FILM HOST BECAME POT ADVOCATE

The few channels we had to choose from in the 1960s were lined with
sitcom reruns, hourlong dramatic programs and classic black-and-white
movies. Danny Kaleikini, Zulu, Lippy Espinda, George "Granny Goose"
Groves and many others entertained local viewers by hosting movies on
weekend afternoons and late nights.

One host who stood out was Dave Ford, whose "Hollywood's Greatest
Movies" aired in prime time and was the most popular on local TV in
the '60s, with a 79 rating share on KGMB.

Ford was born in Ross, Calif., and moved around frequently as a child,
attending some 32 schools before finally settling at San Rafael High
School in California. At 15 he created, produced and hosted a teen
radio show, "Junior Jamboree," scoring the first of many celebrity
interviews, Humphrey Bogart.

An excellent orator, Ford spoke at his graduation. He won the Lions
International Public Speaking contest, and in 1947, while studying art
at the College of Marin, he won the Hearst National Public Speaking
contest.

At 21 he became involved in constructing homes in the Bay Area and
later entered the advertising business by creating the first TV
commercials for new and used cars in California.

Seeking a warmer climate, he arrived in Honolulu via the SS Leilani
with his wife, Hazel, in February 1957. "We packed everything into the
convertible we had," he said.

He opened a used car lot, Dave Ford Motors, "Home of Hawaii's Finest
Cars," on 1441 Kapiolani Blvd. (now the Ala Moana Building) and became
one of the first auto dealers to run television commercials. He also
caught the public eyes and ears with loudspeakers blaring music,
candy-striped lights and electric turntables to show off the cars. He
also placed signs on top of the cars, raising the ire of the Outdoor
Circle with one sign bearing the silhouette of a nude hula dancer. The
squabble caught the attention of the local media, which brought in
more business. "The first year, we netted $84,000," he said.

That same year he met one of his childhood idols, Henry J. Kaiser.
They would remain close friends for a decade until Kaiser's death.

"I admired (Kaiser). He was a very nice guy. He was like a rock star,"
Ford said.

IN 1959 Ford volunteered for a University of Hawaii sensory
deprivation project. Ford trained with the Navy to see how long he
could remain underwater. In a deep-sea diver's suit, he remained
underwater for 76 hours and 42 minutes, breaking a world record. He
was able to communicate underwater with one of Kaiser's electronic
devices that gave researchers updates on his condition every 20
minutes, 24 hours a day, until the device failed, leaving him with
only 30 seconds of air when he was pulled out of water. He spent three
days in a hospital.

All his antics caught the attention of the owner of Pacific Builders,
the late Jim Humpert, who hired Ford as his vice president. Ford
created, hosted and produced "Pacific Builders First Run Theater,"
which aired on KONA (now KHON) in 1960 and later moved to KGMB.

Ford knew people watched television to be entertained, and he also
wanted to entertain them during commercial breaks. Ford and Humpert
appeared together in the commercials and humorous skits with plenty of
slapstick and the occasional pie-in-the-face moments.

In 1964 Ford left Pacific Builders and opened an ad agency. He pitched
one of his ideas to new KGMB radio and TV owner Cec Heftel. Heftel
wanted to build a strong audience for the station, and Ford was
quickly back on the air with "Hollywood's Greatest Movies." Ford wrote
and produced the show and commercials and hosted the program. It aired
at 8 p.m. Saturdays and reran Sunday mornings.

He showed black-and-white movies and often interviewed its star at the
end of the program. Celebrities visited Hawaii to appear on his
program, including Milton Berle, Lloyd Bridges, Jonathan Winters, the
Rev. Billy Graham, Wayne Newton, Richard Boone, Bob Cummings, Richard
Widmark, Edgar Bergen, Liberace and Bing Crosby, perhaps his favorite
interview subject.

"Bing was a really nice guy and a wonderful talent," he said. Ford and
Crosby continued to exchange Christmas cards for many years. Ford was
also good friends with many local celebrities including Sterling
Mossman, Kui Lee, Don Ho and Duke Kahanamoku, who gave his last
interview to Ford in 1967.

With ratings still high in 1967, he decided to end "Hollywood's
Greatest Movies" and enter the import business, which would allow him
to travel around the world. Ford moved to the Big Island in 1972 and
opened up a real estate firm. But he was never far from the
entertainment business. He produced and hosted a Sunday afternoon TV
show on the Big Island, "Voice of Hawaii," from 1976 through 1979.

HE MOVED to Sonoma, Calif., to be closer to his elderly parents, in 1987,
and started writing books, starting with "Marijuana: Not Guilty as Charged,"
and his nearly 500-page autobiography, "Good Medicine, Great Sex! How
Marijuana Brought Me Creativity, Passion and Prosperity." The book is not as
graphic and controversial as it seems. It's filled with humorous chapters,
as well as heartbreak such as the loss of his wife, Hazel, the mother of his
two children.

Now retired, Ford is a cancer survivor and an advocate for medical
marijuana.

"As the author of two books on cannabis, I interviewed more than a
dozen professional growers and sellers. With legalization, marijuana
growers will no longer be afraid of a prison sentence for growing and
selling pot. They would then be satisfied to sell medical-quality pot
for about $50 an ounce.

"Today, medical quality sells for $400 an ounce. With $100 going to
pay state and local tax, quality pot would sell for $150 an ounce,
instead of $400! I'm sure we all know someone who is ill with cancer,
AIDS or some other disease or injury that would benefit from cannabis
at a reasonable cost," he said.

Ford has a son, David, who lives on the Big Island, and a daughter,
Sandra, who lives in Honolulu. He returns to Hawaii at least once a
year to visit them. "I miss Hawaii, the warm water, nice weather and
the friendly people. The aloha spirit carries with me," he said.