Kahana-The Untold Stories

by Ann Kennedy

  Yakima acts as if nothing has happened. He asks Crowe, “What have you and your buddies been up to?” Crowe responds. “Me and Wrangler are getting more work since action westerns have become popular. We have been doing more chase scenes; wagon wrecks and canyon jumps.

  Then Yakima looks at Kim and says, “You’re awful quiet. You are not a cowboy. Why are you hanging out with them?”

  Kim responds, “Crowe, Wrangler and I met when the three of us rode bikes in the movie, The Wild One, which starred, Marlon Brando. During the shooting of the film we became friends. Afterwards, they invited me along to ride horses with them. When they found out that I didn’t know how to ride, they taught me.”

  Then Yakima asks him what he does know about horses.

  Kim responds, “When I was a kid, I wanted to ride horses like a cowboy. Then a few years later, I slept in a stable for a while. My only companion was a beautiful horse named Patches. She was my best friend.”

  Then Wrangler says, “Kim moved to Chatsworth to be part of the cowboy’s way of life. He’s riding with a lot of stuntmen, even the Epper kids, on the dirt roads. Even though Kim just started riding a while ago, he is good and has the drive to be a great rider.”

  Yakima tells Kim, “There is a high demand in action western films and television programming for riders who can portray Indians.” Cowboy Crowe agrees and exclaims, “Kim fits that bill.”

  Yakima continues, “All the riders are seasoned stunt men or real cowboys. Most of them are Caucasian, and when they perform as Indians, they must use a lot of studio make-up to look their parts. All the make-up they use does not make them look believable for the camera. The make-up is messy and drips off the stuntmen when we are shooting outside in the hot sun.”

  “When their make-up melts, we must stop shooting so a make-up artist can fix their make-up. Kim, my advice for you is to keep practicing your skills and you will get a lot of work.”

  Yakima starts to walk away, and Kim, Wrangler, and Crowe trail behind him. Kim decides to take a chance and he asks Yakima if he would train him.

  Yakima responds, “So you want to be a stuntman?”

  Kim with much sincerity says, “I didn’t know it until right now that I have been a seasoned stuntman since I was a kid. During that time, I rode the rails from California to New York. I had to hop on and jump off speeding trains. I leaped from them and learned the safe way to roll after I jumped. I believe that I can learn to fall off a horse and it would not be that hard for me to do.”

  Yakima replies, “Kid, you’ve got gumption, but there’s a lot more needed to be a cowboy stuntman than just riding and falling off a horse.”

  Kim, with great humility says, “Sir, I know there is.”

  Yakima then asks Kim; “can you shoot a gun? Can you shoot with a bow and arrow? Have you ever been around fire and explosives? Are you a daredevil?”

  Kim answers him. “Before the war, I was in a fire sword dancing troupe. I would swing the flaming swords while dancing. Then I had to leave the troupe when I served in the special unit of the Army Rangers as a sergeant in the Korean War”

  “During that time, I became an expert with guns, knives and the bow and arrow. After the war, I was blind in both of my eyes. I thought my life was over. I thought I would live out the rest of my days sitting in a wheelchair as a blind man.”

  Kim pauses as he takes a deep breath and then continues his story. “Things turned around for me when a nurse, named Jenny, was assigned to my case. She taught me the katas and that is when I learned to change my attitude and get my confidence back. My eyesight will never return in my right eye, but it did return in my left eye. I worked hard, and I am now performing as a flaming sword dancer with Freddie Le Tuli’s troupe. I am not a foolish daredevil and never will be.”

  Yakima listened to what Kim told him. He tells him to come over to his house at 5:00 o’clock next Saturday morning and he will test him. If, he passes, he will train him for a while. Then Wrangler and Crowe promise Yakima that they will work with Kim to get him ready.

  Yakima tells Kim that he does not have a lot of time to work with him. He says, “In a few months I will be shooting Westward Ho, the Wagons! at James Congo’s Ranch in Thousand Oaks. When I finish the film, I’ll be going to Italy to be the second unit director on Ben-Hur”.

