‘Hawaii Five-0’ actor Taylor Wily dead at 56
“Hawaii Five-0” star Taylor Wily has died. He was 56.
Wily’s death was confirmed by KITV 4 Island News in Hawaii. Musician Lina Girl Langi, who had been close friends of Wily and his loved ones, announced the news on her lifestyle show, “Island Life Live.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of a Hawaii celebrity who was also a family friend,” Langi shared on the broadcast on Thursday. “Taylor Wily, former wrestler, MMA fighter and actor passed away today in Hurricane, Utah.”
She added: “He would look physically menacing until you just folded right into a hug, and that was it. My heart is breaking.”
Her co-host, Davey D, described Wily as one of the “kindest” and “gentlest souls.”
His cause of death has not been revealed.
Wily — whose real name was Teila Tuli — played Kamekona on the CBS drama for 171 episodes for 10 seasons between 2010 and 2020. He reprised his role for seven episodes in “Magnum P.I.”
“Hawaii Five-0” and “Magnum P.I.” executive producer Peter Lenkov shared a photo of himself on Instagram alongside Wily with the caption, “I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feeling in a few days. Just too hard right now.”
In a second post, he wrote that he “fell in love” with Wily after his 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,” he penned.
“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.”
The actor’s sister Alyssa shared a video of her and their family paying tribute to him at a gathering on Thursday, per the Sun.
“Mourning and celebrating our favorite brother and uncle the way he would want us to,” she captioned a clip via Facebook. “Family, Food, Music and Good Vibes. Aurrrrrrighhhhh (in his voice).”
The late star’s nephews and nieces also sang Bob Marley’s 1980 song “Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry About A Thing).”
“Singing for their uncle tee,” Alyssa wrote.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1968, Wily also appeared in the 2008 romantic comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” which starred Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Paul Rudd. Other credits included “Radical,” “MacGyver,” “North Shore” and “Marker.”
Off-screen, Wily was a sumo wrestler under the name “Takamishu.”
According to TV Insider, he won his first 14 matches before becoming the first foreign-born wrestler to win the championship in the third-highest makushita division. In 2000, he lost to fighter Gerard Gordeau in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He is survived by his wife, Halona, and their two children.
The Post has reached out to Wily’s rep for comment.
