Kalai Strode
Kalai Strode | |
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Born | Woodrow Wilson Kalaeloa Strode December 16, 1946 Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Died | November 27, 2014 Houston, Texas, U.S. | (aged 67)
Other names | Kalaeloa Strode W Kalaeloa Strode |
Occupation | Assistant film director |
Years active | 1971–2011 |
Parents |
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Woodrow Wilson Kalaeloa Strode (December 16, 1946 – November 27, 2014) was a native Hawaiian assistant director in film and television from the early 1970s to around 2010. In film he worked on North Dallas Forty. In television he worked regularly in the series Diagnosis Murder. He also was an actor, writer and composer.
Background
[edit]He was born on December 16, 1946, in Hollywood, California.[1][2] He was of African and self-identified Native American ancestry (Cherokee and Muscogee) from his father's side. On his mother's side he was of Native Hawaiian descent.[3] His father was professional football player and actor, Woody Strode.[4][5] His mother was princess Luukialuana Kalaeloa who had done some work in films and was a hula dancer. She was also a descendant of Hawaii's last queen. He had a sister Junelehua (a.k.a. June) who was born in 1948.[6] He also had two half-brothers. One was Hawaiian actor and entertainer, Lani Kai.[7] The other was Hawaiian actor Lee Woodd.[8]
Film career
[edit]1970s
[edit]He graduated from the Los Angeles Assistant Directors Training Program.[9]
In 1971 he had a role in The Gatling Gun as the Indian Who Shoots Sneed.[10] He was also in the credits as a stuntman in the film[11] In the mid 1970s he was a co-writer for the western film Winterhawk.[12][13] Later in the 1970s, he worked under director Richard Lang as second assistant director for the pilot episode of Fantasy Island that aired in January 1977.[14][15]
1980s
[edit]In the early 1980s, he was assistant director in the John Schlesinger directed comedy film Honky Tonk Freeway which starred Beverly D'Angelo, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy and Beau Bridges.[16][17] In 1985, he was assistant director in the made for television drama, Challenge of a Lifetime which was directed by Russ Mayberry, and starred Penny Marshall and Richard Gilliland.[18] In 1988, he worked on the set of the film For Keeps.[19]
1990s
[edit]In 1991, he was assistant director in three episodes of Tales from the Crypt, Loved to Death, Abra Cadaver and Mournin' Mess.[20] He was assistant director in the Randall M. Miller directed 1992 comedy Class Act which starred Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin.[21][22] From 1994 to 1998 he worked in five seasons of episodes for television series Diagnosis Murder which starred Dick Van Dyke.[23][24][25][26][27]
2000s
[edit]In 2001, having completed his work on Diagnosis Murder, he and his wife Pam moved to Honolulu. He still did some work as assistant director but also worked in transportation for movies. His wife worked in the TV series Lost for six seasons as a stand in actress.[28] In 2010 he worked on the film Deady Honeymoon that starred Summer Glau.[29][30] In 2011, he had a role as Wali in the Ua Lawe Wale episode of the Hawaii Five-0 series remake.[31] Both of his half brothers, Lani Kai and Lee Woodd had appeared in the original series of Hawaii Five-O.[32][33] Post 2011, he underwent a physical examination as part of pre-employment for The River,[34] which was shot in Puerto Rico and Hawaii.[35] The examination resulted in a diagnosis of mantle cell lymphoma.[36]
Filmography
[edit]Title | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Gatling Gun | Actor: Indian Who Shoots Sneed, Stunts: stunt archer | Robert Gordon | 1971 | |
Winterhawk | Writer | Charles B. Pierce | 1975 | |
A Piece of the Action | DGA trainee | Sidney Poitier | 1977 | |
The One and Only | Trainee assistant director | Carl Reiner | 1978 | |
Thank God It's Friday | Trainee assistant director | Robert Klane | 1978 | |
Rainbow | Second assistant director | Jackie Cooper | 1978 | TV movie |