  He goes on to say, “Horses are not speeding trains. You need to know them, talk to them, and respect them. The more time you spend with them, the better. I will not make you any guarantees or promises. If I think, you do not have what it takes, or cannot take directions, then I will stop our sessions.”

  Kim says, “You’ve got it.”

  Yakima then responds, “I’ll see you next Saturday morning at my place.” Kim tells him that he will be there. Then Crowe, Wrangler and Kim start to walk away.

  Yakima shouts at them. “Crowe can you and Wrangler come out to my place on Saturday with him? It would be good for him and both of you.”

  Crowe and Wrangler do not hesitate to respond with a firm yes.

  Kim, Crowe, and Wrangler head to their motorcycles. Wrangler, like a little kid, shouts out, “Yee Haw! -We get to go to Yakima’s house!” Kim believes that he is now on the path, that he is supposed to be on.

  Kim goes to Yakima’s home the following Saturday. He passes his test, makes the grade and Yakima begins to train him. He learns more than he could have ever imagined from him. He has come so far in such a brief time. Even though, he did not receive a formal education, he has been going to school all his life in a unique way. He shines as a student in the “classrooms of life.”

  Kim is in awe every time that he is with Yakima. He, along with most of Hollywood, believes that Yakima is the best 2nd unit director and stuntman of all time. Kim is beginning to understand how Yakima created the art of staging any kind of fight scene to make his films look believable for the camera angles.

  Kim is also discovering more details about Yakima’s life. He was a World War I. veteran, who served in the United States Navy. He was one of Hollywood’s silver screen stars, who did all his own stunts. Then his career came to an abrupt halt when talkie movies came on the scene. Yakima knew that his stardom was over because he did not have the speaking voice for talking pictures. The only role left for him in Hollywood was to be a stuntman and stunt coordinator.

  Kim has a deep sense of sorrow when his training under Yakima’s guidance ends. When they part, Kim expresses his gratitude and feelings to him. “I got angry at times because I thought you were too tough on me. You always demanded perfection, but I am thankful that you did. You brought out the best in me.”

  Kim and Yakima shake hands and make small talk before they say their final good-byes. Then Kim rushes home to get ready for his fire sword dance performance.

  Chapter 17

  European Style

  Freddie Le Tulli calls a mandatory meeting with his troupe after their show in Las Vegas. Everyone in the troupe wonders why Freddie is calling a meeting. None of them can figure out what can be so important. At the meeting, Freddie informs his troupe that he has good news. He says that his agent booked a European tour for them, and they will be leaving next month. Their troupe will be performing in England, France, Holland, Italy, and other European venues.

  The month goes by and it is time for Kim to go to the airport to catch his plane to Europe. The group performs all over Europe to sold out audiences. Their spectacular death-defying performances of the fire sword dance always thrill their audiences.

  The tour is going better than he could ever imagine. There are only two mishaps during the tour. One night, by accident, Kim sets the drapes on fire during a performance.

  Another time, a man in the audience becomes unhinged when he sees a member of the troupe flirting with his wife while he is performing. The man is enraged and yells at the flirting dancer. He storms up on the stage to punch him. His friends follow him and get involved. The situation erupts into a brawl.

  Then a few weeks later, something
magical happens one night after a performance in Holland. Kim meets a lovely young Dutch lady named Joan. Kim sees her every day and night while he is performing in Holland. They fall in love and their relationship becomes serious.

  Kim is torn as to whether to stay in Holland or go back to California with his troupe. He does not want to lose her, but he realizes that he has not known her that long. He also knows that he loves her, and she loves him. He decides to take the plunge and proposes to her. She does not hesitate to say yes. Kim decides to stay in Holland when his troupe heads back home. A little while later, Joan and Kim get married, and then she flies back with him to Los Angeles.

  Upon returning home, Kim learns that Yakima is in Italy working as the 2nd Unit Director on Ben Hur. Yakima will spend two years working on the film. He creates the film’s famous twenty-two-minute chariot race scene. It is the best action stunt scene ever filmed.

