Why did Zoulou leave the series at the end of the fourth season?
There are two versions in the Honolulu newspapers from the time: 1) Zoulou’s agent/manager was unhappy with his role not giving enough vent to his comedic talents; 2) Zoulou uttered a racial slur against unit publicist Len Weisman, a Jewish man, and when Jack Lord heard about it, he said that such behavior would not be tolerated. #2 is regarded by most as the “correct” reason. An article in the April 1975 issue of Playgirl further explains: “The island arm of the United States Coast Guard, as part of its Christmas festivities, announced its intention of naming Zulu an honorary member of its service. According to a Five-O source, when Lord heard of the impending ceremony he forbade Zulu to participate; he wanted the honor for himself.
The “truth about Zulu getting fired” is as follows. This was passed on to me some time ago from someone who was there. (I have not edited this retalling.) Sometime during the 4th season, the Coast Guard (with whom Zulu had served before becoming an entertainer), came to CBS and said they wanted to honor “one of their own” by having a special dinner and event with Zulu as the honoree. They wanted funds and publicity from CBS to sponsor the event. CBS initially agreed. Zulu was thrilled. Local boy makes good and all that. Plans began to proceed for a gala event honoring former Hawaiian Coast Guard member Gilbert Francis Lani Damian Kauhi. However, when Jack Lord got wind of it, he pitched a hissy. He was the STAR of the show, the ONLY star, it was HIS show, HE was the guy who should be getting honored, nobody but HIM, and on and on. He went to CBS and said if they allowed it to happen, he’d walk right off the set and never look back. He threw a royal temper tantrum. So CBS decided to com
