Hotel Street Harry & the Honolulu Harlot

[@marvinacklin792]

Absolutely superb history. Thank you.

[@johnnyjones2255]

Worked in a bar on Hotel St. 1969. Still have glass in my head.

[@davidcannon7143]

Did you have any contact with the Hawaiian Armed Services Police (HASP). I was stationed with them in the early 70's and patrolled Hotel St driving a paddy wagon and later assigned as an Investigator. That was some outstanding duty.

[@rongendron8705]

On Dec. 7th, 1941, my then 37 year old great uncle, Navy Chief Ed Gaudet & then 20 year old uncle, Army Pvt. Ken Cooke, were both present at the attack on Pearl Harbor! Both survived & lived a long life, with Ed becoming an officer with 30 yrs. service! When I first visited Hawaii in 1979, I met Richard Fisk (shown in film) at Pearl Harbor & he remembered my great uncle! Neither relative mentioned this 'seedier' side of Honolulu, but the film covered the topic in depth well & in color!

[@harveyh3696]

I recall seeing this presentation years ago. Nice to see it again.

[@hebneh]

The man who produced this program put together a book of all the "Hotel Street Harry" newspaper columns he could find.

[@eugenegauggel1000]

Our family went to Wo Fat's when I was growing up in Honolulu from 1954 for 14 years. I loved to walk around Chinatown which included Hotel Street. They had gift shops with many Chinese artifacts and herbs and whatever is Chinese is available.

[@howellwong11]

The movie theatre that I went to the most, when I was a kid. Kalihi Theatre was my local movie house, but it took some time for the new movies to get to it.

[@JGLeber]

Prostitution was huge money making Operation as document shows. A unfortunate thing. Nothing new in human history.

[@JGLeber]

Cops paid off in US in the business.Read about Phenix City Alabama.Murder capital of US. Complete political corruption until years after the war when Alabama militia cleaned it up.

[@blunewhouse7528]

C. B. Smith probably served with my Father. Station there, in submarine service also. We were station there when I was a kid in the early 60's. I can remember Mom taken my brother and me looking for Dad 🤣 in some of those places. We'd be "out just going for a walk" and find Dad on the street. Drunk with his buddies. I danced hula taught by Mrs. Anderson at Waikiki beach 😊

[@howellwong11]

I was just an elementary school kid living next to the railroad tracks in Kalihi during these times. I had a coworker at Lockheed Burbank in the late Fifties who told me about the bull pen, when he was in Hawaii during the war. He remembered the long line.

[@MargaretCampbell583]

I’m sure he did and did he like the bull pen?

[@reddevilparatrooper]

Wo Fat's Chinese Restaurant is an awesome place for Chinese food. My family would go there once or twice a month when I was growing up in Honolulu.

[@wilburbonzo]

The Revolt of Mamie Stover was made into a movie in 1956 starring Jane Russell

[@LadyGTarot]

I remember going many times to hotel street checking out all the jade shops. At night it's where the Mahu's ply their trade as least that is how it was many years ago when I lived there.

[@howellwong11]

Some mahu's go to bars during the days too. As a kid, I rode the bus passed the beer joints all along Hotel Street many times. The mahu's stucked in my mind. They were all Hawaiian native looking, meaning no Oriental or haole looking.

[@hebneh]

This program was one of a three-part series called "Sex In World War II" that was shown on PBS. Fortunately, when it was produced in 2001, there were still a number of men who could be interviewed for it who had personal memories of their wartime experiences in Honolulu, and those stories were preserved. Most of this stuff was never written down since it was considered too sleazy at the time and would have been lost otherwise.

[@dougeldredge]

any programs on alongopo/ subic P.I.?

[@rhythmaddict808]

Mahalo for this wonderful video! As teenagers, we always made an adventure of cruising Hotel St. at night hoping to see a 'Mahu', (gay or trans) Most of our families have one;-p I feel so blessed to have grow up here. Be blessed and Aloha from Maui!

[@AdviceDog08]

ewwwww

[@michaelkline884]

Cool story considering I’m one of “those” gay family members! 😂

[@JGLeber]

VD rate skyrockef with the war.

[@bryangoo2514]

There is a book Honolulu madam about this time 😮

[@howellwong11]

Mamie Stover no doubt.

[@Jamestfarrell]

Last time i was on 'Hotel' Street it had a different name. Four letters and it started with an 'S'.

[@johnking6252]

I was there when they called it that, still had an old time feel as opposed to Waikiki. 👍

[@billsherrard8452]

This was BEFORE Hawaii became a state. In 1959 Hawaii became the 50th state.

[@rhythmaddict808]

It was the first time I saw my Hawaiian Father cry, with sadness! He said it would never be the same, that we would lose our culture! We did, very few speak Hawaiian. I guess that's how the locals created, "kill Haole day" in school. The white kids stayed home. Aloha from Maui!