  Kim gets a bigger and nicer place for Joan and him to live in Chatsworth. Then he goes back to work as a fire sword dancer with Freddie’s troupe. He performs with Freddie’s troupe at the Hollywood Bowl, the Sahara and other Las Vegas hotels and casinos.

  They also perform at Hawaiian luaus. Many well-known Hollywood producers, directors and stars come out to see their famous, dangerous, death defying fire dance. The troupe also performs in many motion pictures. One day, while he is on the set, Kim overhears a producer say, “Those guys are the best Samoan fire sword dancers in the world.”

  Then things start to slow down for the troupe. Freddie is not adding any new bookings because he is making other plans about his future. He wants to go back home to live. He has not been back to American Samoa for 35 years and has not seen his mother in all those years.

  He launches a plan to sell all his properties in Hollywood and cancel all his future bookings at the end of the month. Then there will be no more performances for his troupes. A month later, Freddie says good-bye to his troupes and heads home.

  Most of the members of Freddie’s troupes take other jobs. Kim performs as a solo fire sword dancer, in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. He performs on a regular basis at the Sahara and 7 Seas. He also picks up an enormous amount of stunt work riding horses and fighting in action packed westerns. He is also getting an abundance of work through the Screen Actors Extra Guild as an extra, stand-in, stuntman, and a stuntman-actor on many films and TV productions.

  Even though things are going great for Kim, he is sad to know that his time working for Freddie is over for good. He credits Freddie for a lot of the positive changes in his life. He will always be grateful that Freddie hired him after he left the Veterans Hospital. Freddie took a chance hiring a fire sword dancer, who only had vision in his left eye. When Freddie took a chance on Kim, he gave Kim his chance in life.

  Chapter 18

  Fire and Ice

  Kim is performing at the Seven Seas in Las Vegas. One night, a man who was in the audience approaches him after his performance. He tells Kim that he wants to talk to him about a future booking. Kim tells him to follow him backstage because he needs to get out of his costume and into his street clothes.

  Backstage, the man tells Kim that he is one of the producers of an event in Canada, saying he wants Kim to perform his fire sword dance while ice skating.

  “Are you kidding me?” Kim demands. “You have got to be joking.”

  The producer retorts, “I assure you, I am not joking.”

  He tells Kim that no one has ever performed a fire sword dance while ice skating. Kim replies, “Don’t you know why? It’s because you’d have to be out of your mind to try it. I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to because I don’t know how to ice skate.”

  The producer calmly responds, “That shouldn’t be a problem: the show isn’t until next year. You’ll have a year to practice and rehearse.”

  The producer goes on to say, “Let me tell you more about the show. The Canadian Figure Skating Association is sanctioning the Rotary Club of Toronto’s Annual Ice Revue. They hold a big event every year to raise money for their charities. One part of the program is the Polynesian Paradise. This is the area where I want you to perform your fire sword dance.” Proudly, he tells Kim, “Some of the best professional ice skaters in the world will be performing. The ‘bill of fare’ includes Otto and Maria Jelinek, the world pairs title champions; Don McPherson, the men’s skating champion from Ontario and the reigning dance pair from Czechoslovakia.”

  Kim’s jaw drops when he hears this impressive list of champion ice skaters. “You said this is a big event? How many people will be attending?”

  The producer replies that there might be as many as five thousand people. Kim tells the producer that he’ll think about it and try to learn to ice skate in the next two months. Then he will get back with him. The producer agrees and tells Kim that he will expect a call from him to let him know.

  The next morning, Kim begins to weigh the pros and cons of performing in the shows. The pros are that he will perform on the same bill as world champion ice skaters. It would also be the first time, anywhere in the world, that a fire sword dancer ice skated while performing the dance. He knows that this would set him apart from all the other fire sword dancers. It would surely move him to the top of the heap. It would ensure that he received the highest level of pay for a fire sword dancer, giving him an excellent opportunity to charge a much higher fee for his act in Las Vegas and other venues throughout the world. He reasons that it would be a clever way to invest in himself. This is important to him because he has been a solo act since Freddie left.

