Just about this time of the year, in 1981, Rap Reiplinger and KGMB brass were planning production of the television special, “Rap’s Hawaii.” Little did they know that 40 years later, old fans would still be laughing, while new fans constantly discover Rap’s work via YouTube, social media and other outlets not-yet-dreamed-of in the early 1980s.
If you’ve spent any time in Hawai’i, you may have heard someone say “I like da crackah!” If you know Rap, you know it comes from his skit “Secret Taste Test,” which first popped up on Rap’s Strange Bird album. About the same time he was recording that album, Rap was also shooting the classic show, Rap’s Hawaii which first aired on KGMB TV in Honolulu in 1981.
To celebrate the character, Mr. Okada who liked da crackah better than soda, we’ve designed a new sticker, made of waterproof vinyl that you can put on your car, truck or surfboard or wherever. Something to think about as a stocking stuffer and is available in the Store on this site. We’d also be happy to send you a free sticker if you buy Rap’s bio or the CD Poi Dog With Crabs, also in the Store. Then before you go, why not watch the classic skit starring Rap and Billy Sage, as Mr. Okada and the taste test challenge guy!
By the way, you can read more about the making of the “Secret Taste Test” skit and all of the other brilliant bits in “Rap’s Hawaii” in Chapter 8 of Rap’s biography. Find out whether the table breaking at the end of the skit was part of the plan and how wardrobe genius Pattie Coons put together all the outfits, working alongside Rap. Plus, how makeup wizard Bryan Furer transformed Rap into the 17 characters he played in the classic program. If you’re looking to escape 2020’s craziness, it is a real trip to the 1980’s that will make you feel like you are back there again (or there for the first time!)
Rap’s humor often does more than make people laugh – it cuts to the core of stereotypes surrounding Hawaiian people. In this video, Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi, Jon Osorio tells why Rap’s “Room Service” telephone operator is not just funny. In her own kolohe way, she is showing hotel guest Mr. Fogerty that she’s more than a tourist industry worker at the other end of the line ready to cater to his need for a cheeseburger deluxe and a chocolate malt.
Rap’s Hawaii clip courtesy KGMB/Hawaii Now.
Jon and his singing partner, the late Randy Borden, appeared with Rap at the Ala Moana Hotel’s venue, “Rap’s Place” in the early 80s. Here’s an excerpt from Rap’s biography, “Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story,” about that moment in time, May 1980, when Rap opened in the nightclub the hotel named for him:
Honolulu Advertiser critic Wayne Harada told his readers, “Reiplinger’s return to the nightlife scene — Wednesdays through Saturdays in the newly renovated ‘Rap’s Place’ — is worth your support.” Harada also declared that Rap had “a firmer show foundation, complete with a decent stage and dressier lighting…” And as expected, Rap served up what Harada described as “a volley of ethnic couplings, funnies that reflect the melting pot that Hawaii is — with lines that would be racist elsewhere, but cleverly effective under Reiplinger’s command.”
Along with proven favorites such as Rap’s water-spewing performance of “Fate Yanagi,” and his drunken, rubber chicken-holding character, “Aunty Marialani,” Harada also complimented Rap’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” parody, “Puka Shell Tour Guide,” calling it the “big windup… with taped music augmenting Reiplinger’s singing and guitar strumming.” For that run at the Ala Moana Hotel, Rap’s opening act was singer Victoria Stringer. By June, his opening act at “Rap’s Place” was the duo Jon and Randy, who like Rap, were Territorial Tavern alumni. Jon Osorio said he and his singing partner, the late Randy Borden, felt a bond develop with Rap during their time together at the Ala Moana.
“There were things about his personality,” Jon reflected, adding, “he was shyer in person than you would have thought. And I think a lot more thoughtful about what he was doing than most people gave him credit for. He really, I think, comedians are really an interesting group of people. Because Rap was the kind of person, that if he didn’t know people, he had to kind of be on and people were expecting him to be funny. Around Randy and I, when we got to know each other, he tended to be more quiet. I think he loved Randy, ’cause Randy loved to talk and Randy was a very expansive person and funny in his own right, so I think Rap really liked that.”
Jon remembers Rap being “generous with his praise of us, he seemed to like us performing there.” The feeling was mutual. “His first show was always so funny and every night was the same damn show,” Jon laughed, holding his face, “but we would come out and just laugh. The second show was sometimes different and he would try different things; he did a little more adlibbing in the second show. We often stayed — we didn’t have to stay for the second show, we could have left, but we usually stayed for that show too.”
It was also during their appearances together at the Ala Moana that Jon, Randy and Rap would get into deep discussions about Hawaiian activism, which was gaining momentum. “So, when we had conversations, a lot of times they were about what was going on with Hawaiians; what was going on in the society right then,” Jon recalled. “Nobody was talking about sovereignty in 1980, nobody that I knew. But we did talk about Hawaiians getting pushed around on Hawaiian Homelands. We did talk about those kinds of things. We talked about Kaho‘olawe and he was interested — that song, ‘Hawaiian Soul,’ he liked that song and he was interested in that whole story about George Helm, and that was another story shrouded in mystery — nobody ‘til this day knows what happened to George and Kimo. And we had conversations about that, too.”
Jon and Randy wrote “Hawaiian Soul,” as a tribute to George Helm, who was lost at sea with another activist, Kimo Mitchell as they tried to reach Kaho‘olawe in 1977 in protest against U.S. military bombing of the island.
For Rap, who knew George Helm, and cared about the Hawaiian movement to protect the land, the beautiful, haunting words and music written by his friends struck a chord.
Rap’s humor is still making people laugh all these years later. Watch Facebook for an upcoming post about how “Japanese Roll Call” helped comedian and social media influencer Pashyn Santos impress her friends in elementary school!
Many people ask this question and the answer is simple: we lived in paradise and when Rap left this world, he went to paradise…aka heaven. Rap was raised as a Catholic, but hadn’t been to church in at least 15 years when he started going to non-denominational Christian churches in Honolulu. It was then that Rap accepted Jesus into his life.
Excerpt from Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story, p.245-246:
Shortly afterwards, Rap had a gig on a neighbor island and ended up sitting next to his old friend, Leon Siu on an airplane. The last time they had seen each other was when Leon came into Audio Media recording studio to play banjo on “Ballad of Shige & the Goat,” for Rap’s Strange Bird LP.
Rap knew that Leon was a Christian from their conversations when Leon’s marriage broke up a few years earlier. “He was already aware of the fact that I was going through this crisis,” recalled Leon, “and he would say, ‘How are you doing?’ And I would say, ‘I’m ok. Jesus is helping me through this.’ ”
Leon thinks they were both traveling to play at a benefit when he saw Rap at the airport that day in the fall of 1983. “And so, we sat next to each other and the moment he sat down, he said, ‘Well, I gave my life to Jesus.’ And I said, ‘What?’ And he said, ʻYeah, I came to the Lord. I accepted Jesus.’ And he was quite excited about it. And I asked, ‘How did that happen?’ He said that he was at Kaimukī Christian and that he had grabbed your hand when the invitation came. It sounded like it was his idea, or he just got moved by the Spirit to go and he grabbed your hand and said, ‘Let’s go.’ The way he described it was, he did this with enthusiasm. He wanted to turn his life over to Jesus.”
Leon had known him since Rap was 17 years old, and because they had known each other for so long, “I knew that this was something life changing for him,” said Leon, “that Rap was sincerely touched and he was sincerely changed. I could see that in him.” Leon even recalls Rap telling him, “I’m a changed person. This is different.” [end excerpt]
It was that kind of raw faith that got Rap to the good place, the eternal paradise, when his time came – which everyone who loved(s) him would agree was far too soon. Leading up to that time, Rap was absorbing the bible like a scholar and calling Jesus his “buddy.”
Leon Siu with Yemun Chung, former manager of The Krush in 1984.
No need to tell you that today we live in turbulent times. No need to recite the long list of things that can have us on an endless cycle of worry – like a hamster racing in its wheel – worry can get us nowhere fast while leaving us without any real peace.
Rap’s good friend and fellow Booga Booga member, Ed Kaʻahea noticed how “really, really peaceful” Rap was during this period of his life. That was because he had the peace that only Rap’s “buddy” Jesus can deliver. Ed, by the way is now a pastor on Kauaʻi with senior Pastor Jason Kerr at Pukas Ministries in Kapaʻa. If you’re ever on the Garden Isle, I highly recommend checking it out.
There’s a quote from Ed on the homepage of this website, and also from Leon, saying what they thought of their good friend’s biography. I hope you will read the book too, and see how faith played out in Rap’s life, plus find out what addiction and mental health lessons you can take away from Rap’s story. Maybe see if Rap’s journey in any way mirrors your own.
You could think of it as a good way to pass the time while waiting for the coronavirus to pass! Thoughts? I would love to hear from you! Please email me by clicking on the contact link.
Stay well and healthy everyone!
Aloha,
Leesa
This is exciting! Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story is now in most public libraries across the state of Hawaiʻi. The Hawaiʻi State Public Library System ordered more than 40 copies of Rap’s biography, four of which are in reference sections of certain branches, including the Hawaiʻi State Library on South King Street in Honolulu. Other copies are available for check out at the main library and 32 other branches.
