Don Ho, born Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 - April 14, 2007) was an Hawaiian musician and entertainer.
Ho, of mixed Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaʻako, but he grew up in K¨¡neʻohe on the windward side of the island of Oʻahu. He was a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools in 1949 and he attended Springfield College in 1950, but returned home to earn a bachelor's degree in sociology at University of Hawai'i in 1953. In 1954 Ho entered the United States Air Force and spent time flying fighter jets in both Texas and Hawaii.
Ho was originally signed to Reprise Records (Frank Sinatra's record label). He released his debut album, Don Ho Show, in 1965 and began to play high profile locations in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and New York City. In 1966 he released his second album, a live compilation called Don Ho ¡ª Again!, which charted in the early part of that year. In the fall of 1966, Ho released his most famous song, Tiny Bubbles, which charted on both the pop (#8 Billboard) and easy listening charts and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year. Another song that was familiar with Don was the song "Pearly Shells". Guest appearances on television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, Charlie's Angels, and Fantasy Island soon followed.
Although his album sales peaked in the late 1960s, he was able to land a television spot on ABC from October 1976 to March 1977 with the Don Ho Show variety program which aired on weekday mornings.
Ho had ten children. His daughter, Hoku, performed with her father in his Waikiki show and in 2000 went on to become a nationally known recording artist in her own right.
Ho was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2005 and had a pacemaker installed. He contacted Theravitae, a biotechnology company specializing in treating heart conditions with adult stem cells working in conjunction with Dr. Amit Patel, a cardiac surgeon and pioneer of the use of adult stem cells for heart disease.
On December 6, 2005, Ho had his own blood-derived stem cells injected into his heart by Patel with his surgeons in Thailand. The treatment went without incident. Later in the month, Ho said, "I'm feeling much better and I'm so happy I came up here to do it." Although he had a new pacemaker installed on September 16, 2006, Ho died in Waikiki from heart failure on April 14, 2007. Find out more about this Hawiian legend at: http://www.donho.com/
Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogpsot.com/
Ho, of mixed Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaʻako, but he grew up in K¨¡neʻohe on the windward side of the island of Oʻahu. He was a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools in 1949 and he attended Springfield College in 1950, but returned home to earn a bachelor's degree in sociology at University of Hawai'i in 1953. In 1954 Ho entered the United States Air Force and spent time flying fighter jets in both Texas and Hawaii.
Ho was originally signed to Reprise Records (Frank Sinatra's record label). He released his debut album, Don Ho Show, in 1965 and began to play high profile locations in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and New York City. In 1966 he released his second album, a live compilation called Don Ho ¡ª Again!, which charted in the early part of that year. In the fall of 1966, Ho released his most famous song, Tiny Bubbles, which charted on both the pop (#8 Billboard) and easy listening charts and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year. Another song that was familiar with Don was the song "Pearly Shells". Guest appearances on television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, Charlie's Angels, and Fantasy Island soon followed.
Although his album sales peaked in the late 1960s, he was able to land a television spot on ABC from October 1976 to March 1977 with the Don Ho Show variety program which aired on weekday mornings.
Ho had ten children. His daughter, Hoku, performed with her father in his Waikiki show and in 2000 went on to become a nationally known recording artist in her own right.
Ho was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2005 and had a pacemaker installed. He contacted Theravitae, a biotechnology company specializing in treating heart conditions with adult stem cells working in conjunction with Dr. Amit Patel, a cardiac surgeon and pioneer of the use of adult stem cells for heart disease.
On December 6, 2005, Ho had his own blood-derived stem cells injected into his heart by Patel with his surgeons in Thailand. The treatment went without incident. Later in the month, Ho said, "I'm feeling much better and I'm so happy I came up here to do it." Although he had a new pacemaker installed on September 16, 2006, Ho died in Waikiki from heart failure on April 14, 2007. Find out more about this Hawiian legend at: http://www.donho.com/
Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogpsot.com/
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