Miss Kauai and the Mysterious Tiki

I know that Martin Denny lp cover-model Sandy Warner is supposed to be everyone's favorite Exotica Girl, but frankly, I'll choose Miss Kauai any day of the week.

A favorite model in Hawaii from 1963 to 1969, she is probably best known among tikiphiles for this postcard:

Which can still be found on ebay fairly frequently. The trick is to look for her picture in large lots of Hawaiian postcards for sale. When she comes up alone with the word "Tiki" in the auction, she's pretty expensive ($20-$30 range), but if you can spot her among 20 other postcards in an auction labeled "20 1960's Postcards, Hawaii", then you can pick her up for a few bucks.

I began to notice Miss Kauai on other postcards as well, so I began to collect her as little tiki side-dish. Most of these postcards are dated 1966, so I assume here reign as Miss Kauai must have been 1965 or earlier. I've got four of them and am always looking for more. Here's my collection so far.

The postcards state her name as Elithe Aguiar
and say that she is part Hawaiian, Portuguese, and Chinese. I've done a little more research on the web and found out that Elithe Aguiar has other tiki connections as well. She played the Hula Instructor in the 1973 Brady Bunch tiki episode, in the scene where Alice throws her back out during the Hula because of the cursed tiki. She also appeared as various characters on Hawaii 5-0 and on McCloud as well.

Evidently she used the modeling as a springboard to a career in public relations, then went on to become a stewardess for Aloha Airlines, then went into acting and writing children's stories.

She is now Elithe Kahn and she and her husband still live in Honolulu. Purportedly she now owns two businesses; the Hair Depot, and the Hawaii Hypnosis Center. Maybe Gecko can look her up and find out where that first tiki photo was taken?

By the way, that tiki in the first postcard also appears elsewhere. Here is a vintage shirt box from the McInerny Department Store in Honolulu during the 1960s. It looks like they grabbed the image right off the postcard:

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-07-24 22:10 ]

[ Edited by: susane on 2004-01-20 06:18 ]

[ Edited by: susane on 2004-01-20 06:18 ]

It doesn't end for you does it Sabu.

While we have many great urban archeologists here on TC, I think you may be, next to Sven, the number one collector of info and stories. I enjoy them all. Good work.

She's not to bad looking.

Arrr! she is a looker. Ay thanks fur da pictures, pete ( the parrot) and i enjoyed them. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Very nice Sabu.....They grow some beauties in the islands.....here is one taken at the International Market Place 1964....

Geri Hoo, former Miss Hawaii with Margo Mehling, former Miss Berlin....

Good digging, indeed. I remember when Leroy at OA showed me that first postcard, sent by Tiki Carver Vince Buono in the day, where he refers to it as "Tit-biting Tiki".
I always thought that by the expression of the Tiki, it shows the moment just BEFORE the deed, and the Tiki, barely restraining itself, should have sweat drops on his forehead...
This was a close contender for the B&W pin up on my Tiki phallus symbol page in the BOT.

All of the photos have shades of Irving Klaw.

great post Sabu! I love your paper collection! and all of your pics you post! keep'em comin!

nice pic from Bongo too!

k'den shoots

[ Edited by: susane on 2004-01-20 06:19 ]

Hubba hubba! :o

Thanks Sabu!

You're Welcome, Jabbo!

SES - Don't be shy, post that goofy photo of you and that tiki in Hawaii.

Bongofury - What magazine or book did that photo come from? I'd like to find a copy. I just love a girl in a cheongsam!

Sabu

On 2003-09-22 17:32, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:
I just love a girl in a cheongsam!

Interestingly enough, the cheongsam isn't even of Chinese origin. It was 'invented' in the good ol USA!

Interestingly enough, the cheongsam isn't even of Chinese origin. It was 'invented' in the good ol USA!

Bong, I believe you are mistaken. A number of scholars with even more arcane interests than ours have done research on the history of the Cheongsan. It appears that it is derived from the robes worn during the Manchu Dynasty.

Valerie Wilson Trower (of the London College of Fashion/Hong Kong University)in her lecture "When in Rome or ... Hong Kong: The exploration and assumption of Asian Dress by Western expatriate women in South East Asia" at the Design Historical Society Conference of 2002 shows how it was adopted by "Western" women living in China early in this century.

The book, "The Cheongsam" by Hazel Clark also gives a good history of the development and is chock full of sexy pictures!

Now if that isn't an advertisement for TCer's to help me get a job, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!

[ Edited by: Atomic Cocktail on 2003-09-22 20:41 ]

[ Edited by: susane on 2004-01-20 06:23 ]

On 2003-09-22 20:39, Atomic Cocktail wrote:

Bong, I believe you are mistaken. A number of scholars with even more arcane interests than ours have done research on the history of the Cheongsan. It appears that it is derived from the robes worn during the Manchu Dynasty.

