Herman Wedemeyer
| Date of birth | May 20, 1924 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Hilo, Hawaii |
| Date of death | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. |
| Place of death | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| College | St. Mary's College |
| NFL draft | 1947 / Round: 1 / Pick 9 (By the Los Angeles Rams) |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1948 | Los Angeles Dons (AAFC) |
| 1949 | Baltimore Colts (AAFC) |
| Career stats | |
|
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Herman John Wedemeyer (May 20, 1924 – January 25, 1999) was an American actor, football player, and politician.[1] He is best known for portraying 'Sergeant/Detective "Duke" Lukela' on the crime drama Hawaii Five-O (1972–1980). However, he appeared on the first episode of Hawaii Five-O as Lt. Balta of HPD.
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Sports hero
Wedemeyer, attended St. Louis School in Honolulu and was a standout in both football and baseball.[2] Wedemeyer, a halfback, played college football for the St. Mary's College Galloping Gaels in Moraga, CA. In 1945, he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy[3] voting, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Wedemeyer was Hawai'i's first consensus All-American football player. He bore the colorful nicknames 'Squirmin' Herman,' 'The Flyin' Hawaiian,' 'The Hawaiian Centipede,' and 'The Hula-Hipped Hawaiian.'
Wedemeyer was a first-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference[4] in 1948. Despite leading the AAFC in punt return yardage that year, he was waived by the Dons. He was then signed by the AAFC Baltimore Colts,[5] with whom he played in 1949 before retiring from professional sports for good.
Herman was the brother of Charlie Wedemeyer, a former Michigan State football player who gained fame when, as a football coach at Los Gatos High School, he contracted Lou Gehrig's Disease and continued to coach for many years, despite his handicap. He is the subject of a television drama called Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story and the PBS documentary, One More Season.
Government service
In 1968, Wedemeyer was elected to the Honolulu City Council as a Republican.[1] In 1970, he was elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives as a Democrat, winning re-election in 1972.
Hawaii Five-O
Wedemeyer played Edward D. "Duke" Lukela[6] on Hawaii Five-O from 1971 to 1980, appearing in 143 episodes. Lukela was originally a uniformed HPD sergeant, but he later joined the Five-O squad as a detective.
Filmography
- The Hawaiians 1970
- Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980)
- Magnum, P.I. (1981)
- Hawaii Five-O (1997 TV pilot) (1997)
References
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External links
- 1924 births
- 1999 deaths
- All-American college football players
- Male actors from Honolulu, Hawaii
- American football running backs
- Los Angeles Dons players
- Baltimore Colts (1947–50) players
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Male actors from Hawaii
- Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
- 20th-century American male actors
- Sportspeople from Honolulu, Hawaii
