Poncie Ponce

Although he started out to be a welder, studied to be a welder, and was urged by his mother to become a welder, Poncie Ponce became a taxi driver—but only on TV. The Hawaiian-born actor, who played the popular Kim on ABC-TV's Hawaiian Eye, received his diploma from Hawaii Vocational School when he was drafted into the Army. It was while he was serving overseas that Poncie began entertaining. He played ukulele, sang and did impersonations in Munich night spots. When he finally returned to the United States, Poncie eventually worked his way up to a top spot in Ben Blue's night club in Santa Monica, California. Eventually, he was signed to a Warner Bros, contract and given the role of the jazz-talking cab driver in the detective series. . . . The actor was married to the former Sherry Luke and they had two children—Debra Lynn, and Paula Ann. According to Poncie, he had only two hobbies. They were: Music—he plays ukulele, sax, trumpet, bongos and "barefoot harmonica." And food—his favorite pastime was whipping up "crazy" Oriental dishes.