From 1959 to 1963, gay men indulged in the weekly treat of watching sexy Robert Conrad on the TV show Hawaiian Eye. The show was ideal for married men because it offered a macho storyline as cover for watching this tropical beef cake. Conrad had reached minor success in the late 1950's and early 1960's as a recording artist, but he found his first loyal base of fans once the actor removed his shirt, displaying a taut, hairy athletic physique. As seen below, he even made the cover of Strength and Health magazine to promote both his body and TV show.
Set against the tropical landscape of Honolulu, this series centered around the cases of Hawaiian two handsome, slick, tough-guy detectives: Thomas Jefferson Lopaka, or Tom for short, and Tracy Steele, a Korean War veteran and former city police detective. Aside from a few location shots, the program was actually filmed in Los Angeles.
Troy Donahue came along in the last season as hotel social director Philip Barton.