Al Harrington (actor)

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Alvin Harrington (b. December 12, 1935) was born Tausau Ta'a in Pago Pago, American Samoa. He is best known as his role as "Det. Ben Kokua" on the CBS television series Hawaii Five-O.

Early years

Harrington was raised by his maternal grandmother in the village of Mapusaga in Pago Pago, American Samoa, until he was three. His mother, Lela Suapaia, sent for him to join her while she was working as a nurse in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. She later married Roy Milburn Harrington a native of Iron Mountain, Michigan, who had come to Honolulu as a serviceman with the US Army. The elder Harrington later became a member of the Honolulu Police Department. However, it was not until Al Harrington's sophomore year in high school did he take his step-father's last name.

He excelled at theater and American football at Punahou School, where he was a member of the class of 1954. He participated in several productions at the school. At the same time Harrington was wowing people on the football field. He led his team to the league championships at Honolulu Stadium and was the first high school football All-American to come out of Hawai‘i.

Harrington went on to play for Stanford University, where he aspired to become a drama major. Unfortunately, there was some opposition to minority drama majors there. When he graduated in 1958 with a B.A. in history, the Baltimore Colts were interested in him. However, they did not offer the kind of money American professional football teams now offer, so he returned to Honolulu.

References

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