Hawaii Five-0 star Taylor Wily dies, aged 56
Actor Taylor Wily, best known for playing Kamekona Tupuola on Hawaii Five-0, has died at the age of 56.
Wily passed away on Thursday, June 20 while in Hurricane, Utah. The sad news of his death was announced "with a heavy heart" by Hawaii's KITV 4 Island News. He was described by the anchors as "one of the kindest, gentlest souls" they'd ever known.
The cause of his death is not yet known.
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Wily played recurring character Kamekona Tupuola for seven seasons of Hawaii Five-0, between 2010 and 2017. He was later promoted to a series regular during the final three seasons of the show.
His character was incredibly popular and went on to appear in MacGyver and Magnum P.I.
Peter Lenkov, who was an executive producer of Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and MacGyver, shared a tribute to his former colleague.
On Instagram, he posted a photo of the pair smiling together, simply explaining: "I am devastated. Heartbroken. I'll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now."
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Later, Lenkov shared a touching story about Wily's first audition for Hawaii Five-0, alongside a video montage.
"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 wrote.
"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."
Before he made his way into the hearts of his TV fans, Wily also had a successful career in sumo wrestling and mixed martial arts, before retiring due to a knee injury.
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