The Immigrants | DGA trainee | Alan J. Levi | 1978 | TV movie |
Suddenly, Love | Second assistant director | Stuart Margolin | 1978 | TV movie |
A Woman Called Moses | DGA trainee | Paul Wendkos | 1978 | TV movie |
Samurai | Second assistant director | Lee H. Katzin | 1979 | TV movie |
North Dallas Forty | Second assistant director | Ted Kotcheff | 1979 | TV movie |
Up the Academy | Second assistant director | Robert Downey Sr. | 1980 | |
Bustin' Losse | First assistant director: second unit | Oz Scott, Michael Schultz | 1981 | |
Honky Tonk Freeway | Second assistant director | John Schlesinger | 1981 | |
When I Am King | Second assistant director | Wanda Appleton | 1981 | |
Challenge of a Lifetime | Second assistant director | Russ Mayberry | 1985 | TV movie |
Gidget's Summer Reunion | Second assistant director | Bruce Bilson | 1985 | |
The Lost Boys | Second assistant director: second unit | Joel Schumacher | 1987 | as Woody K. Strode |
For Keeps? | Second assistant director | John G. Avildsen | 1988 | |
House Party | Assistant director | Reginald Hudlin | 1990 | as Kelly St. Rode |
Phantom | Second assistant director | 1990 | TV movie | |
4 Faces | Second assistant director | Ted Post | 1999 | |
Tyrannosaurus Azteca | Construction driver | Brian Trenchard-Smith | 2007 | |
Tropic Thunder | Driver | Ben Stiller | 2008 | |
Deadly Honeymoon | Second assistant director | Paul Shapiro | 2010 | TV movie |
Title | Episode # | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emergency! | unknown | Dga trainee | various | 1972 | Unknown |
Police Story | unknown | Second assistant director | various | 1973 | Unknown |
Fantasy Island | Pilot episode | Second assistant director | Richard Lang | 1977 | Season 1, Episode 1 |
Lou Grant | Unknown | Second assistant director | Various | 1977 | Unknown |
The White Shadow | Here's Mud in Your Eye | Second assistant director | Bruce Paltrow | 1978 | Season 1, Episode 2 |
The White Shadow | Bonus Baby | Second assistant director | Jackie Cooper | 1978 | Season 1, Episode 4 |
The White Shadow | Pregnant Pause | Second assistant director | Jackie Cooper | 1978 | Season 1, Episode 5 |
ABC Afterschool Specials | A Special Gift | Second assistant director | Arthur Allan Seidelman | 1979 | Season 8, Episode 3 |
CBS Afternoon Playhouse | Think I'm Having a Baby | Second assistant director | Arthur Allan Seidelman | 1981 | Season 3, Episode 2 |
Matt Houston | X-22 | Second assistant director | Richard Lang | 1982 | Season 1, Episode 1 |
Lottery | unknown | Second assistant director | various | 1983 | |
Crazy Like a Fox | unknown | Second assistant director | various | 1984 | |
Stir Crazy | unknown | Second assistant director | Christian I. Nyby II or Peter H. Hunt | 1985 | |
Amerika | unknown | Second assistant director | Donald Wrye | 1987 | |
Buck James | unknown | Second assistant director | 1987 | ||
Sonny Spoon | unknown | first assistant director | various | 1988 | |
Down Home | unknown | Second assistant director | various | 1990 | |
Sunset Beat | unknown | Second assistant director | 1990 | ||
Broken Badges | unknown | First assistant director | various | 1990 | |
Human Target | unknown | Second assistant director | various | 1992 | |
Diagnosis Murder | Many Happy Returns | Second assistant director | Lou Antonio | 1994 | Season 2, Episode 1 |
Diagnosis Murder | A Very Fatal Funeral | second assistant director | Alan Myerson | 1994 | Season 2, episode 2 |
Diagnosis Murder | Woman Trouble | Second assistant director | Roy Campanella II | 1994 | Season 2, Episode 3 |
Diagnosis Murder | The Busy Body | Second assistant director | Vincent McEveety | 1994 | Season 2, Episode 4 |
Diagnosis Murder | My Four Husbands | second assistant director | Christian I. Nyby II | 1998 | Season 2, Episode 5 |
Diagnosis Murder | Witness to Murder | second assistant director | Paris Barclay | 1995 | Season 3, Episode 2 |
Diagnosis Murder | The Pressure to Murder, | second assistant director | Christopher Hibler | 1996 | Season 3, Episode 9 |
