Lei, as she is affectionately called was born January 8, 1927, to Ida Haleala Pope Desha and John Mathias Becker with older brothers John and George.
Lei was brought up in an atmosphere of music and trained in hula by her mother’s elder sister, Hawaii composer, Helen Desha Beamer and Louise Walker Beamer. Lei and her brother George performed at pageants with the Beamer-Desha troupe. As a child, she danced at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Moana Hotel, the Kodak Hula show and Lau Yee Chai’s. At 9 years old she was chosen to dance for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visit to Hawaii in 1936.
Lei formed lifelong friends while attending St. Augustine School, St. Andrew's Priory, Kamehameha School and Roosevelt High School. It was during those formative years that she became an avid reader and developed into what would become a lifelong interest in art.
Lei was gifted not only with beauty and grace as a dancer but also an outstanding vocal talent. At age 16 while still in high school & singing with her high school band she went to work as the female vocalist with the Don McDiarmid Orchestra at Kewalo Inn. Incidentally, the orchestra’s string bass player and male vocalist was Alfred Apaka.
Lei attended Stanford University and University of California at Berkley where she majored in fine Arts, developing her love for painting and poetry, while working various venues that charged her professional career. Her singing and dancing career landed her a spot as a jazz vocalist in San Francisco with the Joe
Reichman Orchestra. Lei Toured as a singer and dancer with the Hal Aloma Orchestra.
In the early 1950's she performed and became a valuable member of the famous Hawaiian room at the Hotel Lexington in New York. She appeared on many Live Television broadcasts like the Arthur Godfrey Show, the Sid Caesar show and more. On a set with Sid Caesar, she popped out of a pineapple singing, "libbys libbys libbys”. Her image on a surfboard was shown on Libby’s labels and postcards.
In 1953 she joined the Claude Thornhill orchestra as a featured vocalist. Lei later returned to Hawaii and performed with the Freddie Norton Orchestra at Queens Surf in Waikiki. She appeared on local tv and radio shows in Honolulu with J. Akuhead Pupule, Lucky Luck and Kini Popo shows. She performed for the March of Dimes at Tripler Army Hospital with Louis Armstrong. At the Honolulu Community Theatre, Lei played the lead role as “Babe” in the musical "Pajama Game" directed by Maestro Donald Yap.
In 1965 Lei returned to the stage performing with Nalani Kele's Polynesian Revue at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, alongside her cousins Mahiai and Helen Sunbeam Beamer.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Lei was a devoted wife to Honolulu artist Alfred T. Furtado and a loving mother to her son, Jeffrey Joal Nalani'eha Annon. Lei continued her passion with hawaiian culture and fine arts. In July 2000 Lei became a part of the Hula Preservation Society with her cousin Nona Beamer and Maile Loo Beamer. In April 2013 she received the prestigious Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lei's career encompassed all facets of the entertainment industry from the stage, radio and television. Lei was a professional singer, dancer, actress, model, emcee, comedienne, teacher, composer, director, choreographer, an artist, a homemaker, a devoted wife and a loving mother. Lei is truly a gem of hawaiian heritage and dearly loved by her family and friends.
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