# Hawaii Five-O (original series) casting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347 "2010-09-02T04:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/1 "2010-09-02T04:04:37Z")
Spike has been showing _Hawaii Five-O_. In two days I recorded a dozen episodes. I’ve only watched three (watching a fourth now), and some weird casting strikes me. Simon Oakland as a Hawaiian, and Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese. Oakland had a heavy build, and with his dark makeup he kinda-sorta looked like he might be part Hawaiian. Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese? Not convincing. The eye makeup was decent, but I’m just not buying it. Maybe they cast him because he played a Japanese character in _Sayonara_ (which I haven’t seen). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/2 "2010-09-02T04:27:15Z")
Will Kuluva, Alfred Ryder, Mark Lenard, and David Opatoshu off the top of my head all played various Oriental types. All Jewish. Opatoshu always had gravitas even when the material was beneath him. The others, though. . . pretty ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/3 "2010-09-02T04:47:47Z")
Don’t forget Khigh Dheigh, who played Wo Fat. His real name was Kenneth Dickerson, and he wasn’t Asian at all–he was mixed caucasian and north African. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/4 "2010-09-02T05:09:14Z")
The Mark Lenard episode must be seen to be believed. “To Hell With Babe Ruth” it’s called. He plays a Japanese ex-WWII soldier. Even Hawaii Five-0 fanatics bristle at the mention of that particular show. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/5 "2010-09-02T14:12:26Z")
I checked the DVR, and it looks like the last episode set to be recorded is ‘Six Kilos’ (episode 23). ‘To Hell With Babe Ruth’ is episode 26. I caught an episode several years ago. I don’t know if it was after I moved here, or if it was when I was still in L.A. I remember McGarrett wearing a red suit, and possibly a pimp hat, and the episode had something to do with a prostitution ring. He referred to pimps as ‘pimples’. I don’t remember if he was being deliberately insulting, or if the writers thought they were being hip. . ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/6 "2010-09-02T14:17:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese? Not convincing. The eye makeup was decent, but I’m just not buying it. Maybe they cast him because he played a Japanese character in _Sayonara_ (which I haven’t seen). Nobody would buy “Lich Colinthian Reather” either. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/7 "2010-09-02T14:30:00Z")
BTW, for the H50 trivia buff, I submit [this](http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/5-0pilot.htm). This is a compendium of plot synopses, analyses, and trivia for every ep of the series. The aforementioned ep with the “pimples” appears to be [“Tricks Are Not Treats,”](http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/5-0log6.htm#127) from Season 6, although you memory seems to be a little at odds with the description. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaii-five-o-original-series-casting/552347/8 "2011-02-05T05:18:06Z")
Psychic Kenneth Dickerson, son of Wo-Fat actor Kenneth ‘Khigh Dhiegh’ Dickerson dies: > **[Starr report](https://nypost.com/2011/02/03/starr-report-2026/)** > > Geez, I figured with the kinds of ratings that “NCIS” generates, it would’ve already been renewed through the 2028-29 season, at least. But, go figure, CBS announced late yesterda…