboard magazine reported that Danny Kaleikini performed eight tunes during an hour set, including traditional Hawaiian and hapa haole "songs of Hawaii" written by pop artists, with hints of country music.
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Over 10,000 performances later, on April 27,1987, Danny Kaleikini celebrated his 20th anniversary at the Hilton with a two-hour show.
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Danny Kaleikini retired from the Kahala Hilton on December 31,1994, when the hotel was sold.
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Danny Kaleikini's long run at the Hala Terrace of the Kahala Hilton earned him a nomination in the Guinness Book of World Records.
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Danny Kaleikini's visit to the Expo, accompanied by the popular Hawaiian sumo wrestler Jesse "Takamiyama" Kuhaulua, helped to raise his profile and led to subsequent engagements in Japan.
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Danny Kaleikini sang "My Goddess of Love" by Charles "Bud" Dant and won the TBS Award.
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On July 26,1986, Danny Kaleikini became the first "foreigner" to perform at the Hiroshima Peace Music Festival, after being invited by Hiroshima Mayor Takeshi Araki, who had seen him perform at the Kahala Hilton three years prior.
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On June 21,1973, Danny Kaleikini had his Las Vegas debut at the 1,000-seat Caesars Palace showroom, opening for Paul Anka during a two-week engagement.
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Danny Kaleikini's first show was attended by an estimated 400 people from Hawaii, and broadcast by one-hour satellite delay on KHON-TV in Honolulu.
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Danny Kaleikini became a 20-percent owner of the show, which struggled to obtain sponsorship in its final years, and Hawaii Calls aired for the last time on August 16,1975.
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Danny Kaleikini appeared in a few episodes of the original Hawaii Five-O television series, as well as The Merv Griffin Show, The Today Show, and Dolly.
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Each week, he presented a feature film, with three pre-recorded segments where Danny Kaleikini showed unique spots in Hawaii.
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Danny Kaleikini was in two motion pictures, including The Hawaiians, a 1970 film based on the novel Hawaii by James Michener.
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An avid golfer, Danny Kaleikini, won the inaugural Tahiti Open in 1982.
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Danny Kaleikini was the official greeter of the Hawaiian Open Golf Tournament for many years starting in 1972.
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Danny Kaleikini hosted his own annual Danny Kaleikini golf tournament in Hawaii and in Japan.
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In 1972, Danny Kaleikini made his debut as emcee of the Annual Ukulele Festival of Hawaii, which he continued to host every year together with festival founder Roy Sakuma, as it grew into an international event at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.
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Danny Kaleikini endowed the Danny Kaleikini scholarship at the University of Hawaii.
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Danny Kaleikini was considered a popular but unconventional choice for lieutenant governor.
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Danny Kaleikini had long-standing connections to "politicos" in Honolulu, where he was known as a "straight shooter".
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In 2006, Mahalo Records re-issued Luau at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which featured a 1962 recording of Danny Kaleikini headlining a "live" show prior to his tenure at the Kahala Hilton.
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Danny Kaleikini married Jacqueline Wong of Tahiti, with whom he had two children: a daughter, Leonn Keikilani, and a son named Danjacques.
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On Thanksgiving Day 1992, Danjacques Danny Kaleikini died of complications from pneumonia at age 29.
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Danny Kaleikini received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime, including:.