Ever watch those old reruns of Hawaii Five-O and wonder about the big guy standing next to Jack Lord? That’s Zulu. Or, if you want to be formal about it, Gilbert Francis Lani Damian Kauhi.
He played Kono Kalakaua. Not the Grace Park version from the 2010 reboot, but the original, burly, 1968 detective who looked like he could snap a surfboard in half with his bare hands. For four seasons, he was the muscle and the local soul of the show. Then, suddenly, he was gone.
Most people think he just faded away or got bored. Honestly? The truth is a lot messier. It involves a publicist, some very ugly words, and a legal battle over his own name.
The Beachboy Who Became a Star
Zulu wasn't an "actor" in the Hollywood sense. Not at first. He was a Waikiki Beach Boy. If you aren't from the islands, that basically means he was the king of the sand—teaching tourists to surf, paddling out in outriggers, and living the life most people only see on postcards. He was also a local DJ and a comedian with a massive personality.
When Hawaii Five-O started filming in 1968, the producers needed local flavor. They didn't want a guy from a Burbank acting school pretending to be Hawaiian. They wanted the real deal. They found it in Gilbert.
He took the stage name "Zulu" because of a nickname from his school days. Apparently, his classmates thought his hair looked African, and the name stuck. He didn't mind. It sounded cool. It sounded powerful. For the first few years, it worked. He was part of the "Big Four" alongside Jack Lord (McGarrett), James MacArthur (Danno), and Kam Fong (Chin Ho Kelly).
Why Zulu Really Left Hawaii Five-O
In 1972, Zulu was fired. There’s no soft way to put it.
The official story for years was "creative differences" or that he wanted to focus on his nightclub act. That's the sanitized version. The reality is that there was a massive blowout with the show's publicist. Reports from the time suggest Zulu made some pretty harsh racist remarks during a confrontation.
Jack Lord was a notoriously difficult man to work for. He ran that set like a naval vessel. If you weren't on time, or if you caused "friction" with the production staff, you were out. Zulu was out.
He didn't exactly go quietly, though. He told reporters at the time that he was tired of the "yes boss, no boss" routine. He felt like his character, Kono, was being sidelined. To be fair, he wasn't entirely wrong. While McGarrett got the speeches and Danno got to "book 'em," Kono was often relegated to standing in the background or doing the heavy lifting.
The Battle for the Name "Zulu"
After the show, things got weird. You’d think if your name is Zulu, you own it, right?
Wrong.
He had a falling out with his manager. When they parted ways, he discovered—to his absolute horror—that she had actually registered the name "Zulu" as a trademark. He couldn't use it. He couldn't book a comedy show or release a record using the name that made him famous without her permission.
His solution? He added an 'o'. For the rest of his career, he performed as Zoulou. He claimed it was the "French Tahitian" spelling, but mostly it was just a way to keep working without getting sued.
A Life of Highs and Lows
Life after Five-O wasn't all glitz and Waikiki neon. In 1986, Zoulou was involved in a tragic accident on the Big Island. He struck a bicyclist who was training for the Ironman Triathlon. The cyclist, Ronny Lee Fennell, didn't survive.
Zoulou was convicted of second-degree negligent homicide. He wasn't sent to prison—he got a $500 fine and probation—but the weight of that incident stayed with him.
By the late 90s, his health started failing. He had strokes. He had major kidney issues. He actually did return to the world of Five-O one last time for an unaired 1997 pilot, reprising his role as Kono, but by then he was a different man.
He died in 2004 at the age of 66.
The Legacy of Kono Kalakaua
People still love Zulu. Even with the controversy and the firing, he represented a specific era of Hawaiian history on screen. He wasn't just a background extra; he was a Native Hawaiian holding his own in a massive global hit.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into his work or the history of the show, here is what you should actually do:
- Watch the Season 4 finale: This is the last time you see the original Kono before he was replaced by Al Harrington (playing Ben Kokua). Notice the shift in energy.
- Look for his music: Before he was an actor, he was a singer. His nightclub recordings give you a much better sense of his real personality—funny, soulful, and very "Local Hawaii"—than the scripts ever allowed.
- Visit Waikiki: If you ever go to Oahu, head to the beach. The "Beach Boy" culture he came from is still there. They still scatter ashes of the greats out past the surf break, just like they did for Zulu.
He wasn't perfect. He was a complicated guy who hit the big time and crashed out just as fast. But Hawaii Five-O wouldn't have been the same without that burly detective in the background. He brought the island to the world, even if the world didn't always know the full story.
