‘Hawaii Five-O’ actor James Hong named grand marshal of Burbank on Parade
Burbank on Parade has chosen a grand marshal who knows a thing or two about this year’s “Aloha” theme.
Parade officials announced that veteran actor James Hong, who played eight different roles in the original “Hawaii Five-O” TV series, will have the honor of being the ceremonial officiant of the 36th annual celebration of the city.
Hong is famous for his numerous TV and movie roles, which include Mr. Ping in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, the Chinese restaurant host on “Seinfeld” and his role in “Wayne’s World 2.” He was recently seen on Comedy Central’s show “Drunk History,” in which he played the father of former Sen. Daniel Inouye on an episode about Hawaii.
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The 65-year entertainment veteran said he remembers the catering they had on the set of “Hawaii Five-O” and added that he was slightly disappointed to hear that the luau at Burbank on Parade won’t have any roasted pigs.
“They had a 30-foot counter of American food and another counter equally long with just Hawaiian food,” Hong said. “They really wanted to feed people during lunch. That was really enjoyable.”
Though a lot of his recent work involves him going down to DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, Hong said he continues to frequent Burbank, to either visit his daughter or to go the restaurants he used to frequent when he had acting jobs on the Warner Bros. lot, which, during his early career, was called Columbia Ranch.
Hong recently announced that he is working on a new project, a movie he will be directing and acting in called “Patsy Lee: Private Eye,” an action film about a grandfather helping his granddaughter solve a crime.
“I hope people do come out to the parade and see me and have a good time,” he said.
The parade takes place, Saturday, April 29, starting at 11 a.m., along Olive Avenue from Keystone Street to Lomita Avenue. The luau and street festival kick off at 12:30 p.m.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
