14 Reasons Why Don Ho Was Cool

Hawaiian icon Don Ho, who was known around the world for his easy-listening hit "Tiny Bubbles," died on Saturday morning from heart failure at age 76. Rather than dwell on the passing of this man, we here at ChartAttack want to celebrate the highlights of his life. Without further ado, here are 14 reasons why Don Ho was cool:

1. He was a star football player who attended Springfield College in Massachusetts on an athletic scholarship, but missed his beloved island so much that he returned and graduated from the University Of Hawaii in 1953 with a sociology degree.

2. While he never intended to become an entertainer, he took over his parents' struggling bar, Honey's, and made it a hot spot through his performances.

3. His fame grew to the point where he was invited to headline packed venues in Hollywood, Las Vegas and New York City even before he cracked the pop charts.

4. His Tiny Bubbles album spent almost a year in the top 20 of the U.S. sales chart following its 1966 release.

5. Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra were among the big-name fans who would take in his shows when they were in Hawaii.

6. He made memorable guest appearances as himself on the television shows The Brady Bunch, Sanford And Son, Batman, I Dream Of Jeannie, Charlie's Angels, The Fall Guy and Fantasy Island, and hosted a TV variety program called The Don Ho Show from Waikiki Beach in 1976-77.

7. NOFX released a 1995 limited-edition single titled HOFX that featured a photo of the band and Ho on the cover.

8. He fathered 10 children, including pop artist Hoku. Her songs aren't much, but she's pretty cute.

9. He sold shot glasses at his shows featuring a picture of his face and his favourite expression: "Suck 'em up!"

10. Earlier this decade, he considered recording an album of rock covers, including Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."

11. This animated video for his 2002 cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey," complete with cameos from noted Hawaiian TV detectives Steve McGarrett and Thomas Magnum.

12. He had a pacemaker installed in 2005 and went to Thailand later that year to undergo an experimental stem cell procedure on his heart. In your face, George Bush.

13. Despite receiving another pacemaker last September, he married the producer of his live show that same month and kept performing. He played his final show at the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel on Thursday night.

14. You could call him Ho without being fired from your lucrative, nationally syndicated radio show.