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Thread: Doug Mossman has passed away

  1. #1
    Five-O Home Page Author Mr. Mike's Avatar
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    From today's Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

    Douglas Kinilau Mossman, one of the first Native Hawaiian actors to make it onto mainstream television, died in Ewa on May 18 of natural causes. He was 88.

    Born in Honolulu, Mossman graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1950 and entered the military, serving six years. After his service, which included action in the Korean War, he followed a childhood passion and studied acting at the school for the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, Calif.

    “At Kamehameha he had done theater and acting work there, and even as a youngster he was a huge film buff, from a very young age,” said Mossman’s son, Douglas “Trey” Mossman. “He had an encyclopedia- level knowledge of classic films going back to the ’30s and ’40s. For him to love that as a child and then be in that industry as an adult was a dream come true.”

    The Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts was then one of the most prominent theater schools in the country and the training ground for some of the finest actors of the day.

    “His classmates in his graduating class were Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, among a bunch of other very well-known actors that went to do some really big things,” the younger Mossman said. “Dustin was actually a very good friend of his in school at that time.”

    In the late 1950s Mossman was working at Warner Bros. when he got word that a new detective drama, set in Hawaii but filmed in Hollywood, was in the offing. According to a 2018 interview in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, he was first hired as a technical adviser for the as-yet unnamed show, and during a brainstorming session show producers came up with a name based on the slang term for detective, “private eye.”

    Mossman thought the name was “the stupidest thing I ever heard” and swore he would object to it, but when asked, he voiced support for it because he had just been hired.

    “Hawaiian Eye” starred Connie Stevens and Robert Conrad and aired for four seasons from 1959 to 1963. Mossman and Ponciano “Poncie Ponce” Hernandez were two Hawaii-born cast regulars, with Mossman playing a security officer named Moke (produced Mo-kee) and continuing behind the scenes as technical adviser.

    “He was able to (tell) the producers of the show, and the writers, ‘Is this a real place? Would this really happen here or there?’” the younger Mossman said.

    Mossman eventually returned to Hawaii and had several guest appearances on the original “Hawaii Five-O,” becoming a series regular in 1974 as Detective Frank Kamana on the crime-fighting unit. He also had numerous roles on the original “Magnum, P.I.” and in the early 1970s on the TV series “The Brian Keith Show.”

    Other acting gigs would come along if a mainland- based show had a Hawaii- based episode, such as “The Jeffersons,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Love Boat” and “Jake and the Fatman.” His last TV appearance was in 2011 on the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0,” where he portrayed a man who ran a hotel on Maui.

    Mossman also capitalized on what his son called “a very outgoing personality” to take other entertainment-related jobs. He worked as a deejay on KCCN and emceed a luau show in Waikiki for more than 20 years. He also appeared on television commercials pitching cars and did charity work for groups such as Easter Seals, the Variety Club of Hawaii and other organizations. He also served as president of the Honolulu Boy Choir, where his son was a member, taking them on a world tour.

    “I remember growing up, he always had 10 different things going on all at once,” his son said.

    Theatrical work flowed in Mossman’s blood. His family included entertainer Sterling Mossman and the composer Bina Mossman.

  2. #2
    That's sad to hear. Mr. Mossman was always an ever-present stock player on the original Five-O. It would have been nice to see more of Frank Kamana in the later seasons. RIP, sir.

  3. #3
    I want to thank Mr. Mike for posting the announcement on Douglas Mossman's death and the subsequent information about his work Hawaiian Eye, Classic HFO (1968-1980),The Brian Keith Show, Magnum PI etc and other roles and life history. The information about him attending the Pasadena Playhouse and his service in the Korean War were particularly enlightening. I also want to thank Bobby for her remembrance of Douglas as Frank Kamana in HFO. I always enjoyed his appearances in HFO as 1 of the acting roles in the show and as Frank Kamana. Frank was similar to Duke. A hard-working detective who added to the show. My FAV Frank Kamana appearance was A Gun For McGarrett. Frank and his Informant were very helpful in getting information about the big meeting and the other person maybe European. This turned about to be Savage. He was a good adversary for McGarrett. I also liked Frank in Why Wait Until Uncle Kevin Dies?! I think he was doing some surveillance water when the boat blows up spectacularly. Reversions Inc had struck again as Luke Foster's bomb had proved fatal once again. I was surprised Frank was 88 when he died. However doing quick math, it makes sense as he had some roles in 1968. RIP Mr. Mossman. Thank you for your military service and work on Classic HFO. JC

  4. #4
    Five-O Home Page Author Mr. Mike's Avatar
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    This is article referred to in Mossman obituary. It said it was published in 2018 in the article, but it was actually published in 2015.

    Name:  Mossman article.jpg
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  5. #5
    Thanks for sharing this article, Mr. Mike - how neat is all that?

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