Taylor Wily, the former sumo wrestler who starred in ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ passed away on Thursday, June 20, at 56 years old, as announced by Hawaii’s KITV.
Although details about his death, such as where and the cause, were not immediately known, Peter M. Lenkov, the executive producer of the ‘Hawaii Five-0’ reboot from 2010 to 2020, confirmed his passing. Lenkov first posted on Instagram, saying:
“I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now.”
He shared more thoughts later when he was able to:
“T, as I told you many times, I fell in love with you at the first audition. You came in with a towel on your head mopping up sweat, and I was smitten. You charmed me into making you a regular… on the show… and in my life. You were family. And I will miss you every day, brother. PS: when we spoke last week, we laughed at how right you were from Day 1. ‘Five-0’ was our dream job. And I was so lucky we got to share that magic together.”
Taylor Wily’s Career Journey
Teila Tuli, born on June 14, 1968, was from Laie, Hawaii, and had American Samoan roots. Before becoming an actor, he was well-known as a successful sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. He transitioned to acting after leaving sumo, appearing as Teila Tuli in his first UFC fight in November 1993.
In 2008, he gained attention for his role in the comedy film ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ playing a hotel worker who befriends Jason Segel’s character. Two years later, he started a recurring role on ‘Hawaii Five-0’ as informant Kamekona, which he played for the next decade on the show.
He portrayed the same character in seven episodes of ‘Magnum P.I.’ from 2018 to 2020. Wily is survived by his wife Halona and their two children.
You can see the photo Lenkov shared on IG below.
Photo Credit: Peter M. Lenkov – Instagram
