Hawaii Five-O star Lord honoured with statue

Six years after his death, Hawaii Five-O star Jack Lord is being honoured with a bronze bust at one of his favourite walking spots.

The 18kg sculpture, which begins about mid-chest and is supported by a rocklike pedestal, is scheduled to go on display on Saturday during a ceremony at Kahala Mall in East Oahu.

“We decided on Kahala Mall because it was the place where you could always see Jack,” said Doug Mossman, who had recurring roles as Lt George Kealoha and Frank Kamana on the show.

“He’d stroll through the mall in shorts, aloha shirt and straw hat, smiling.”

Lord, whose real name was John Joseph Patrick Ryan, died aged 77 in 1998 at his Kahala home from congestive heart failure.

He was a dominating and often intimidating figure on the Hawaii Five-O set as he portrayed no-nonsense detective Steve McGarrett on the series that ran from 1968 to 1980.

Lord is revered in Hawaii and credited with being the first star to require that local actors be given roles because he thought they were needed to capture the flavour of Hawaii.

His widow, Marie, still lives in the couple’s Kahala residence.