Sorry AT,

But a recent Rand Corporation study conducted last week, definatively concluded that whatever Bong says is the absolute truth even if it is factually in error. So there!

Bong,

I stand corrected and bow before you magnificence. COMMAND ME GREAT ONE! :drink: :P

"Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah..."

[ Edited by: Atomic Cocktail on 2003-09-23 10:23 ]

Re: cheongsams

My father grew up in Tienstin,China (Army brat in the '30's) and to this day waxes nostalgic for his first pangs of adolescence (aka horniness) at the sight of slender Chinese women in cheongsams, the dress hugging their curves, revealing only the arms (no cleavage) and that mysterious, enticing peek of leg through the slit of the skirt.

It's a wonder I'm not half Chinese. But Dad ultimately went for pure white bread.

He loves the cheongsams I've bought, however!

And no, not in a creepy way, so shut up!

Here you go Sabu.......

Those tropical livations look so beautiful......
And so do the ones at the bottom of the pics. :)

Now that TRT2 is completely done, I hope to begin posting here more often again... at least until the assembly of my Hukilau presentation begins to suck up all of my available Tiki-time!

Well... here's a pic I dug up that will appear in Tiki Road Trip 2 in black and white - thought you all might enjoy the technicolor version.

Same girl (Elithe Aguiar)?, and you all know this Tiki she's posed next to...

TRT2:
http://www.tydirium.net/tiki/tikiroadtrip.html

• James T.

http://www.tydirium.net
Big Stone Head / Tiki Road Trip / Left Orbit Temple

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-05-01 17:19 ]

Bootyful! So where WAS this Tiki located in Hawaii? Some kinda fern forest or so, right? I still wanna find out the carver....

OK, I can't believe I didn't see this post when it began. I've met Elithe Aguilar this past year. I'm on the organizing committee of the Miss Hawaii U.S.A. Pageant here, the state preliminary to Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe. We organized a reunion of some past titleholders and were able to locate Elithe.
She was Miss Kauai in 1964, and 1st runner up to Miss Hawaii for the Miss America system. The next year, she competed and won the title of Miss Hawaii U.S.A. 1965. She then went on to place in the top 15 at the Miss U.S.A. Pageant in Miami Beach.
She has recently written a book about "Ha", the Hawaiian practice of healing using one's breath control. If I knew how to post pictures, I actually have her, myself, and several of the past Miss Hawaii U.S.A.s in a photo.
She's a lovely lady, very gracious, who doesn't take herself or her modeling/pageant past seriously at all and had a wonderful time of it.
I should add if any of you have the "101 Strings in a Hawaiian Paradise" lp from Alshire, I believe that is Elithe on the cover of that as well.

[ Edited by: Kaiwaza 2007-05-01 20:07 ]

For those interested seeing Elithe "in action", I just finished watching the Brady Bunch episodes where they are in Hawaii (The famous "bad luck tiki" incident) and there are some great shots of Elithe as the hula instructor to the Brady ladies when they are getting lessons by the ocean in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Cool! Yet, whenever this or one of the other posts where the above Trader Vic Tiki is mentiond come up again I am full of hope that someone may have found out who carved them.

Here's another picture of Elithe from an Inter-Island Resorts brochure:

Kaiwaza - now that you know how to post photos to TC, would you be able to find and post those pics of you and Elithe from a few years ago?

Sabu

Nice Sabu,

I am 99.9% sure this is another Miss Kauai postcard. She is hiding behind the frosty-chilly, but that has to be her.

DC

Aloha,

That's from the Trader Vic's in the International Market Place. It's my uncle Mike's photograph circa 1968. From his notes I have, there is no more information.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2009-07-25 00:49 ]

Here's one of mine from 1965.

I agree that DC's photo sure looks like Elithe Aguiar. Trav's... I'm not so sure - but I like it. Unless she's credited inside the brochure. After she was crowned Miss Kauai, her name was often credited on her photos.

Here's the 101 Strings lp photo that Kaiwaza mentioned:

And here's a photo from the cover of "This Week" In Hawaii, from 1967, promoting her hula dancing in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel:

On 2003-09-20 23:55, GECKO wrote:
great post Sabu! I love your paper collection! and all of your pics you post! keep'em comin!

nice pic from Bongo too!

k'den shoots

This is a great bit of Kaua'i Tiki history!

On 2007-05-01 17:18, tikibars wrote:
Now that TRT2 is completely done, I hope to begin posting here more often again... at least until the assembly of my Hukilau presentation begins to suck up all of my available Tiki-time!

