Taylor Wily, a “Hawaii Five-0” star, has died at the age of 56

Taylor Wily, a Hawaiian-born former sumo wrestler best known for his acting appearances in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hawaii Five-0, and Magnum, P.I., died at the age of 56.

A family acquaintance originally announced his death on Hawaii’s KITV; she did not specify the cause of death. Hawaii Five-0 producer Peter M. Lenkov also confirmed the news on social media, posting a selfie of himself and Wily.

“I’m devastated. “I’m heartbroken,” Lenkov wrote. He later posted a longer tribute:

“T, as I’ve told you several times, I fell in love with you during the first audition. I was smitten when you came in with a towel over your head, cleaning up sweat. You convinced me to make you a regular on the show and in my life. You were a family member. I’ll miss you every day, brother.”

Wily is well known to audiences for her role as informant Kamekona Tupuola on the long-running CBS series. However, before becoming a well-known actor, Wily was a successful sumo wrestler and MMA fighter. Born Teila Tuli on June 14, 1968 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Wily began his sumo career in 1987 as Takamikuni.

Weighing 440 pounds, he was one of the sport’s heaviest wrestlers and one of the few foreign-born competitors to achieve victory in the typically Japanese tournament.

He went unbeaten in his first 14 matches and won two championships in a row, becoming the first foreign-born wrestler to win the makushita division, the sport’s third-highest level. He retired in 1989 owing to knee issues. Wily went on to compete in mixed martial arts, including the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. He lost the fight, but a strike to the face reportedly fractured his opponent’s hand, and he stands out in UFC history as the first person to lose a brawl.

“There was a different feeling when you walked through that octagon,” Wily explained to the New York Post in 2018. “I felt afraid. I’m not gonna lie, I was afraid.”

“Now that I’m older and wiser, I just thank God that I had the chance to take a chance on it,” the speaker said. Because you won’t get the chance to take a chance on something no one else has ever done before very often. Years later, Wily would make a comeback as a Hollywood actor, this time in a less violent and more profitable role. In the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, he made his breakthrough playing the amiable chef Kemo at a resort in Hawaii.

After that, he was cast in the most well-known role in the 2010 revival of Hawaii Five-0 as Kamekona Tupuola, a former criminal turned shave ice stand owner who acts as an informant for the show’s police department.

After making his pilot appearance, Kamekona went on to become a beloved recurrent character and was named a main character in season 8. He makes appearances in 171 of the show’s episodes.

Additionally, Wily portrayed Kamekona in the CBS revivals of MacGyver and Magnum, P.I. Additionally, he appeared in The Amazing Race’s 20th season as a cameo. Alyssa, Wily’s sister, posted a video of the family honouring him on Facebook following his passing. “We are grieving and honouring our beloved brother and uncle in the manner that he would have us do,” she wrote. “Music, food, family, and positive vibes.” Deadline reports that Wily is survived by his spouse Halona and their two kids.