Eddie Sherman 05.18.05

WEDDING of the year: Tying the knot June 25 ¡X Starr Wedemeyer and Christopher Dods. Starr¡¦s dad is entrepreneur Hans Wedemeyer, and Christopher¡¦s father is Walter. They¡¦ll say ¡§I do¡¨ at Kawaiaha¡¥ o Church ÿ Remember Joe Penny, one of the stars of Jake and The Fatman, a popular TV show that filmed here a few years ago? Joe decided he didn¡¦t want to work in Hawaii anymore, so the show moved to H¡¦wood. Soon after the series was cancelled. Penny practically vanished. I recently caught a glimpse of him on a Soprano episode playing a bit role, about 30 pounds heavier, practically forgotten and almost unrecognizable to the public ÿ My favorite ¡§undiscovered¡¨ show in Waikiki. Tribute to Sammy Davis, Sinatra and Dean Martin (Fri. nites only ¡X at 7:30) at the Sheraton Waikiki¡¦s Esprit nite club. Stars Gary Moore, Al Waterson, George Chun and Cameron Krainin. The cast delivers a winnah! Lots of laffs, unforgetable music and the gang has a ball doing itÿ Former Vietnam POW Jerry Coffee (columnist in this gazette) gets honored Nov. llth as Patriot of the Year. Event folks hoping to snare Gov. Ahhhhnuld as keynote speaker ÿ Oh, what fools we mortals be ¡Xsometimes: I scheduled a b¡¦fast with a local TV entrepreneur. An hour before the meeting he called to cancel because of a sudden ¡§important¡¨ appointment. What Mr. W missed ¡X my special surprise ¡X a top H¡¦wood producer I was bringing who was interested in discussing a possible project. When the producer was told about the last minute b'fast cancellation, he said, ¡§fahgettaboutit¡¨ and wing¡¦d home to the Coast ÿ

It pays to advertise and promote: Computer folks Super Geeks have a jazzy little colorful geek mobile zipping around town often mistaken for a taxi of some sort and getting lots of attention. Kids love it when owner James Kerr turns on the siren and some radio stations wanna use it for promotions, etcÿLife today: The craze continues. Surveys of college kids indicate 30 to 50 percent of them have pierced themselves ¡X and that¡¦s not just earlobes ÿ Smokers are now being advised not to lite up around kids. Secondhand smoke ups the risk of sudden infant death syndrome for babies, and can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and ear infections, sez new research. Matter of fact, smoking, say experts, should be banned from every room in the house ¡X if kids are around ÿ Rohan Gunaratna (Ph. D) author of best seller Inside Al Qaeda, plans a Honolulu return in the fall for more talks about his book. Was here a few months back helping train local law and military types ÿ Sweet smell of success: Body Mint pills you pop in your mouth that reduce body odors are selling well from Hawaii (where they were created) to L.A. and New York ÿ If you are a hamburger lover, you¡¦ll flip over those served by Francois at the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center. Definitely one of a kind. All the meat is chopped fresh daily and garnished with Francois¡¦s own special ingredients.

Trust me on this one ÿ Read somewhere that Bruce Willis was reported tipping a bartender $300. When Bruce made a film here a few years ago, that kind of generosity apparently didn¡¦t surface. But, who knows ÿ Comedian/ comedy writer Bill Dana writes from Nashville that he and his wife miss Hawaii very much. Bill lived in Hana, Maui, for more than 20 years. They moved to Nashville to be closer to his wife¡¦s aging parents ÿ Apparently producer David Gest, who came to Hawaii he said to recoup from alleged beatings from ex-wife Liza Minnelli (and is suing her for $10 million), has finally left our shores. His name now popping up again in New York gossip columns