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Tuesday, 8-apr-08

Fred Letuli ~ Father of the Fire Knife

FATHER of the
FIRE KNIFE
.:Freddie Letuli :.

He was born Uluao Letuli Misilagi -April 30, 1919 at Nu’uuli Village, American Samoa. Known as the Father of the Knife Dance, Uluao “Freddie” Letuli originated the fire knife dance in 1946 at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Prior to that time he danced with two knives in Hawaii and Los Angeles.

During the late 40’s, the 50’s, and the 60’s, Freddie Letuli performed with his many different dance troupes throughout the United States and Europe. Originally, he used only his name: “Freddie Letuli and the Flaming Sword of Samoa” to showcase his talents and his island. “The Samoan Warriors”, “Freddie Letuli and his Wild Polynesians”, “Freddie Letuli and the Samoans”, and “Freddie Letuli and the Hawaiians” were some of the other troupes he formed to fill his contracts and to keep up with the demand for Polynesian shows. The shows were performed regularly in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and wherever else good contracts were offered.
Fred Letuli story
Letuli took his Samoan Warriors to Italy to fulfill one of his contracts and frequently performed in Chicago, Kentucky, and New York. He also taught all the early fire knife dancers. Letuli’s dance troupe was asked to perform in the movies “Pagan Love Song”, “Salome”, and “Sailor Beware”, to name a few . He also danced and played roles in many other movies, as well as television shows. He was a regular on “Adventures in Paradise” and “The Bob Cummings Show” When Letuli returned home to American Samoa at the urging of Governor Rex Lee, he joined the Department of Education and taught numerous school children the art of Polynesian dancing. He took dance troupes to Washington and Australia. After serving as Assistant Director of Tourism, he later served as a Senator in the Legislature of American Samoa, and as an Associate Judge in the High Court of American Samoa. For forty years Letuli held the High Talking Chief title of “Olo” and was bestowed the Paramount Chief title of “Letuli” in 2001, becoming one of only five Paramount Chiefs in American Samoa. ~ MP
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