Current:Home > reviewsTaylor Wily, 'Hawaii Five-0' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' actor, dies at 56 -Aspire Capital Guides
Taylor Wily, 'Hawaii Five-0' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' actor, dies at 56
View
Date:2025-04-15 13:47:26
Taylor Wily, a former sumo wrestler and UFC fighter who went on to portray entrepreneur and informant Kamekona for 10 seasons on the CBS revival of "Hawaii Five-0," has died.
He was 56.
His manager, Michael Henderson, confirmed to USA TODAY on Friday that Wily died Thursday, citing "natural causes."
Honolulu's KITV4 Island News was first to report on Wily's passing.
“Hawaii Five-0” showrunner Peter M. Lenkov paid tribute to Wily — born Teila Tuli — in an Instagram post Thursday.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now," he captioned a photo of the two of them.
In a follow-up post featuring photos of the actor from throughout the years, Lenkov wrote, "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."
He added, "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."
In his Instagram Stories, Lenkov revealed he "never got tired of watching (Wily), and he was an incredible actor."
Wily also made several crossover appearances as Kamekona on Seasons 1 and 2 of "Magnum P.I." per IMDB.
Wily's Kamekona — the task force's confidential informant and an entrepreneur who ran Waiola Shave Ice, Kamekona's Shrimp Truck and Kamekona's Helicopter Tours — made his debut in the "Hawaii Five-O" premiere in 2010. He remained in the role until the CBS series came to an end in 2020.
Wily was also featured in the 2008 rom-com "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and played hotel worker Kemo, who becomes a confidant to Peter Bretter, played by Jason Segel.
veryGood! (65)
Related
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Tina Turner's Son Ike Jr. Arrested on Charges of Crack Cocaine Possession
- Shopify deleted 322,000 hours of meetings. Should the rest of us be jealous?
- 'New York Times' stories on trans youth slammed by writers — including some of its own
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Amazon will send workers back to the office under a hybrid work model
- Cheers Your Cosmos to the Most Fabulous Sex and the City Gift Guide
- Biden Could Reduce the Nation’s Production of Oil and Gas, but Probably Not as Much as Many Hope
- Sam Taylor
- 5 dead, baby and sister still missing after Pennsylvania flash flooding
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Inflation eased again in January – but there's a cautionary sign
- Kendall Jenner Shares Plans to Raise Future Kids Outside of Los Angeles
- An activist group is spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Expansion of I-45 in Downtown Houston Is on Hold, for Now, in a Traffic-Choked, Divided Region
- Extreme Heat Risks May Be Widely Underestimated and Sometimes Left Out of Major Climate Reports
- Inside Clean Energy: Google Ups the Ante With a 24/7 Carbon-Free Pledge. What Does That Mean?
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Reimagining Coastal Cities as Sponges to Help Protect Them From the Ravages of Climate Change
The 'wackadoodle' foundation of Fox News' election-fraud claims
Gabby Douglas, 3-time Olympic gold medalist, announces gymnastics comeback: Let's do this
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
Driven by Industry, More States Are Passing Tough Laws Aimed at Pipeline Protesters
Compare the election-fraud claims Fox News aired with what its stars knew
Senators are calling on the Justice Department to look into Ticketmaster's practices