Diagnosis Murder | The ABC's of Murder | second assistant director | Christian I. Nyby II | 1996 | Season 4, Episode 11 |
Diagnosis Murder | Murder in the Family | second assistant director | Vincent McEveety | 1998 | Season 4, Episode 12 |
Diagnosis Murder | Deadly Games | second assistant director | Christopher Hibler | 1997 | Season 5, Episode 4 |
Diagnosis Murder | Slam Dunk Dead | second assistant director | Vincent McEveety | 1997 | Season 5, Episode 5 |
Diagnosis Murder | A Mime Is a Terrible Thing to Waste | second assistant director | Christopher Hibler | 1997 | Season 5, Episode 11 |
Diagnosis Murder | Down and Dirty Dead | second assistant director | Ron Satlof | 1997 | Season 5, Episode 12 |
Diagnosis Murder | An Education in Murder | second assistant director | Frank Thackery | 1998 | Season 5, Episode 19 |
Diagnosis Murder | Murder at the Finish Line | second assistant director | Christopher Hibler | 1998 | Season 5, Episode 20 |
Hawaii Five-0 | Ua Lawe Wale | actor: Wali | Duane Clark | 2011 | Season 2, Episode 2 |
Writing
[edit]He had been a writer.[37] Around or prior to the early 1970s, Strode had composed some songs. They included "Blood Red Moon",[38] "Childling Sun"[39] "Oh Mellow Day",[40] "America Is My Home",[41] "Love Has Its Stormy Seasons",[42] "Me And My Magic Guitar",[43] "Nani's Way",[44] "A Thousand Ways",[45] and "The Truth Is You",[46] Another composition of his, possibly written a few years later was "Coco".[47]
Later years
[edit]By 2010 at the age of 63, he ran as an independent candidate for the United States House of Representatives. While he was interviewed about his candidacy by Lee Cataluña of the Honolulu Advertiser, he was working for Teamsters Local 996, driving and electrical rigging truck on a movie set of The Descendants.[48] In the 2010 Special, he came 5th in a list of 14 candidates.[49]
In 2014, he was interviewed for the documentary The Forgotten Four,[50] which he and his wife attended the premiere for on September 9, 2014, in Westwood, California.[51]
Illness and death
[edit]During a medical examination as part of a pre-employment physical for a movie, Strode was diagnosed with Mantle cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. He took five months of chemotherapy and appeared to be in remission. In 2013, as a result of a routine PET scan, it was determined that his cancer had returned. He then relocated to Grand Forks for easier access to the Mayo Clinic.[52][53]
After a three-year battle with the disease, Strode died on November 27, 2014.[54] At the time of his passing, he was helping to care for his mother-in-law.[55]
References
[edit]- ^ UCLA Alumni Association Kalai Strode Archived March 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Celebrity Birthdays Kalai Strode Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Historical Dictionary of Wrestling By John Grasso 284
- ^ We Are All Movie Geeks September 10, 2014 General News St Louis, EPIX And St. Louis Rams Host FORGOTTEN FOUR: THE INTEGRATION OF PRO FOOTBALL Screening, Q&A Panel
- ^ Jet January 23, 1995 Page 61, Entertainment Actor Woody Strode Succumbs In California At Age 80
- ^ American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas By Murry R. Nelson
- ^ Honolulu Star-Bulletin Thursday, August 26, 1999 Entertainer Lani Kai dies at 63 by Rod Ohira
- ^ Honolulu Star-Bulletin Thursday, August 26, 1999 Entertainer Lani Kai dies at 63 By Rod Ohira
- ^ Los Angeles Assistant Directors Training Program Comprehensive List of ADTP Graduates
- ^ Serienjunkies.de Kalai Strode
- ^ Second Edition Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s–1970s: A Biographical Dictionary By Gene Scott Freese Page 272
- ^ Film In America Winterhawk Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Film & Schauspieler database Winterhawk (1975) Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928–1982 By Michael R. Pitts Page 353 Telefeatures, Fantasy Island
- ^ Imdb Fantasy Island (TV Series), Pilot (1977), Full Cast & Crew
- ^ New York Times Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Production credits
