Hawaii Five-0′s Taylor Wily Dead at 56

Taylor Wily, best known for his portrayal of Kamekona Tupuola on CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, died Thursday at the age of 56.

News of Wily’s passing was confirmed “with a heavy heart” by Hawaii’s KITV 4 Island News, which reported that he was in Hurricane, Utah at the time of his passing. The anchors remembered him as “one of the kindest, gentlest souls” they’d ever come across. A cause of death is not yet known.

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In addition to playing Kamekona Tupuola on Hawaii Five-0, where he recurred for seven seasons (2010–2017) before being promoted to series regular for the final three (2017–2020), Wily also brought the beloved character to CBS’ MacGyver and Magnum P.I.

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Peter Lenkov, who worked with Wily as an executive producer on Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and MacGyver, posted a photo of himself with the actor to Instagram, sharing a brief message: “I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now.”

Lenkov later posted an extended, and extremely touching, tribute: “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.”

That tribute was accompanied by this video montage of just a few of the memories Lenkov and Wily shared over the years:

Prior to the roles that made him a TV fan favorite, Wily built a career in his home state as an accomplished sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. Following multiple championship wins, Wily was forced to retire from the sport in 1989 due to a knee injury.

How will you remember Wily? Drop a comment with your favorite memories of the actor below.

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