Peaches Jackson(1913-2002)
- Actress
Although her younger sister Mary Ann is more famous, having been a
popular early member of the
Our Gang (1922) comedy shorts, that might not have been true in
Hawaii. In the mid-1930s, Peaches met and married Hawaiian-born
"Tony Guerrero." It is unclear whether Peaches went to Honolulu as a
showgirl with a revue and there met local "beach boy" Guerrero, or if
he moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1930s and met her there. However
they met, they married and settled down in Los Angeles and opened a
restaurant called "The Hawaiian Hut." It became very successful, but by
the end of the decade, her life changed in a big way. She had left show
business after her marriage to work in the restaurant, and although even
Tony had managed a few bit parts in films in his spare time, most notably
in an uncredited minor role in the
Spencer Tracy film
Northwest Passage (1940),
by the time that movie was released, the pair moved to Honolulu and
opened a restaurant there in the heart of Waikiki Beach. They called it
"The Tropics" and it became an Hawaiian institution over the years, very
popular with many Hollywood movie stars. It was eventually renamed The
World Famous Tropics at Waikiki and in 1952, the couple went to Paris
to study at the Cordon Bleu, opening a second restaurant upon their
return to Hawaii, the Tropics Ala Moana. This restaurant was as
successful as the Tropics and the special house dressing became so much
in demand that it was eventually bottled and to this day, Tropics Salad
Dressings are popular on the West Coast and of course, in Hawaii, where
they are made. They are also available online. Tony died in 1985 and
Peaches in 2002, having lived a long and happy life together outside of
show business.
