Tom Moffatt (Photo redit: Michi Moore Photography); Carlos Santana and Moffatt (Photo Credit: Honolulu Advertiser)
"Another legendary concert promoter, among the last of a breed, has died. Tom Moffatt, who promoted shows in Hawaii, his home base, and throughout Asia, died Monday at the age of 85 after a long illness.
Dan Bradley, who worked with Moffatt for 40 years promoting shows throughout Asia, as many as 300-400 outside the 1,000 Moffatt promoted in Hawaii, summed him up as “fair.”
Moffatt always said, “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it,” Bradley said of concert promotion. “Our job was to make the almost impossible look easy.”
Tom Moffatt Productions was always hampered by the logistics of producing concerts in the Pacific Rim, flying in 30-40 people for a show, but “every show had to be a masterpiece,” Bradley recalled. Moffatt always pointed out the difference between losing money and losing your reputation and took care never to lose the latter.
If anyone asked, ‘how did the show go?,’ Moffatt had one answer: “Phenomenal.”
Moffatt was a true gentleman and everyone liked him, to the extent that big name acts like Elton John and Jimmy Buffett wouldn’t play Hawaii with anyone but Moffatt. Bradley recalled when Moffatt took Buffett to Tahiti many, many years ago and when they landed, they asked the venue manager how many tickets had been sold. He said, “None, but we’ve had some phone calls."
Moffatt and Buffett immediately hit the street handing out flyers and saved the day. That was before Tahiti became a good routing option, especially for reggae.
Moffatt’s first love was radio. He started in the business as a disc jockey and up to three weeks before he died, he had his own radio show.
Longtime associate Barb Saito, operations manager and vice president of Tom Moffatt Productions, has worked with Moffatt for 35 years. She is currently running Tom Moffatt Productions.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Moffatt was born Dec. 30, 1930, in Detroit, moving to Hawaii in 1950, and beginning his career in radio. He was one of the pioneers in Top 40 radio to the extent that he was one of the founders of Watermark Productions, Bradley said. His interest in rock and roll started with requests to hear Elvis Presley. His last radio show was nostalgia.
Moffatt helped open the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu with the first series of “Million Dollar Parties.” Besides promoting all the big name shows that came to Hawaii, he brokered some unexpected reunion shows, Cecilio & Kapono, Kalapana and Hui Ohana.
He became a major figure in the Hawaii record industry in the 1970s and 1980s as the head of two labels — Paradise and Bluewater — that released Hoku Hanohano Award-winning recordings by Keola & Kapono Beamer, Andy Bumatai, Loyal Garner, the Aliis, the Kasuals, Rap Reiplinger, The Krush, Hui Ohana and Ledward Kaapana.
Bradley woke up Tuesday morning thinking about Moffatt, which led him to post a tribute on Facebook. He wrote:
I met Tom Moffatt for the first time in 1977 at the Guam Greyhound Cecilio & Kapono concert. I was a lowly lighting tech and ended up on a scaff tower manning a huge carbon arc Super Trouper spotlight.
Halfway through the show the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. All the sound and lighting gear was short circuiting and shocking the operators resulting in the entire production crew except Noah, Pat Witt and myself leaving their posts. There was some frenzied communication back and forth to the stage and sound and lights and then Henry & Cecilio stepped to the front of the stage, in the downpour, and restarted the show. I was the total lights and Noah and Pat were hunched down under a tarp at the house board. The crowd of about 8,000 never left and the concert went on in the rain for about another hour.
After the show I was introduced to Tom Moffatt as “the crazy guy” who stayed on the last light tower. I never would have thought, at that moment, that it was the beginning of a 40-year odyssey with a true icon amongst showmen!
I think I gained favor with Tom since I was a rock-n-roll DJ who also quit college to pursue a career (?) in radio. As it turned out four years later I was Tom’s partner in shows outside of Hawaii until this year.
While I visited Honolulu (the Main Office) many times for many of the BIG shows my main interaction with Tom was on the road. While everyone else had the perception of Tom in his Penthouse office, our office was usually in a hotel or airplane. Over the years I travelled with Tom to Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Bali, Australia, Palau, Saipan and, of course, Guam. I can’t even imagine how many hours we sat next to each other on airplanes, checked into hotels, ran the shows and did the settlements.
We did The Bolshoi Ballet (twice), World Wrestling (at that time) Federation (twice, once with Hulk Hogan), Kenny Loggins, Toto, Gloria Estefan, Kenny Rankin, Kalapana, C&K, The Stylistics, The Manhattans (and a host of other R&B groups), the Beach Boys, Tamayo, The Shanghai Circus, Mackey Feary (Nightlife), Henry Kapono (Tropical Heat), The Doobie Bros., Maxi Priest, Reggae Sunsplash, Dennis Alexio, scores of closed circuit prize fights and many more that escape my impaired memory. Every show had a unique set of memories and challenges. On most of the shows I used to fear that we would never get it off (We always did!)
Tom always said we did it for the thrill of the first note played at a show, the moment the crowd all inhale at once as the lights go down. I had to agree it was a very powerful drug.
Bradley said he doubts he will continue promoting without Moffatt. However, Tom Moffatt Productions has shows on the books, including a Shanghai Circus date next month.
Moffatt is survived by his wife, Esther “Sweetie” Kealoha Cablay Moffatt, son Troy Moffatt, his brother Norman Moffatt and sister Alice Moffatt.