Don Wilson's Hollywood Beat: Elvis' Connection To Hawaii Five-O

Elvis loved "Hawaii Five-O" and he was a great admirer of the series star, Jack Lord. This will be evidenced in this series of photos. Elvis is beaming in this shot with Lord and his wife, Marie. Out of Elvis' admiration for Lord and the show, they became friends. Elvis introduced Jack Lord as one of his favorite actors during his live performance of "Aloha From Hawaii:ViaSatellite" on January 14, 1973.

After the performance, they met for the first time and after the performance Elvis presented Jack with a Walther PPK pistol. Elvis said: "I brought you a present Jack. I was trying to think of something to bring you that you don't have. The only thing that I could think of was this." Elvis presented Elvis with a solid gold Walther PPK revolver. Elvis added that he had another just like it: "But, I don't need two guns, so I want you to have this one. Plus six bullets - just in case you ever need them!"

The Lords visited Elvis in Las Vegas weeks later and attended his midnight show at the Las Vegas Hilton on February 10, 1973. After the performance Elvis gave Lord a 1953 Martin guitar and also gave Marie a ring encrusted with diamonds and emeralds. Actor James MacArthur told this writer of Elvis visiting the set during filming of a "Hawaii Five-O" episode. MacArthur portrayed 'Danny Williams' on the series. Lord would many times say at the end of episodes "Book 'em Danno!" to the the actor.

Elvis passed away on August 16, 1977 - Marie Lord's 72nd birthday.