[@marvinacklin792]

Downtown Honolulu is a sad and forlorn version of its former self.

[@TheDharuma]

What year was this document filmed?

[@theAxehound]

Lol, wore the stairs down.

[@peterholmes5205]

No-one has mentioned Hell's Acre just across the river - surely there were girls available there too?

[@MargaretCampbell583]

Is she trying to promote it?

[@tracymcelhenie3988]

$3 bucks seems fair , in today's money would be $4 bucks

[@randystone4903]

My Dad was in the occupation of Japan and hired "house keepers." He had no issues with prostitutes, but when I looked back on his actions he was a misogynist and racist.

[@willfriedseverin4318]

In 1941 3$ was some money! You could buy a Ford for 900$ ....

[@howellwong11]

School lunch at my elementary school was 5 cents and a half pint of milk was also 5 cents.

[@catholiccrusader5328]

The movie 'Here to Eternity' brought this sad fact out.

[@rollowarlin8450]

Too bad Frank Sinatra got an academy award for his acting when Montgomery Cliff should have won. Then again Frank's sagging record sales needed a shot in the arm and now my friends you know how DIRTY Hollywood works.

[@jamesjimmy8716]

not in movie,,u could not mention any of of in a 1953 film. the book was very graphic and forward about it.

[@anthonythomas1504]

Not really. It was Hollywood. It could have been The Hollywood Canteen.

[@anthonythomas1504]

​@@rollowarlin8450You don't even mention Donna Reed whose role as a prostitute won.

[@JGLeber]

Yep.Monygomery Cliff should have beat out Mafia Sinatra in the movie.

[@kwgm8578]

It's telling how mature we were in 1941, but today we're told that women in the sex business are all "victims of human trafficking." Good for O'Hara, or whatever her name was. Thank you for your service. By the way, I realize that all jazz sounds the same to most. Your jazz band sounds good, but the opening theme is not the Swing of the 40's that "our boys overseas" loved and fought for.

[@anthonythomas1504]

Leave it to Hawaii to glorify prostitutes. I remember Hotel Street but we sailors called it (manure) Street. I remember seeing that the infamous Hubba Hubba finally closed. I remember Bill Lederer bar too. They were strictly rip off joints where the girls all drank "champagne." Dirty book stores (glory holes). And the sleazy drag bar The Glades. I understand its all been remodelled now.

[@michaelkline884]

Aren’t you holier than thou! This business was in every port city especially if military bases were in the area Not all women and men in the business were there to “rip you off” There were and are reputable operations in most every city including yours!

[@sandrahunter5904]

What? What were the prostitutes in Hawaii for? I'm GLAD that the 'ladies of the evening' got their ECONOMIC freedom!

[@reddiver7293]

Wow! All the HPD cops were haoles!

[@timdick825]

A lot were still haoles until the 1990s - I love the cop car license plate are HPD ###

[@reddiver7293]

@@timdick825 HPD had plenty locals even back in the late 60s.

[@anthonythomas1504]

​@@timdick825Why would you say "still"?

[@Jamestfarrell]

And the H.A.S.P. were dicks too.

[@howellwong11]

Many were of native Hawaiian blood, but very few Orientals. Orientals were all doctors, dentists or business owners. Not many Chin Ho's in HPD, but a lot of ho's running around nevertheless.

[@ROBERT-hz3nb]

HAWAIIAN. EYE STARING ROBERT CONRAD......

[@borninvincible]

Occupied Hawaii.

[@JohnDoe-lc9yj]

I had a 15 minute, $30.00 love affair with a young woman on Hotel Street in 1977. My friend was driving and I was in the passenger's seat. He pulled over to side of street where the girls were standing and told me to roll down the window. I was 18 and had no prior intentions of pursuing anything, but the young lady came and placed her hand on my though and gently persuaded me how much I might enjoy little female companionship. Being 18 years old, really worked in favor with the persuasion. I got out and she took me to a bar. I paid the bartender $10.00 and we had a small dimly lit room with a bed. After our short romance, I paid her $20.00 and met up with my friends. It was an interesting experience, and I am actually glad it happened, although paying for sex is hardly noble. It was just interesting, in retrospect, to see behind the curtain, if you will. It ended up being my only foray into that sort of lifestyle, as I realized how the experience was simply a business transaction and nothing more.

[@edithrose9987]

I thought this was about the prick formally known as Prince Harry and Duchess Megamouth!

[@MrJonesy2121]

The police chief of Honolulu up to this day. It's still the major vice perpetrator.

[@emusic96785]

Too bad the narrator doesn't know how to correctly pronounce Ho-no-lulu