Hilo Hattie

Did you know?!

1. 

   About the name

   Hilo Hattie was the name Clara took legally after she sang The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai, her second signature song, in the movie Song of the Islands.

2. A change of course

   Before her performing career took off, Hilo Hattie began teaching at Waipahu Elementary School in 1923, where she entertained her students with the comedy hula routines that later became her trademark.

3. Big break

   Hilo Hattie performed on the Hawaii Calls broadcasts, which Webley Edwards hosted and which reached 600 radio stations worldwide. She became a global household name and toured, appearing in movies and on television.

4. Beyond film

   In 1960, Hilo Hattie began performing at the Kaiser's Hawaiian Village, later renamed the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tapa Room, with two shows each night, six nights a week. That arrangement continued for more than a decade.

5. Beyond film

   While performing at the Holland Supper Club in Eugene, Oregon, in 1945, Hilo Hattie earned the nickname "the Polynesian Sophie Tucker."