It’s great that the book is available for public lending, which makes it even more accessible to people in Hawaiʻi who want to learn more about the life and times of Rap! While checking for the book on the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System website, I was surprised and happy to see that Rap’s How You Figgah? is also in the library system. Rap was working on this book when we were married and Bess Press helped me get it published after Rap’s death with the help of talented illustrator Marilyn Kahalewai (see photo below of Marilyn with some of her adaptations of Rap’s sketches on a print layout for the book). Very cool that this book that Rap was so excited about is on Hawaiʻi library shelves some 35 years later.
Plans are for the original publisher, Bess Press (currently distributing Paradise to Paradise) to reissue – and possibly rework – How You Figgah? Stay tuned! #RapReiplinger
The cover of How You Figgah? published in 1985.
Illustrator Marilyn Kahalewai with a layout for Rap Reiplinger’s How You Figgah?
Hawaiʻi had never seen anything like Booga Booga. [from left, James Grant Benton, Rap Reiplinger and Ed Kaʻahea] Photo courtesy: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
“There’s a star in the house!” James Grant Benton was on the phone, calling his boss, Territorial Tavern owner Bob Hampton, who was in his office at the downtown restaurant bar.
“Which one?” Bob asked.
“Bette Midler, with her group. They want front row,” answered Jimmy, who was not only one third of the comedy group that Midler had come to see; he was also the doorman at Territorial Tavern.
“Well, give it to them!” Bob ordered.
“No more, no more. Can they sit on the steps?” Jimmy asked, knowing that fire code violations were a constant concern at the Tavern, which was almost always packed on the weekends. Especially when Booga Booga was performing.
In the end, the Island-born Midler and her entourage got proper seating and enjoyed Booga Booga’s show. Well, most of them. Eventually. Bob Hampton knew Midler was a huge Booga Booga fan from her frequent visits to the club, but not everyone with the star that night understood Island humor. So even though Midler was flashing that famous smile and howling with laughter the entire time, Bob could see her occasionally lean over and say something to the person at her side, who he was told was one of the star’s producers. He assumed each time she was explaining a local reference in the material and why she thought it was hilarious.
Featuring locals-only entertainment was key to Territorial Tavern’s success. Owners Bob Hampton and Ed Greene purposely catered to Island residents and refused tour operators’ requests to drop off busloads of tourists. Hampton and Greene knew that these visitors would take up precious space in their establishment, meaning even more locals would be turned away at the door after waiting in long lines. Besides, the tourists wouldn’t get it anyway.
“Unlike most entertainment forces in Hawai’i, who specifically gear their show to the tourist,” explained Ed Ka’ahea, “we specifically gear our show to the local people, and any deviance from that is to accommodate other people so they understand.”
After launching in late August 1975, the irreverent comedy of Booga Booga quickly became the hottest thing going in Honolulu. “It was Ed Ka’ahea, and Jimmy Benton and Rap and they would just go back and forth and it was just electric. The audience was always rolling in the aisles,” recalled voice actor Billy Sage, who saw Booga Booga at the Tavern many times.
Legions of rabid fans lined up for hours on the sidewalk outside of the Dillingham Transportation Building at the corner of Bishop Street and Ala Moana Boulevard in the heart of downtown Honolulu. Booga Booga performed Tuesdays through Saturdays with a one-dollar cover charge and two drink minimum. Even on Tuesdays, considered their slowest day, Territorial Tavern was packed. Once the door flew open, lucky patrons at the front of the line rushed to claim seats at one of the 16 tables and three booths on the floor, while others quickly grabbed every stool at the bar. Fans who trailed behind had to climb a wide staircase to the mezzanine level where there were a half a dozen tables. But once the show started, they had to stand along the railing if they wanted to see anything. Others crammed into corners or sat on the stairs to see the stage.
“It was kinda dark and it kinda smelled like beer and cigarettes in those days , but the audience--- you had local folks (in their) 20’s and 30’s… could be haoles, could be kamaʻāinahaoles, could be local Waianae but a good smattering of older kamaʻāinafolks that really loved the local humor. Every once in a while a couple haoles with aloha shirts would come in, very tourist-looking and they'd sort of, 'ha' (weak laugh). They'd laugh cause everybody else in the audience was laughing,” said Sage, adding, “nobody was saying, ‘Trow da bums out!’ but it was so geared towards the local that it was very, very hard for anybody else to even comprehend. It was not the Hawaii Calls purity for the mainland, it was for us and the buggas was funny!”
“They became…an instant hit because they were so different, unlike anything ever seen or heard in Hawai’i,” observed Wayne Harada, who has written about Hawai’i entertainment for more than four decades. “They were the buzz everywhere. Booga Booga was bigger than anything else that was on the scene. At a time when everybody was eager, Waikīkī was there, the music started to take shape and started blooming, I think whether it was music or comedy, there was a hunger or a thirst for it. And I think that’s part of the reason why Booga, who were different, became the hit that they were.”
