Former Variety Honolulu correspondent was 80

Tim Ryan, a former Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter who also covered Hawaii’s film and television industries for Variety, died on June 20 in West Seattle, Washington after a long illness. He was 80.

Ryan was the Star-Bulletin’s senior entertainment writer from 1984 to 2006, reporting on film and television productions in Hawaii as well as local and visiting celebrities.

After leaving the newspaper, Ryan became a film and television correspondent for Hawaii Varietyand also wrote for the Hollywood Reporter magazine, People, Newsweek and Islands, where he was an editor.

For VarietyRyan wrote about the Maui Film Festival, the Hawaii Film Festival and the film shooting boom of shows like “Lost” and “North Shore” in the Aloha State. He also wrote obituaries for Hawaiian music figures such as Don Ho’s mother, Jerry Byrd and Del Courtney, as well as “Hawaii Five-O” actor Kam Fong.

Ryan was born in Hollywood. His father was Timothy Thomas Ryan, whose long entertainment career included acting in “From Here to Eternity,” the 1953 classic film about military life in Hawaii before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Ryan was an avid surfer in Hawaii and later in Washington after moving to the mainland in 2013. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Nancy Wilcox, and daughter Carly, both of West Seattle. They will spread Ryan’s ashes at his favorite surf spots.