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Taylor Wily, the sumo wrestler-turned-Hawaii 5-0 actor, died Thursday, June 20, in response to native Hawaii TV outlet KITV. He was 56.
Though specifics relating to the dying – the place, and a trigger – weren’t instantly recognized, his passing was confirmed by Peter M. Lenkov, government producer of the Hawaii 5-0 2010-2020 reboot.
Initially posting an Instagram message saying merely, “I’m devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll publish some detailed emotions later. Simply too onerous proper now,” Lenkov adopted up with a lengthier publish, addressing Wily instantly:
“T, as I informed you a lot instances, I fell in love with you on the first audition. You got here in with a towel in your head mopping up sweat, and I used to be smitten. You charmed me into making you a daily… on the present… and in my life. You had been household. And I’ll miss you day by day, brother.
“PS: once we spoke final week, we laughed at how proper you had been from Day 1. 5-0 was our dream job. And I used to be so fortunate we received to share that magic collectively.”
Born Teila Tuli on June 14, 1968, Wily was from from Laie, Hawaii and was of American Samoan descent. Previous to changing into an actor, he was a profitable and well-liked sumo wrester and blended martial artist. After leaving sumo, Wily started competing in Final Combating Champships, competing as Teila Tuli in his first UFC bout in November 1993.
His first notable performing function in a significant movie got here within the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008 wherein he performed a lodge employee who befriends Jason Segel’s foremost character Peter Bretter. Two years later, he was forged in a recurring function on Hawaii 5-0 as informant Kamekona, a personality he would play for the following ten years on the present.
He performed the identical character in seven episodes of Magnum P.I. from 2018 to 2020.
Wily is survived by spouse Halona and their two kids.