McVay was born September 16, 1927, in Washington, D.C.. His father was Navy Captain
Charles Butler McVay III. His mother was American heiress Kinau Wilder III (1902–1992), great-granddaughter of settler missionary physician and politician
Gerrit Parmele Judd, and granddaughter of shipping magnate
Samuel Gardner Wilder. One of his many cousins on his mother's side was
George R. Carter (1866–1933), the
Territorial Governor of Hawaii. It was possibly the clearing of his father's name that gave McVay the most personal satisfaction.
Robin Luke High school student Robin Luke was appearing in a 1958
Punahou School music program when McVay saw the potential of this fresh-faced teenager. McVay hooked Luke up with Bob Bertram of the Hawaii-based Bertram International Studio where they recorded ''
Susie Darlin''' about Luke's kid sister. McVay went on to promote the song with local
deejays and TV stations, helping to make the song a national hit.
Duke Kahanamoku and Don Ho McVay was a friend and manager to
Duke Kahanamoku. The
Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship was developed by Kimo McVay in 1965, in part to help publicize the newly opened Duke Kahanamoku's nightclub McVay operated in the International Market Place in Waikiki. In the early 1960s, Kimo accompanied Duke Kahanamoku to see the up-and-coming
Don Ho at Honey's in
Kaneohe. It was a magic moment that brought Don to Duke's Waikiki nightclub as a springboard to international fame for Ho and his band The Aliis. With Don on stage hoisting a mai tai glass and encouraging the crowd to "Suck 'em up, everybody!", the promotional "Suck 'em Up"-themed mai tai glasses became souvenirs among Don Ho fandom. It was McVay who in 1967 talked Don Ho into recording the song
Tiny Bubbles, written by Leon Pober, Ho's signature tune.
John Rowles McVay lined up Maori artist
John Rowles as Duke's in-residence act to follow Ho's tenure at the nightclub. Rowles had already made his United States debut the same year at the
Flamingo Las Vegas, following Ho's booking at that venue. When Rowles was the in-residence act at Duke's, McVay placed copies of Rowles' hit single
Cheryl Moana Marie into invitations for the opening of Al Lopaka as a fill in act for Rowles. Under McVay's management, Rowles would become the headliner at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's Monarch Room.
Na Hoku Hanohano Award The
Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts awarded McVay the 1999
Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award for his substantial contributions to the entertainment industry in Hawaii. ==Personal life and death==