That hunger for things Hawaiian resulted in a cultural and artistic movement beginning in the late 1960s and early 70s known as the Hawaiian Renaissance. It sprang from seeds of discontent sown after the United States’ overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy in 1893. By the early 1970s this cultural reawakening was in full bloom. The voyage of the double-hulled Polynesian canoe Hōkūleʻa from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti was one of the key events that helped stoke the fires of this resurgence in the mid-70s, which some called the “Second Hawaiian Renaissance.”
To read more, check out da book! And keep watching this space for more Booga Booga video clips.
Happy Birthday Rap!
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe, Strange Bird and Towed Away are all available for downloads on CD Baby. (address to copy and paste into your browser below)
With the reported demise of iTunes – which apparently still works within the framework of Apple Music – we wanted to offer an alternative way to download Rap’s albums, outside of the Apple machine.
The albums are distributed by a company called CD Baby, and in spite of its name, it also sells digital downloads. By going through CD Baby, you can download individual tracks or entire albums. You can put the tracks on your devices or computer and you don’t have to worry about them vaporizing in the “cloud” or otherwise get wiped out in iTunes.
The first album I ever bought on iTunes was a double album, Van Halen’s greatest hits. It’s nowhere to be found on my iTunes, now Apple Music account. The only reason I still have a copy is because years ago, one of my sons burned CDs of it. Writing this reminds me that I should back those songs up to a hard drive to ensure they are not lost again. LIke many of you, I rarely listen to CDs any more, but backing up content that you have paid your hard-earned money for is something to consider in our “here today, gone tomorrow” increasingly cloud-based world – either on hard drives or good old-fashioned CDs.
So I’m adding a CD Baby link to download Rap’s last three albums, recently released as digital downloads for the first time ever. Let me know what you think, by either signing up for Disqus and commenting on this post, or by dropping me a line in the contact section. Mahalo for reading and I look forward to hearing from you!
Aloha, Leesa
Mahalo to everyone who turned out for our signing at Iolani Palace May 31! Lots of classmates from Rap’s ‘68 Punahou Class came by along with many other friends and fans. Charlie Timtim, who starred in both of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth productions of “Rap’s Hawaii” also stopped by and gave me a kukui lei, because the book is “enlightening people about Rap.” Below is a pic of Charlie and a clip from his interview for the book, “Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story.” The Palace gift shop has signed copies of Rap’s biography in stock, along with DVD copies of “Rap’s Hawaii.”
Actor Charlie Timtim at Iolani Palace book signing
At about :18 seconds into the video, watch a rainbow appear over Charlie's head as he talks about audience reactions to the HTY productions of "Rap's Hawaii," especially older fans, when they enjoyed the show in libraries across the state.
The Iolani Palace Shop, in the Hale Koa Barracks, is the place to be this Friday, May 31 from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm to buy a copy of Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story, plus, I’ll be there to personally sign copies. The gift shop has also stocked up on DVDs of Rap’s Hawaii, which is required viewing for anyone wanting to laugh, learn more about Hawaiʻi and be prepared for Chapter 8 of The Rap Reiplinger Story, which details behind-the-scenes stories on every skit in the Emmy award-winning show. The Hale Koa Barracks is located on the Richards Street/Ewa side of the Iolani Palace grounds and metered parking is available. Hope to see you there!!!
We’ve had lots of great publicity in Hawaiʻi with the launch of “Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story.” This MidWeek article, coverage on Hawaii News Now, KHON, HPR, KSSK, 93.1 Da Paina with Augie T. and The Wakeup Crew on 98.5. Wednesday, May 15, KITV will run a story at 6 and 10 pm. Many thanks to Kitty Yannone and her great team at CommPac for PR explosion!
“Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story” will be featured at the Hawaiʻi Book and Music Festival with a talk story session Saturday, May 4 in the Mission Memorial Auditorium at 3:30. I’ll be joined by Rapʻs Booga Booga partner and friend, Ed Kaʻahea, Rapʻs first manager and record producer Jon de Mello and friend Leon Siu, who knew Rap from high school days when they both played acoustic guitar and sang at local coffeehouses near the University of Hawaiʻi.
![Hawaiʻi had never seen anything like Booga Booga. [from left, James Grant Benton, Rap Reiplinger and Ed Kaʻahea] Photo courtesy: Honolulu Star-Advertiser](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ca03e0d9b7d153f6cf70041/1563305908880-Q7IFGH6B3G0J8B6A4TYE/BOOGA+BOOGA__258-109-013F.jpg)
