PEARL HARBOR CHILD

Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson was born in Hawaii to a Hawaiian mother and Caucasian father. As civilians, they were living in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, and stayed until forced to give up their home after the end of the war.

Her mother was a hula teacher, so Dorinda made her debut as a hula dancer at the age of three.

She graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu, then attended the University of Hawaii, where she was spotted by a local TV producer and invited to be the hula dancer on a weekly show, “Campus Canteen.”