''Aloha Paradise'' is an American comedy series that aired on ABC on Wednesday night from February 25, 1981, to April 22, 1981. The series stars Debbie Reynolds and was created by Tom Greene. ''Aloha Paradise'' was executive produced by Douglas S. Cramer and Aaron Spelling, the same team that produced ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'' to which the series bore a resemblance.

Plot

The series follows the lives of the staff and guests at The Paradise Village resort, located on the coast of

Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...

. Debbie Reynolds portrayed Sydney Chase, Paradise Village's manager. Bill Daily portrayed the resort's assistant manager Curtis Shea. Other staff members included Fran (Pat Klous), the resort's social director, Mokihama as bartender Evelyn Pahinui, and Stephen Shortridge as lifeguard Richard Bean. Each episode tells three or four stories about people either in love, out of love, or looking for love.

Cast

* Debbie Reynolds as Sydney Chase * Bill Daily as Curtis Shea * Pat Klous as Fran Linhart * Mokihama as Evelyn Pahinui *

Stephen Shortridge Stephen Shortridge (born October 23, 1951 in Red Oak, Iowa) is an American actor. Shortridge appeared in more than 20 film and television projects throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most recognizably from his role as a Southern high school student ...

as Richard Bean *

Charles Fleischer Charles Fleischer (born August 27, 1950) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and writer, best known for appearing in films such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', '' The Polar Express'', '' Rango'', '' ...

as Everett

Guest stars

''Aloha Paradise'' featured many weekly guest stars including: *

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

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* Ray Bolger * James Broderick *

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Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ad ...

Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...

Lisa Hartman Lisa Hartman Black is an American actress and singer. Career After some minor television appearances, Hartman starred on the short-lived '' Bewitched'' spin-off, ''Tabitha'' during 1977–78. She subsequently appeared frequently on television i ...

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

* Dean Jones *

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Lett ...

Audrey Landers Audrey Landers (born Audrey Hamburg; July 18, 1956) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Afton Cooper on the television series ''Dallas'' and her role as Val Clarke in the film version of ''A Chorus Line'' (1985). Early ...

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Pat Morita Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on '' Happy Days'', Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'' film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitc ...

* Don Most *

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* Denise Nicholas *

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Episodes

Production notes

''Aloha Paradise'' was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions. The series' two-hour pilot episode was shot on location on the Kona Coast in Hawaii. The remaining episodes were shot on a replica beach at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

in Los Angeles.

Reception and cancellation

''Aloha Paradise'' was largely panned by critics who compared it to the more successful and long-running comedy series ''The Love Boat''. Scheduled on Wednesdays opposite

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's popular sitcoms ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackso ...

'' and '' The Facts of Life'', ratings for the series were low. As a result, ABC decided to cancel the series after eight episodes. Series star Debbie Reynolds later said ''Aloha Paradise'' had "...the worst scripts ever. That's why it failed. They didn't even advertise that I was in it. I totally disliked every script and they didn't like me interfering."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aloha Paradise 1981 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1980s American comedy television series American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Television series by Spelling Television Television shows set in Hawaii