Hawaii Five-O star Al Harrington is dead at 85. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser received word from his family that the actor suffered a stroke last week. Born Tausau Ta’a, the American Samoan star moved to Honolulu at the age of 3 with his mother. After completing high school in 1954, he would studio at Menlo College and Stanford University to get his degree in history. Harrington would return to Hawaii after graduation to teach at the University go Hawaii. While in academia, he discovered his love of entertaining around Waikiki. The big break would come as CBS television was getting Hawaii Five-O off the ground. 1972 saw him become Detective Ben Kokua on the network. There were some smaller roles on the series that proceeded him stepping into the spotlight. As years have gone by, there have been some fond remembrances of the show. A reboot recently aired on the same network and many noted his performance as he was cast as Mamo Kahike. Back in the day Harrington also appeared on Magnum P.I. and Scrubs.ย
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“I have had the honor of loving Al, whom I called ‘Harrington’ for 20-years,” his wife Rosa Harrington told Deadline. “We were an inseparable team; best friends and he was my regal Polynesian King. Al embodied the purest, life-giving values of aloha and began each day with a smile.”
Rosa also issued a statement to People magazine as well, “Al was truly a gift from God. A noble, compassionate, patient and gentle man with a witty sense of humor and a larger-than-life laugh that will echo in my heart until we are reunited.”
She added, “He was generous, quick to forgive, a hard worker, a provider and always ready to talk-story. He loved his community and even more, his culture. It was his greatest honor to represent his people on-screen, and to serve them off-screen. To know him was to feel seen, loved, safe and welcomed. As an Icon for Hawai’i, our islands and her people are mourning his loss.”
Do you remember him being on Hawaii Five-O? Let us know down in the comments!
