DOUGLAS MOSSMAN / 1933-2021: Passion for theater inspired Hawaiian Eye actor Mossman

Douglas Kinilau Mossman, one of the first Native Hawaiian actors to appear on mainstream television, died in Ewa on May 18 of natural causes. He was 88 years old.

Born in Honolulu, Mossman graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1950 and entered the military for six years. After his service, which included acting in the Korean War, he followed a childhood passion and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse School in Pasadena, California.

“In Kamehameha he had done theater and theater there, and even as a youngster he was a big movie buff, from a young age,” Mossman’s son Douglas “Trey” Mossman said. “He had an encyclopedic level knowledge of classic movies dating back to the 1930s and 40s. For him, loving it as a kid and then being in this industry as an adult was a dream come true.

The Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts was then one of the most important acting schools in the country and the training ground for some of the best actors of the time.

“His classmates in his promotion were Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, among a bunch of other very well-known actors who went on to do some really great things,” the young Mossman said. “Dustin was actually a very good friend of his in school at the time.”

In the late 1950s, Mossman was working at Warner Bros. when he learned that a new crime drama, set in Hawaii but filmed in Hollywood, was in the works. According to a 2018 interview in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, he was first hired as a technical advisor for the still-unknown show, and in a brainstorming session, the show producers came up with a name based on on the slang term for detective, “private eye.”

Mossman thought the name was “the dumbest thing I have ever heard” and swore he would oppose it, but when asked, he expressed support because he was coming from ‘to be hired.

“Hawaiian Eye” starred Connie Stevens and Robert Conrad and aired for four seasons from 1959 to 1963. Mossman and Ponciano “Poncie Ponce” Hernandez were two Hawaiian-born cast regulars, with Mossman playing a named security guard. Moke (Mo-kee product) and continue behind the scenes as a technical advisor.

“He was able to (say) to the producers of the show and the writers, ‘Is this a real place? Would it really happen here or there? Said the young Mossman.

Mossman eventually returned to Hawaii and had several guest appearances on the original “Hawaii Five-O,” becoming a series regular in 1974 as Detective Frank Kamana in the Crime Unit. He also had many roles in the original “Magnum, PI” and in the early 1970s in the television series “The Brian Keith Show”.

Other acting gigs would occur if a mainland-based show had a Hawaii-based episode, like “The Jeffersons,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Love Boat,” and “Jake and the Fatman.” His last TV appearance was in 2011 during the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0,” where he portrayed a man who ran a hotel in Maui.

Mossman also took advantage of what his son called “a very outgoing personality” to take on other entertainment-related jobs. He worked as a deejay on KCCN and hosted a luau show in Waikiki for over 20 years. He has also appeared in television commercials featuring cars and has done charitable work for groups such as Easter Seals, the Variety Club of Hawaii, and other organizations. He was also chairman of the Honolulu Boy Choir, of which his son was a member, taking them on a world tour.

“I remember growing up, he always had 10 different things at the same time,” his son said.

Theatrical work flowed in Mossman’s blood. His family included artist Sterling Mossman and composer Bina Mossman.

In addition to his son, Mossman is survived by his 50-year-old wife, Judee, and daughters Candace Mossman Hattori and Heilee Mossman.

“(Acting) has always been a great passion for him, from a young age, and then he was able to get there, which was quite unique for a native Hawaiian at the time,” his son said. “There weren’t a lot of people working in Hollywood at the time who were coming from where he was from.”