Pubdate: Mon, 03 May 2010 Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) Copyright: 2010 Honolulu Star-Bulletin Contact: http://archives.starbulletin.com/forms/letterform.html Website: http://www.starbulletin.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/196 Author: A.J. McWhorter Note: A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii's TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. FILM HOST BECAME POT ADVOCATE The few channels we had to choose from in the 1960s were lined with sitcom reruns, hourlong dramatic programs and classic black-and-white movies. Danny Kaleikini, Zulu, Lippy Espinda, George "Granny Goose" Groves and many others entertained local viewers by hosting movies on weekend afternoons and late nights. One host who stood out was Dave Ford, whose "Hollywood's Greatest Movies" aired in prime time and was the most popular on local TV in the '60s, with a 79 rating share on KGMB. Ford was born in Ross, Calif., and moved around frequently as a child, attending some 32 schools before finally settling at San Rafael High School in California. At 15 he created, produced and hosted a teen radio show, "Junior Jamboree," scoring the first of many celebrity interviews, Humphrey Bogart. An excellent orator, Ford spoke at his graduation. He won the Lions International Public Speaking contest, and in 1947, while studying art at the College of Marin, he won the Hearst National Public Speaking contest. At 21 he became involved in constructing homes in the Bay Area and later entered the advertising business by creating the first TV commercials for new and used cars in California. Seeking a warmer climate, he arrived in Honolulu via the SS Leilani with his wife, Hazel, in February 1957. "We packed everything into the convertible we had," he said. He opened a used car lot, Dave Ford Motors, "Home of Hawaii's Finest Cars," on 1441 Kapiolani Blvd. (now the Ala Moana Building) and became one of the first auto dealers to run television commercials. He also caught the public eyes and ears with loudspeakers blaring music, candy-striped lights and electric turntables to show off the cars. He also placed signs on top of the cars, raising the ire of the Outdoor Circle with one sign bearing the silhouette of a nude hula dancer. The squabble caught the attention of the local media, which brought in more business. "The first year, we netted $84,000," he said. That same year he met one of his childhood idols, Henry J. Kaiser. They would remain close friends for a decade until Kaiser's death. "I admired (Kaiser). He was a very nice guy. He was like a rock star," Ford said. IN 1959 Ford volunteered for a University of Hawaii sensory deprivation project. Ford trained with the Navy to see how long he could remain underwater. In a deep-sea diver's suit, he remained underwater for 76 hours and 42 minutes, breaking a world record. He was able to communicate underwater with one of Kaiser's electronic devices that gave researchers updates on his condition every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, until the device failed, leaving him with only 30 seconds of air when he was pulled out of water. He spent three days in a hospital. All his antics caught the attention of the owner of Pacific Builders, the late Jim Humpert, who hired Ford as his vice president. Ford created, hosted and produced "Pacific Builders First Run Theater," which aired on KONA (now KHON) in 1960 and later moved to KGMB. Ford knew people watched television to be entertained, and he also wanted to entertain them during commercial breaks. Ford and Humpert appeared together in the commercials and humorous skits with plenty of slapstick and the occasional pie-in-the-face moments. In 1964 Ford left Pacific Builders and opened an ad agency. He pitched one of his ideas to new KGMB radio and TV owner Cec Heftel. Heftel wanted to build a strong audience for the station, and Ford was quickly back on the air with "Hollywood's Greatest Movies." Ford wrote and produced the show and commercials and hosted the program. It aired at 8 p.m. Saturdays and reran Sunday mornings. He showed black-and-white movies and often interviewed its star at the end of the program. Celebrities visited Hawaii to appear on his program, including Milton Berle, Lloyd Bridges, Jonathan Winters, the Rev. Billy Graham, Wayne Newton, Richard Boone, Bob Cummings, Richard Widmark, Edgar Bergen, Liberace and Bing Crosby, perhaps his favorite interview subject. "Bing was a really nice guy and a wonderful talent," he said. Ford and Crosby continued to exchange Christmas cards for many years. Ford was also good friends with many local celebrities including Sterling Mossman, Kui Lee, Don Ho and Duke Kahanamoku, who gave his last interview to Ford in 1967. With ratings still high in 1967, he decided to end "Hollywood's Greatest Movies" and enter the import business, which would allow him to travel around the world. Ford moved to the Big Island in 1972 and opened up a real estate firm. But he was never far from the entertainment business. He produced and hosted a Sunday afternoon TV show on the Big Island, "Voice of Hawaii," from 1976 through 1979. HE MOVED to Sonoma, Calif., to be closer to his elderly parents, in 1987, and started writing books, starting with "Marijuana: Not Guilty as Charged," and his nearly 500-page autobiography, "Good Medicine, Great Sex! How Marijuana Brought Me Creativity, Passion and Prosperity." The book is not as graphic and controversial as it seems. It's filled with humorous chapters, as well as heartbreak such as the loss of his wife, Hazel, the mother of his two children. Now retired, Ford is a cancer survivor and an advocate for medical marijuana. "As the author of two books on cannabis, I interviewed more than a dozen professional growers and sellers. With legalization, marijuana growers will no longer be afraid of a prison sentence for growing and selling pot. They would then be satisfied to sell medical-quality pot for about $50 an ounce. "Today, medical quality sells for $400 an ounce. With $100 going to pay state and local tax, quality pot would sell for $150 an ounce, instead of $400! I'm sure we all know someone who is ill with cancer, AIDS or some other disease or injury that would benefit from cannabis at a reasonable cost," he said. Ford has a son, David, who lives on the Big Island, and a daughter, Sandra, who lives in Honolulu. He returns to Hawaii at least once a year to visit them. "I miss Hawaii, the warm water, nice weather and the friendly people. The aloha spirit carries with me," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake