Aloha JK! :)

Aloha!

In honor of Hawaii's statehood day (August 21, 1959), here's an autographed photo of Jack Kelly signing autographs for some young fans in Hawaii:

 

I'm fairly certain this photo was taken in June 1959, when JK and wife Donna vacationed in Oahu. It's hard to tell from the scan, but the envelope JK is signing says "Hawaiian Village", which is the name of the magnificent resort built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser owned Kaiser Aluminum, the sponsor of Maverick, and was also a strong supporter of Hawaiian tourism. Linda Alexander reports in her biography A Maverick Life--The Jack Kelly Story that although Kaiser himself invited the Kellys to vacation at the Hawaiian Village, they somehow ended up being billed $2000 for their stay. JK refused to pay the bill and that was the end of the matter!

As for the inscription on the photo, it says, "For Charles - Aloha and thanks for being my friend! Best Always, Jack Kelly" ("Thanks for being my friend" seems to be one of JK's favorite inscriptions--I've seen it on quite a few of the photos he autographed.) I'm not sure who Charles was, however. The person who sold the photo to me said it was found among the personal items of a man named Charles Barthrop, but they couldn't confirm if he was the "Charles" in the inscription.

Well, "Mahalo â nui" ("thank you very much") for reading TDS today! :)