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Herman Wedemeyer

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Actor

The Resume

    (May 20, 1924-January 25, 1999)
    Born in Hilo, Hawaii
    Best known for his portrayal as Sergeant/Detective 'Duke' Lukela on the TV series 'Hawaii Five-0' (1972-80)
    Played halfback/tailback for the Los Angeles Dons (1948) and the Baltimore Colts (1949) of the All-America Football Conference
    Elected to two terms for the Hawaii House of Representatives as a Democrat (1970 & 1972)
    Died of a heart attack in Honolulu at age 74

Why he might be annoying:

    Some of his sports nicknames were nicknames 'Squirmin' Herman,' 'The Flyin' Hawaiian,' 'The Hawaiian Centipede,' and 'The Hula-Hipped Hawaiian.'
    Though he had a stellar football career for St. Mary's College, he never made it to the NFL, playing two years for the AAFC before retiring.
    He played the ukulele.
    When he served for the Honolulu City Council he was a Republican, but switched parties for his tenure as a Representative of the House.
    The first three seasons of 'Hawaii Five-0' (1968-71) he played bit characters, not morphing into 'Duke' until 1972.
    His only other non-'Hawaii Five-0' acting duties were an uncredited role in the 1970 movie 'The Hawaiians' and a coroner's part in a 1981 episode of 'Magnum P.I..'
    He shilled for Toyota, Hawaiian Airlines, Dairyman’s Association and the Ilikai Hotel.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He is of Hawaiian, German, Irish, English, Chinese, and French Tahitian ancestry.
    He served as a Merchant Marine for two years (1944-45).
    He finished 4th in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy in 1945, and 5th in 1946.
    He was a first round draft choice in the 1947 NFL draft.
    He excelled in many sports, including baseball, swimming, diving, surfing, golf, skiing and boxing.
    He appeared in 152 episodes of 'Hawaii Five-0,' and helped ease tensions on the set due to star Jack Lord's perfectionism by cracking jokes, keeping James 'Danno' MacArthur in stitches.
    He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979, and elected to the inaugural Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
    His brother Charlie, who died in 2010 at age 64, contracted ALS in 1978 while employed as a high school football coach, and his courage facing the disease was the inspiration for the 1988 made-for-TV movie 'Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story.'

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 9 Votes: 11.11% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 11 Votes: 27.27% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 27 Votes: 25.93% Annoying