Just about this time of the year in 1981, Rap Reiplinger and KGMB executives were busy 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 are constantly discovering Rap’s work via YouTube, other social media and outlets not-yet-dreamed-of in the early 80s.
Rap wrote and performed hilarious lines in Rap’s Hawaii, but besides the words he spoke, the way he looked while acting in those skits was part of the perfect comedy set up, according to Rap’s Hawaii producer/director Larry Fleece. “You have to start from a position of reality and then you can go off from that. The clown who is putting on his lipstick and does it really badly, has to start by putting it on properly so you believe that there’s some basis in reality. Then he’s entitled to go off the rails and then it gets funny.”
Applying that principle to the Mahalo Airlines “stewardess,” Larry notes, “Even though everybody knows it’s Rap, and it’s a local stewardess, and she doesn’t, know what she’s talking about, you have to kind of believe that this is who it is, and this is the way they act, and Rap just nailed that. You know, he can be a female, with eye batting and all that.”
Rap as the Mahalo Airlines “stewardess” in wardrobe provided by Patti Coons. Click on the photo to watch the skit, but come back and finishing reading when pau!
A big part of that believability factor is the dress – the Mahalo Airlines uniform. It came from the costume treasure trove of Patti Coons, one of the unsung heroes of Rap’s Hawaii. Patti was an integral part of the behind-the-scenes team that worked with Rap to create the timeless classic for Hawai’i.
As wardrobe coordinator – one of her many productions roles – Patti helped Rap craft the look of each of the 17 characters he plays in the show. Larry Fleece says what the program lacked in money, Patti made up for with her creativity. “The costuming that Patti came up with on just a thumbnail budget is astounding.”
As is now too often the case, many of the people responsible for quality Island entertainment are now leaving us. Sadly, Patti Coons passed away peacefully last fall on the Big Island, surrounded by family. She leaves behind a son she adored and an extensive resume of credits that includes staging and wardrobe work in theatre and television.
When we spoke in 2017 during an interview for Rap’s biography, she was focused on her family and an event planning business. She remained close with another member of the Rap’s Hawaii team, and her fellow Big Island resident, Bryan Furer who did all the make up and supervised special effects for the show. Patti gladly shared her memories of working with Rap in theatre, for the “Rap’s Hawaii” special, styling his look for the cover of his Strange Bird album and their friendship. I was moved to tears hearing how she and Bryan took such good care of Rap during the taping of the show, letting him just be Rap and helping him channel his nervous energy. I’m grateful that Patti was gracious enough to make those memories and insight a part of Rap’s story.
Here’s a passage from “Rap’s Hawaii,” Chapter 8 of Paradise to Paradise: The Rap Reiplinger Story, which illustrates how Patti and Rap worked together to create costuming magic for the show.
Chapter 8
Rap’s Hawaii
“How’s that one?” asked costume coordinator Patti Coons, watching Rap flap his arms up and down, then roll his shoulders front and back in front of a full length mirror. “Uh…too tight...Lemme try that one over there,” Rap said, pointing at a dress with a tapa cloth design hanging on a nearby wardrobe rack.
After pulling that dress over his head and working it down over the rest of his body, Rap went through the arm motions again. He took a few steps back and walked towards the mirror. “This is it,” Rap said decisively. He knew the off the shoulder design and Polynesian tapa cloth print would be perfect for a flight attendant character in his television special, Rap’s Hawaii.
“He would go into character to see if he could work in it,” recalled Patti. “He was always testing how his movement would be in it, if the arms would move right and if he was dressed as a woman — if he looked like one. Working his walk. He worked the costume to make sure it fit the character — if he could do everything with that costume that he needed to do.”
Patti, who knew Rap from his theatre days, would gather potential costumes from a number of sources: theatre companies, local stores such as Holiday Mart or Gem. She also combed thrift stores for outfits she thought would fit various characters and, more importantly, fit Rap. “It’s very hard to find dresses that will fit the chest of a man built like him!” laughed Patti. But once they were together in a wardrobe session, Patti said Rap was quick to make a decision about which costume he thought was best for each role. “He was very good about picking out what he wanted.”
As costume coordinator, set designer and the person in charge of continuity, Patti was one of the crew of “can-do band of merry men with Rap at the helm” that was the core team behind the success of Rap’s Hawaii, according to the show’s producer and director, Larry Fleece. Doing justice to Rap’s work which was already “standard lore” in Hawai‘i, was a burden that weighed heavily on Fleece: “Knowing that this was material that was already beloved by the state of Hawaiʻi and by Rap’s fans, I do recall feeling like, ‘Wow, I better make this good — not just for me, but for the image of the station, for the respect of his fans.’ I felt that pressure, but it all kind of melted away on the set, because on the set it was funny. On the set, Rap was brilliant. On the set, things were laid in place so that even though we were flying by the seat of our pants day after day after day, it worked.”
[end of excerpt]
For more on their work and friendship, check out the “Strange Bird” chapter of Rap’s bio, where you’ll read how Patti Coons and Bryan Furer transformed Rap into a bird for the cover of Rap’s album of the same name – Strange Bird. Rap was working on this album when production of the show Rap’s Hawaii was taking place. In fact, the skit featuring Mr. Okada, “Secret Taste Test” is featured on Strange Bird.
Reflecting on how Rap is remembered by those who worked alongside him, Patti said believed that he is thought of in a positive light: “I truly think he is remembered as one of the funniest and kindest entertainers in our industry. And within the entertainment community, he's known as, he was a very hard worker who worked hard at everything he did. He made it look so easy but when you worked with him, you knew it wasn't easy.”
We think Patti will be remembered in much the same way. Rest in peace, Patti Coons, and mahalo for your role in making our lives a bit brighter. Watch this space for more Rap’s Hawaii memories!