Tony Guerrero

Tony Guerrero had very minor success in the movie business but, along with his wife Peaches Jackson, went on to became an historic presence in the tourism boom in his native Hawaii during the twentieth century. Along with her somewhat more famous younger sister Mary Ann Jackson, who was popular early member of the Our Gang (1922) comedy shorts, Peaches was a child actress in early Hollywood. It is unclear as to whether Peaches went to Honolulu in the mid-1930's as a showgirl with a revue and there met local "beach boy" Guerrero, or if Guerrero moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1930's and met Peaches there. Regardless, the two were married and living in Los Angeles at that time and opened a restaurant called the Hawaiian Hut. It became very successful but by the end of the decade, Peaches had left show business to work in the restaurant. Although even Tony had managed to land 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.