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Paradise Hawaiian Style 2 / 3
In "Paradise, Hawaiian Style," English actress Suzanna Leigh played
assistant/"girl Friday" Judy Hudson. She began her acting career as
a young girl starring in both English and French productions. Film
producer Hal Wallis spotted her and brought her to the U.S. for the
1965 film "Boeing Boeing." The actress now has a home and business
in Memphis, Tennessee and has appeared at several Elvis fan events.
Golden Globe Award winner James Shigeta played Danny Kohana. This
Hawaiian-born actor was known for his romantic lead roles in such
films as "Cry For Happy" and "Flower Drum Song." He was the voice of
General Li in the 1998 animated film "Mulan" and played Jimmy Chan
in the 2002 movie "A Ribbon of Dreams."
Jan Shepard played Betty Kohana. She worked with Elvis years earlier
playing Mimi Fisher, the sister of Elvis's character, in his fourth
film, "King Creole."
Donna Butterfield played the precocious child, Jan Kohana. She
received a 1966 Golden Globe nomination the 1965 film "The Family
Jewels. She made only three films before leaving the movie business.
The lovely ladies always willing to "scratch your back" were actress
Marianna Hill as Lani, Irene Tsu as Pua, Linda Wong as Lehaua, and
Julie Parrish as Joanna.
Marianna Hill had worked with Elvis in "Roustabout" and throughout
her career has been known for many exotic roles of various
ethnicities and for using various accents. She played Deanna
Corleone in the "The Godfather" film trilogy.
Irene Tsu was the 1961 winner of San Francisco's "Miss Chinatown."
She continues her successful acting career and she has taught yoga
for over twenty years.
Korean born Linda Wong moved to Hawaii in 1956 to study political
science. In Hawaii she won a beauty contest and was signed to a
movie contract.
Julie Parrish's career included films as well as long-time roles in
several TV series. In recent years she was a regular guest at Elvis
Week events in Memphis and became a special favorite of the Elvis
fans and the Graceland/EPE staff. Julie died suddenly in October
2003. |
