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Andy Bumatai

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Andy Bumatai
Born
Andrew Jackson Bumatai

(1953-12-24) December 24, 1953 (age 70)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • stand-up comedian
  • television host
  • producer
RelativesRay Bumatai (older brother)
Websitewww.andybumatai.com

Andrew Jackson Bumatai (born December 24, 1953) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host and producer from Hawaii. He is of Native Hawaiian, Filipino, French and German ancestry.[1]

Early life

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Bumatai was born in Germany to a German mother and an American military father. He lived in San Francisco for much of his childhood and moved to Kalihi at the age of 13. After a year in Kalihi, he and family then moved to Waianae.[2] His brother was actor Ray Bumatai, who died on October 2, 2005.[3]

Bumatai would drop out of Waianae High School in 11th grade and work different jobs, eventually leading to an early career as a salesman in his early 20s. He would then decide to venture into stand-up comedy as a result of few being in Hawaii.[2] Though initially struggled finding work as venues generally preferred musical entertainers over comedic ones, he eventually was hired and started opening for comedian Frank De Lima. Bumatai would then replace the late Rap Reiplinger in Booga Booga and continue to perform stand-up comedy.

Career

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Bumatai recorded a number of comedy albums. His first won a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards award for "Most Promising Artist" and he went on to win three more for "Best Comedy Performance." He has also created a number of TV specials for Hawaii's KGMB-TV, notably High School Daze and All in the Ohana.[4] He and his brother, Ray Bumatai also created BumaVision for Hawaii's OC16 network. Outside of Hawaii, he has been featured on the TV series Raven, and has had roles on shows like North Shore and Baywatch. Bumatai also co-starred in a 1997 pilot for an unaired Hawaii Five-O series.[5]

Bumatai was executive producer of Nighttime Productions, and produces and starred in his own Hawaii-based online talk show, The Andy Bumatai Show. He was also the host of Toolin' Around, a series on motorbikes, and The Daily Pidgin, a show that talks about the Hawaiian Pidgin language and local Hawaii customs.[6] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bumatai streamed regularly, in different time slots, on YouTube, Twitch and several other platforms. Currently, he streams with co-host James Mane and editorializes news from Hawaii featuring music videos.

Works credited, stage appearances, and filmography

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Years Active Title Role Notes
1980 School Daze Comedy Special
1981 All in the Ohana Comedy Special
1990–1995 Opened for Tom Jones, Kenny Loggins, Natalie Cole, Lionel Richie, Paul Anka,

Kool & the Gang, Charlie Daniels

Stand-up comedy / Opener [7]
1990–1995 Punchline (San Francisco, CA), Comedy & Magic Club (Hermosa Beach, CA),

Rooster T. Feathers (Sunnyvale, CA),The Ice House (Pasadena, CA),

The Comedy Store, Main Room (La Jolla, CA), Various others

Headliner
1992–1993 Raven, Season 12
1993 Whoopi Goldberg's Comedy Tonight
1994 Rosie O'Donnell's Comedy Show
1994–1995 Marker, Season 13
1995 Pat Morita's Triple Crown of Comedy (Showtime Special)
2006–2008 NightTime with Andy Bumatai Host
2012–2014 In the Car Host
2014–2016 Toolin' Around Host Hawai'i TV
2015–present Toolin' Around Producer, Host YouTube
2016–present The Daily Pidgin Producer, Host YouTube
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References

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  1. ^ "Andy Bumatai". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  2. ^ a b "Celebrating Andy Bumatai, Hawaii's first stand-up comic". KHON2. 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  3. ^ "News". StarBulletin.com. October 7, 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Local comedian Andy Bumatai is back on the stage after pandemic hiatus". Hawai'i Public Radio. 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  5. ^ Ryan, Tim (April 3, 1997). "Familiar faces of 'Five-O' strengthen Hawaii roots". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  6. ^ May 25, Jeanne Cooper on; PM, 2019 at 3:38 (2019-05-25). "Hawaii's iconic comedian Andy Bumatai to go "Toolin' Around" after S.F. gala". Hawaii Insider. Retrieved 2021-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "About". andybumatai. Retrieved 2020-01-02.