  Then he gets energized at the thought of performing for five thousand people. It would be the largest live audience he ever had. No other fire sword dancer has ever performed for five thousand people at any live event or show. Also, he knows that this isn’t just about him. He would be performing to help many charities raise money for their worthwhile causes.

  He starts to think about Jenny, too. She had dreams of becoming an Olympic ice skater. If he does this, he will send her one of the programs. He knows she’ll like that. He believes she would be proud of him if he did this performance as a thank you to her.

  He then thinks about the disadvantages and drawbacks of performing at the event. The first obvious obstacle is that he doesn’t know how to ice skate. He realizes that it’s possible he won’t be able to learn to skate like a professional in one year. Learning to ice skate and creating and rehearsing a routine will take an enormous amount of time.

  He is also very aware that dancing while ice skating and swinging flaming, swords will be extremely dangerous. In fact, it could be deadly. He knows his balance while ice-skating will have to be perfect. There won’t be room for even one mistake. He will have to ice skate while throwing, flinging, spinning, and juggling two sharp-edged, flaming blades in the air. The blades and the fire are hazardous enough without adding the slippery ice and ice skates to the mix.

  Then he thinks about the challenges that he will have in creating the choreography. Freddie and his troupe always created their choreography for different routines during rehearsals. Now, he will have to adjust and change the choreography he uses in his fire sword dance to coordinate it with an ice-skating routine. This isn’t going to be a simple task.

  He realizes that he cannot make this decision until he finds a rink to learn how to ice skate and rehearse his routines. He remembers that two of his biker friends, Duke and Big John, own an ice-skating rink not too far from his house. He decides to pay them a visit.

  When he arrives at the rink, he goes inside and sees many people and kids sitting in the stands while others are ice skating. Then he spots Big John skating. Kim is shocked to see how fast and skilled he is.

  When Big John notices Kim, he swiftly skates over. “Good to see you, man!” he says in surprise. “It’s the first time you ever came to our rink.”

  Kim replies, “You’ve got a cool place here. I never came by because I don’t know how to ice skate. I came today to talk to you and Duke abou
t something.”

  Big John gets off the ice and tells Kim to come with him to Duke’s office. In the office, the three of them make small talk about choppers. Then Kim asks these hard-core bikers, “Why did you open an ice-skating rink?”

  “Motorcycles are a big part of our lives, but so is ice skating,” Duke answers. “We both grew up in New York. Every winter, the lakes would freeze up when it snowed. As soon as the lakes froze up, we went ice skating and played hockey. When we moved to sunny California, we missed ice skating. Then a deal came along that was too good to believe. We had a chance to buy this rink at a bargain basement price and we jumped at it.”

  Duke goes on to boast that business is good. He has some of the best professional ice-skating and hockey teachers at the rink, and their classes are always full. Then Big John asks, “What did you want to see us about?”

  Kim tells him about the upcoming performance he’s considering. Duke and Big John start hooting with laughter at the thought of him performing a fire sword dance while ice skating. Duke is still laughing as he says, “Kim, let me give you some advice. Stick to riding motorcycles and horses or crashing cars. It will be far less dangerous for you, than ice skating with fire swords.”

  Kim says, “I need to try to so see if I can do it. I’d like to use your rink early in the mornings when no one else is here.”

  Duke tells him, “You can use the rink from 6:00 to 8:00 o’clock every morning. Big John or me are always here at 5:30. We’ll be around to watch you and give you some pointers.”

  Kim thanks them and gets up to leave. Then Duke says, “Not so fast. You can’t skate without ice skates. Go buy a pair of figure skates at our shop. I’ll go with you to make sure you get the ones that you need.”

  The next morning, Big John is at the rink at 5:30, and Kim arrives twenty minutes later. Kim’s first try at skating is a disaster. He spends two hours falling on the hard ice. Big John says, “The first day is the hardest. It will get easier if you stop looking at your feet.” By the third day, Kim is shaky, but he can stand and slowly skate.