By Jason Genegabus

Associated Press photo

Haven’t finished your holiday shopping yet? Loking for something that friends on the mainland will love?

Duane “Dog” Chapman (pictured), Hawaii’s most visible bail bondsman and star of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” on A&E, will be joined by family members during an autograph session on Wednesday.

Chapman, his wife Beth and children Duane Lee and Lyssa will sign items and take pictures from noon to 2 p.m. with any purchase from Da Dog House, located just mauka of Da Kine Bail Bonds on Queen Emma Street.

According to publicist Mona Wood, Leland Chapman may also make an appearance if his schedule allows.

In addition to T-shirts the Chapmans wear on TV, Da Dog House offers a number of new items available in time for holiday shopping. Those on a budget will appreciate the $9.99 clearance bin, and Chapman will also have copies of his best-selling book, “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide,” available for purchase.

Laugh all you want, but the Chapmans are a pretty big deal on the mainland. Business contacts and former residents often ask if I’ve run into the production, and the Star-Bulletin’s video interview with Dog and Beth was a hit when it came out six months ago.

I call it the “Magnum P.I. Effect,” after the iconic show that starred Tom Selleck and used Oahu as its backdrop. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the program, but quickly became one after moving to Los Angeles for college.

Whenever I’d get homesick, I just looked for “Magnum” (and “Hawaii Five-0″ to a lesser extent) on cable to get my Hawaii fix. These days, I think a lot of people on the mainland watch “Dog the Bounty Hunter” for the same reason.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Outside The Club, Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.