Former sumo wrestler and actor Taylor Wily, identified for his recurring position as Kamekona Tupuola within the 2010 drama collection “Hawaii Five-O,” has died at age 56.
His loss of life was confirmed Thursday night in a social media publish by “Hawaii Five-O” government producer Peter M. Lenkov, in addition to by native Hawaii information station KITV. Wily’s explanation for loss of life has not been revealed.
“I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now,” Lenkov wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of the 2 collectively. A number of commenters remarked on Wily’s kindness.
In a separate publish, Lenkov shared anecdotes in regards to the first time he met Wily and a current reminiscence of him.
“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,” Lenkov wrote, sharing a collection of photographs of Wily.
“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.”
CBS Photograph Archive by way of Getty Photographs
Actor Michelle Borth, who starred alongside Wily in “Hawaii Five-O,” additionally sang his praises in an Instagram publish.
“My heart aches. Taylor was a gentle soul with a big beautiful heart and infectious smile. I’m grateful for the memories and the time we shared. You’ll be missed, but never forgotten my friend,” she wrote, including the hashtag #ohanaforever (“ohana” is a Hawaiian phrase for “family”).
Jorge Garcia, one other “Hawaii Five-O” star, shared a fond reminiscence of Wily on Instagram.
“Sad to hear of the passing of Taylor Wily. Big guy with an even bigger heart. He brought me joy from the moment I first saw him spoofing me in a local LOST themed commercial. I was always happy to see him. Will miss him greatly,” Garcia wrote.
Born in Honolulu, Wily had a profitable profession in sumo wrestling and blended martial arts earlier than retiring attributable to a knee damage, WDSU reported.
He transitioned to appearing and first appeared within the comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” in 2008. A couple of years later, Wily scored a job as a recurring character in “Hawaii Five-O” and appeared in 171 episodes. He additionally starred within the rebooted collection “MacGyver” and “Magnum P.I.”
Wily is survived by his spouse and two kids, Deadline reported.
A consultant for Wily didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.
