Dexter Hewett not only is a longtime Arcadia resident, but he recently became only the third person to be decreed an honorary citizen of the island Bora Bora in French Polynesia.

His connection began in 1961 when he visited the Polynesian paradise.

“The island was not developed at all,” Hewett said. “Hotel Bora Bora, where I stayed, had 12 rooms and had only been open a month. The place was run by two Americans. The room was $35 a day and that included meals. The whole island only had three trucks and a little dirt road.”

During his visit, Hewett said he fell in love with the island and its native people. He promised himself he would one day have a business there.

Throughout his life, Hewett has been involved in many trades. Between his world travels and the shipping business he started and later sold to UPS, Hewett ended up being one of the first people profiled on the TV show Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

He worked in the marketing department of United Airlines, then left to start a business in Los Angeles ferrying film and videotape across the country for the TV and movie industry. Hewett said he returned to Bora Bora every chance he got.

In 1985, Hewett accomplished the goal he dreamed of years earlier when the opportunity came to buy the iconic Bloody Mary’s restaurant in Bora Bora. Most restaurants in French Polynesia serve French food, but Bloody Mary’s features American-style grilled steaks and fresh local fish. The thatched-roof eatery with its sand floor was already popular with the rich and famous.

For the next two years, Hewett lived on the island running his restaurant and promoting U.S. citizens to visit the tiny island community. A friend from Phoenix convinced Hewett to move to the Valley to help him run another business venture. Hewett said he fell in love with the desert life, and in 1994 bought a house on Camelback Mountain.

Dexter and his wife Cher hired architects from Taliesin West to re-make the house from scratch, using the mountain as the wall for one side of the house, and included a boulder as part of the home’s interior.

The house is decorated in an island theme, with teak wood bathroom sinks and tropical wood kitchen cabinets. The pool with its tiki bar resembles an island lagoon. The house was recently featured on HGTV’s Extreme Living.

The couple split their time between Arizona, Hawaii and Bora Bora. Bloody Mary’s was the recent site for a press junket held for the Vince Vaughn movie Couples Retreat now in theaters, which was filmed around the islands. “All the movie stars from the film were there along with all the press people.”

Hewett said he was pleasantly surprised recently when he was informed that Bora Bora officials wanted to make him an honorary citizen. He and his wife made a quick trip to the island for the Sept. 25 ceremony.

“The local people consider it a great honor,” Hewett said of the island government’s recognition for all he has done for the local economy and the residents of his adopted island home.

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