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Cast
- ^ Hollywood.com Challenge of a Lifetime | Full Cast and Credits
- ^ Turner Classic Movies For Keeps (1988) Full Cast & Crew
- ^ Turner Classic Movies Kalai Strode
- ^ New York Times Class Act (1991) Production Credits[dead link]
- ^ New York Times Class Act (1991), Acting Credits[dead link]
- ^ TV Gems Diagnosis Murder, Crew - Season 2 Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ TV Gems Diagnosis Murder, Crew - Season 3 Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ TV Gems Diagnosis Murder, Crew - Season 4 Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ TV Gems Diagnosis Murder Crew - Season 4 Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ TV Gems Diagnosis Murder Crew - Season 5 Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ University of North Dakota Lifelong Director Captivates Lifelong Learners
- ^ Osobnosti.cz Kalai Strode, Filmografie
- ^ Osobnosti.cz Deadly Honeymoon
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes Hawaii Five-0 > Season 2 > Episode 2, Ua Lawe Wale, Episode Info, Cast
- ^ Booking Hawaii Five-O: An Episode Guide and Critical History of the 1968-1980 By Karen Rhodes Page 65 The Joker's Wild, Man, Wild (#36)
- ^ Booking Hawaii Five-O: An Episode Guide and Critical History of the 1968-1980 By Karen Rhodes Page 199 To Die in Paradise (#209)
- ^ University of North Dakota Lifelong Director Captivates Lifelong Learners
- ^ Hawaii alaoha Travel New television show to shoot in Hawaii
- ^ University of North Dakota Lifelong Director Captivates Lifelong Learners
- ^ Honolulu Star Advertiser January 15th, 2015 Kalai Woody Strode
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 24, Part 5, Number 2, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations July–December 1970 Page 1726
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 24, Part 5, Number 2, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations July–December 1970 Page 1760
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 24, Part 5, Number 2, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations July–December 1970 Page 2180
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 20
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 465
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 496
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 542
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 796
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series Volume 25, Part 5, Number 1, Section 1 – Music – Current and Renewal Registrations January–June 1971 Page 823
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries 1974 Music Jan–June 3D Ser Vol 28 Pt 5 Sec 2 (Volume Catalog of Copyright Entries 3D Ser Vol 28 Pt 5 Sec 2) (page 225 of 362)
- ^ The Honolulu Advertiser Friday, April 23, 2010 Islands' 'Mr. Smith' wants to go to D.C By Lee Cataluña
- ^ CQ Roll Call Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), Election History, 2010 special
- ^ AJC September 10, 2014 4. FORGOTTEN FOUR: Archived March 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Zimbio EPIX & UCLA Present 'Forgotten Four: The Integration Of Pro Football' (Kalai Strode)
- ^ University of North Dakota Lifelong Director Captivates Lifelong Learners
- ^ In The Know Vol 2, No. 2 – July 2014 Page 1, Life long Director Captivates Lifelong Learners
- ^ Honolulu Star Advertiser January 15th, 2015 Honolulu Star-Advertiser Obituaries KALAI WOODY STRODE
- ^ FundRazr Kalai (Woody) Strode Memorial Fund by Gretchen Atwood
External links
[edit]- Actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles
- American male film actors
- Writers from California
- American people of African descent
- American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent
- American people who self-identify as being of Muscogee descent
- American people of Native Hawaiian descent
- 1946 births
- 2014 deaths
- Film directors from Los Angeles
- Deaths from lymphoma in Texas
- Deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma