Documentary on Duke Kahanamoku reveals fascinating life of Olympic champion

The name “Duke” is legendary among Olympic and surfing fans.

Now Duke Kahanamoku is the subject of a documentary called “Waterman — Duke: Ambassador of Aloha” which will air May 10 on PBS as part of the “American Masters” series. The film was released in theaters earlier this year.

Narrated by Jason Momoa, who stars as “Aquaman,” the documentary provides a fascinating look at the Waterman — a swimmer who became known as the father of surfing. Kahanamoku was also an actor, Honolulu sheriff for three decades and once rescued eight men on his surfboard when their boat capsized.

Born into a minor noble family in Hawaii and named after the Duke of Edinburgh, Kahanamoku stunned the swimming world when he chopped nearly five seconds off the existing world record in an ocean race. The documentary features archival footage as well as reenactments. A modern-day waterman, Duane DeSoto, plays “The Duke,” who was also known as “The Big Kahuna.”

DeSoto surfs on a wooden board while wearing early 20th-century surf wear. During the swimming scenes, he told Hawaii News Now, “I had to be conscious of his kick and making sure I kick a lot more, knowing that he basically had a kick that was twice as much as anyone else.”

Kahanamoku competed in swimming at the Olympic Games in 1912, 1920 and 1924 — winning three gold and two silver medals in freestyle events and relays. He also played water polo in 1920 for the sixth-place U.S. team. Kahanamoku was an alternate for the 1928 Olympic swimming team and an alternate for the U.S. water polo team at the 1932 Summer Olympics when he was almost 42-years-old.

Kahanamoku won the silver in the 100-meter freestyle in Paris 1924, while Johnny Weissmuller took the gold and Kahanamoku’s brother, Samuel, captured the bronze.

”This is a great opportunity for us to share the story of Duke Kahanamoku and remind the world that he was not just a lost Hawaiian but a lost American, and he stood for a lot more than just athleticism,” associate producer Billy Pratt told Hawaii News Now.

”He is just as important as Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson and Jim Thorpe and Muhammad Ali,” added director Isaac Halasima. “He’s one of those people that seemed to change the world when he came on the stage.”

Like those other athletes, Kahanamoku also battled racism in his lifetime. For example, when it was time to cast the role of “Tarzan,” Weissmuller got the nod.

Kahanamoku, who died in 1968 at age 77, traveled the world to teach people his kicking technique and also to demonstrate surfing. Although foreign missionaries had almost erased surfing from the Hawaiian Islands by the end of the 19th century, Kahanamoku was a natural at riding the waves.

He brought the sport to Australia and New Zealand, popularizing surfing Down Under. The documentary was supposed to premiere at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where surfing made its debut at the Games, but the pandemic forced a delay in those plans.

One of the reenactments shows Kahanamoku saving the lives of eight men in 1925 when a giant swell hit the 40-foot yacht “Thelma.”

The film also shows the moment when three of the survivors surprised him on the 1950s television show “This is Your Life.”

Interviews with surfers Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater, Carissa Moore (the 2020 Olympic gold medalist), Fred Hemmings, Kelia Moniz and Kai Lenny are interspersed with historic footage.

When Hawaii became a state in 1959, Kahamamoku was named the “Ambassador of Aloha,” and played a key role in the tourism industry. He was also an accomplished ukulele player.

DeSoto told Hawaii News Now that he performed each scene as if Kahanamoku was watching him. In a scene in Makaha, he could feel The Duke’s spirit.

”The moment I stepped off from that board, I got chicken skin,” DeSoto said, and I really felt like, ‘Okay, someone was with me right now.’”