Well... here's a pic I dug up that will appear in Tiki Road Trip 2 in black and white - thought you all might enjoy the technicolor version.

Same girl (Elithe Aguiar)?, and you all know this Tiki she's posed next to...

TRT2:
http://www.tydirium.net/tiki/tikiroadtrip.html

---

• James T.

http://www.tydirium.net
Big Stone Head / Tiki Road Trip / Left Orbit Temple

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-05-01 17:19 ]

That's hot!

On 2009-10-26 23:33, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:

Here's the 101 Strings lp photo that Kaiwaza mentioned:

I have a mounted and framed version of this hanging in my den!

I am with BK. I think Elmer Batters did this one...

Your key to Beachbum Berry's books. Login and start concocting!

[ Edited by: Swanky 2009-10-27 09:15 ]

How about this one originally posted by Psycho Tiki D over on the vintage travel brochures thread. I mentioned on the thread the resemblance to the 101 Strings album cover. I think it's our gal.

I posted this brochure I have on a different thread from the Five Volcanoes Restaurant at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. Bigbro thought it might be Miss Kauai but I wasn't sure.

DC

Here is mine on a canvis print, (18 X 24) I framed mine with an old 1960's Oak wood frame, i found for 50 cents at the goodwill....she came out pretty cool i do have a few left

Here is another postcard with Miss Kauai.

DC

I was able to purchase yet another photo of Elithe Aguiar. This one was used by the Hawaii Visitors Bureau.

Picked this card up today. Miss Kauai and the Tiki. Sorry about the bad image quality but my scanner works different with every card it seems.

Back of the card.

She has the same dress on as in this card posted by Dusty. Must have been the same shoot.

So was this Tiki originally from Trade Vic's Hawaii location?

Elithe Aguiar's greatest hits on Hawaii Five-O...

Episode 17 - "One for the Money" aired 2/5/69
Appearing as "Nurse"

Episode 44 - "Most Likely to Murder" aired 2/11/70
Appearing as "Elise", one of the staff at Five-O

Episode 106 - "V for Vashon: The Father" aired 11/21/72
Appearing as "Phyllis" the policewoman

Phyllis takes an undercover assignment to distract a top assassin in town to kill McGarrett.

After McGarrett and Danno rush in, the assassin sees he's been tricked.

Saving the best for last, here's episode 99 - "You Don't Have to Kill to Get Rich, but It Helps". Aired 9/26/72, with Elithe Aguiar as "First Girl". This one is great, with the presence of William Shatner triggering a worlds collide moment, considering that Jack Lord was Gene Roddenberry's first choice for the original role of Captain Kirk. We all know how that ended up!

A blackmail ring is using Hawaiian girls (like our "First Girl" below) to prey on well-heeled tourists. Here she has found her mark by the pool area of his hotel, undoubtedly the Ilikai.

A little poolside Mrs. Robinson maneuver

It's working

OK, that's it for "First Girl". The guy gets blackmailed, and we move on. So, the next few screencaps are admittedly offtopic, but I wager they have enough entertainment value to include here. Partly because the next target is William Shatner, playing a private eye who has come for the express purpose of rooting out the same blackmailers. Sure enough, soon after taking position by the pool, both he and the viewer simultaneously become aware of the girl (Sharlene Silva as "Second Girl") who's been assigned to him, thanks to a neat sunglasses reflection camera angle.

He is extremely willing to help her with sunscreen

Turns out he even gets two girls. Lots of good stuff for any Five-O or Shatner fan in this one. However, McGarrett and Shatner's character only meet at the very end, and are never in the same frame together. Hope you enjoyed this intersection of Miss Kauai and Five-O!

Wha...!!? Oh, it stopped! And I was just getting into it! Aaaw, I want more... :D
That was great. Hey, I want to screen grab, too! Especially THAT screen. Man was she cute!

On 2010-05-26 22:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Wha...!!? Oh, it stopped! And I was just getting into it!
That was great. Hey, I want to screen grab, too! Especially THAT screen. Man was she cute!

Me, too!

Aww. God Bless the Macrame Bikini.

Thanks for posting those, Randy!!!

WOW! Randy it's not fair that your screen grabs are as clear, focused and perfect as your photography is! :)

I hope there were about 30 members of Hawaiian girls blackmail ring.

Sabu you have my vote to start a "Second Girl and the Macrame Bikini" post. :lol:

[ Edited by: Donnabeach 2010-07-03 12:36 ]

Elithe Aguiar profile on IMDb shows she also appeared as "Mara" on the McCloud episode "A Cowboy in Paradise."

Here're a couple recent pictures from the Star-Bulletin:

Still beautiful!