Jack Loved Hawaii

and Hawaii loved Jack

I find the people [in Hawaii] very friendly. There's a sweetness, a gentleness, a naivete that is found nowhere else in the world. They are called the "Golden People" -- a marvelous mixture of Polynesian and Caucasian and Oriental, a strange and interesting mixture of blood, cultures and philosophies -- a unique people. I think "Golden People" suits them perfectly. Gold doesn't tarnish.

Cavanaugh, Tom. Jack Lord's Hawaii. Publication and publication date unknown, page 12 ff.

Jack's collection of Captain Cook books with illustrations by John Webber, a noted English artist, who served as Capt James Cook's official artist on his third voyage to Hawaii, then known as the Sandwich Islands.

Prints of two of Webber's early Hawaiian warrior prints hung in Steve McGarrett's office on Hawaii Five-0. One of the prints is known as "A Man of the Sandwich Islands With His Helmet"; however, the name of the other print is unknown.

In his appearance on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Jack spoke about the arrival of Captain Cook to the Sandwich Isles and also about King Kamehameha's unification of the Hawaiian Islands through his invasion of Oahu at what are now Kahala and Kailua.

Jack presented Glen with a necklace known as a lei palau, the tongue of the alii. Comprising a whale's tooth and human hair that was more than 100 years old, it represented the Hawaiian royal's supreme authority over his people.

Jack presents tongue of the alii to Glen

Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Glenco Enterprises / CBS Television, October 17, 1971

Jack wanted to publish a book of photographs about the Hawaiian Islands. The question is "Did he?" It is a question that remains unanswered to this day.

A statement made by columnist Lawrence Laurent refers to such a book: "Lord has published a Tourists Guide to the Islands. He wrote the text and illustrated the book with his own color photographs." (Laurent, Lawrence. "Jack Lord boss of Hawaii Five-0 both on and off television camera" in Windsor Star. January 15, 1972, p. 37.) Jack's entry in Who's Who in the World (Vol. 3, Part 4, 1976-1977) mentions two books: Jack Lord's Hawaii and A Trip Through the Last Eden. The latter is said to have been published in 1971.

Conversely, Jack said the following in an interview with Tom Cavanaugh ("Jack Lord's Hawaii," publication data unknown): "I've mentioned a book on several occasions and I'm often sorry that I did. At one time I felt I was close to publication and then I put it away for a while and later I was not satisfied with some of the things in it. It's a kind of love letter to the world about Hawaii and its people and our experiences down here. I want it to be just right. Maybe by next Christmas I'll have it ready."

I contacted the Myopic Bookstore, a large antiquarian bookseller in Chicago, and asked them if they had any record of it. Here is their reply: "Unfortunately, I can find no record of a book with this title or subject matter having been published." I also perused the listings of a number of antiquarian booksellers, both stateside and in Europe, and neither Jack's name nor the title of the book appeared.

Since we cannot find these books, we have no way of knowing whether they published. Perhaps, it/they never was/were published. Perhaps, it/they was/were published, but very few copies were printed.

Photographer unknown.

Used courtesy of Steve's Girl

Jack served as the grand marshal of the Pa`u Riders in the 1979 Aloha Day Parade. The parade is a part of the annual series of aloha festival events, which are held to promote Hawaiian culture. About the occasion, Jack said,

One of our great joys is that we've been accepted here by the Hawaiian people. This year, they invited me -- a Caucasian -- to be grand marshal of the Pa'u Riders in the Aloha Day Parade. This is considered an honor, even for Hawaiians. It was the first time in the history of the parade that a haole has been so honored, and one that I shall treasure as long as I live.

As a final gesture of their love for the Hawaiian people, Jack and Marie left their entire estate, valued at more than $40 million, to thirteen organizations engaged in helping the Hawaiian people. From an eye bank to public television, from a school for disabled learners to the Salvation Army, all have been made better able to serve those in need.

The Salvation Army used a portion of their gift to build the Jack and Marie Lord Center for Worship and the Performing Arts. Activities are held there that range from worship services and stage performances to weddings.

As recently as two years ago, the Honolulu Community Fund, which administers the Jack and Marie Lord Trust Fund, held a reception in the couple's honor as a reflection of the good that their gift is doing in the Islands.

Read more about it on the Philanthropist page.