ozzie & harriet's luau 1957

http://youtu.be/OM1Hquv7dNU

Oh my, how...sedate. Looks like a big Tiki in the right corner of the room, unfortunately not lit at all.

I like this one, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vSsO7lBSgM&feature=related

and this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVEgIMgYTDw&feature=related
I bet they shot that at the L.A. Arboretum

Darn, Kevin, now I can't stop! :)

What makes it really cringe worthy is the golly-that's-swell Leave It To Beaver type music playing over the luau. It's not quite Hugh Hefner's Playboy After Dark 60's TV luau is it now?! (Although, that was somewhat sedate too, but at least had Barbie Benton. :D)

I have that episode and believe that the band is the Polynesians. Not cringe worthy for me as I grew up on on that stuff.

On 2010-08-26 16:13, GatorRob wrote:
What makes it really cringe worthy is the golly-that's-swell Leave It To Beaver type music playing over the luau. It's not quite Hugh Hefner's Playboy After Dark 60's TV luau is it now?! (Although, that was somewhat sedate too, but at least had Barbie Benton. :D)

I should think most "home" parties would have been this sedate in the 50's; probably more so. Here we see a live band, a multi-course meal and drinks, and attendees who can sing and play the ukulele! All that is missing is for Harriet to take her top off!

On 2010-08-26 20:41, bongofury wrote:
I have that episode and believe that the band is the Polynesians. Not cringe worthy for me as I grew up on on that stuff.

Don't get me wrong, the band is good. It's the theme music overdubbed onto the beginning that made me wince a little, only because it doesn't match the luau setting. I'm not old enough to have grown up on these shows, but they got lots of after school rerun play on my parent's living room TV in the 70s.

It's quite obvious that is actually the Smokin' Menehunes playing at this Luau!

http://www.myspace.com/thesmokinmenehunes

But seriously, this video is exactly what I always thought Tiki should be. Call me a purist (Though I do like all the associated stuff that has crept into the modern Tiki revival) but the Luau with the Hawaiian music and Hawaiian food...(no one wearing hats or fezzes or anything else)....is just too cool for words! I must have been born in the wrong era!

I am not 100% sure, but that band might actually be Ernie Tavares' band, the south sea islanders. They moved here back in the 50's and were very active in southern california at the time. pretty much one of my favorites, as they were a state-of-the art Hawaiian band. They, along with the Polynesians, can be heard on such classic albums as "Hukilau Hulas".

Here is a nice color photo of young David Nelson getting his lei at the Luau.

He looks pretty happy, anticipating the music to come no doubt.

DC

On 2010-11-30 23:27, Dustycajun wrote:

DC

I want that shirt!!!

On 2010-11-30 23:27, Dustycajun wrote:
Here is a nice color photo of young David Nelson getting his lei at the Luau.

On 2010-08-26 01:48, bigbrotiki wrote:
. Looks like a big Tiki in the right corner of the room, unfortunately not lit at all.

I think it's being litten up now.

that band might actually be Ernie Tavares' band, the south sea islanders.
While the fabulous Tavares bros. are worthy of their own thread, the group in the O&H clip is also straight out of the golden era of Hawaiian music, headed by the uber-talented Pua Almeida on steel (you can see his custom guitar case pairing two Rickenbacher 'fry-pan' steels, I know where both are today...), and he's backed by Harry Baty on bass, Danny Stewart on uke, and Sam Kaapuni on rhythm. Hear a fraction of Pua's talents on steel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1iE7Z2JfPI
The host of the party, Harry, is famed 30s band leader, Harry Owens, who wrote the perennial Sweet Leilani. Some top notch talent on that show, including the hula dancers, and the Nelson's were no slouches either.

Here's the entire episode, which I enjoyed quite a bit:

https://youtu.be/jYy6S69C6Iw

According to IMDB, this was Harry Owens' final credited appearance as an actor.

Oh, and there's also a different episode from later the same year that includes a Hawaiian dream sequence. It features a version of the Hawaiian War Chart that reminds me of the one in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room:

https://youtu.be/cOZDXEU0FCs?t=268