Taylor Wily obit

Taylor Wily Dies: ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Actor Was 56

 

He was not on the list.

Taylor Wily, the sumo wrestler-turned-Hawaii Five-0 actor, died Thursday, June 20, according to local Hawaii TV outlet KITV. He was 56.

Although specifics regarding the death — where, and a cause — were not immediately known, his passing was confirmed by Peter M. Lenkov, executive producer of the 2010-20 Hawaii Five-0 reboot.

Initially posting an Instagram message saying simply, “I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now,” Lenkov followed up with a lengthier post, addressing Wily directly:

“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.”

Born Teila Tuli on June 14, 1968, Wily was from Laie, Hawaii and was of American Samoan descent. Prior to becoming an actor, he was a successful and popular sumo wrester and mixed martial artist. After leaving sumo, Wily began competing in Ultimate Fighting Championships, competing as Teila Tuli in his first UFC bout in November 1993.

His first notable acting role in a major film came in the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008 in which he played a hotel worker who befriends Jason Segel’s main character Peter Bretter. Two years later, he was cast in a recurring role on Hawaii Five-0 as informant Kamekona, a character he would play for the next ten years on the show.

He played the same character in seven episodes of Magnum P.I. from 2018 to 2020.

Wily is survived by wife Halona and their two children.

 

Actor

Here Comes the Sun

Ron

Pre-production

 

Magnum P.I. (2018)

Magnum P.I.

6.3

TV Series

Kamekona

2018–2020

7 episodes

 

Scott Caan, Chi McBride, Meaghan Rath, Ian Anthony Dale, Alex O'Loughlin, and Beulah Koale in Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

Hawaii Five-0

7.4

TV Series

Kamekona

2010–2020

171 episodes

 

Tom Sizemore in Radical (2017)

Radical

5.1

Julius

2017

 

Lucas Till in MacGyver (2016)

MacGyver

5.4

TV Series

Kamekona

2017

1 episode

 

Where I Come From (2014)

Where I Come From

Short

Taylor

2014

 

Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

7.1

Kemo

2008

 

Brooke Burns, Nikki Deloach, and Amanda Righetti in North Shore (2004)

North Shore

6.7

TV Series

Bartender

2004

1 episode

 

One West Waikiki (1994)

One West Waikiki

6.8

TV Series

Joseph Kalama

1996

1 episode

 

Marker (1995)

Marker

6.9

TV Series

Primo Warrior #1

1995

2 episodes

 

Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)

Magnum, P.I.

7.5

TV Series

Guy Outside Pool Hall (uncredited)

1982

1 episode

 

Gut Instinct

Short

The man