UFC fighter and Hawaii Five-0 actor Taylor Wily dies at 56
Hawaii Five-0 actor and former UFC fighter Taylor Wily has died at the age of 56.
Wily's sister and his family paid tribute to him on Thursday (June 20) in a video on Facebook.
"Mourning and celebrating our favorite brother and uncle the way he would want us to," she wrote. "Family, Food, Music and Good Vibes. Aurrrrrrighhhhh (in his voice)."
The Hawaii-born star passed away on Thursday, according to a local KITV Island News reporter who described Wily as close family friend.
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Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. producer Peter M. Lenkov took to Instagram to pay tribute to his beloved friend and colleague.
Captioning a picture of the two of them together, Lenkov wrote: "I am devastated. Heartbroken. I'll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now."
His cause of death has not yet been made public.
Wily was, of course, best known for his role as Kamekona Tupuola in CBS' Hawaii Five-0, which he appeared in for 171 episodes that aired over the course of a decade.
Some of his other notable roles include seven episodes of Magnum P.I. and the 2008 rom-com Forgetting Sarah Marshall, alongside Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Paul Rudd.
Wily was also a sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist, even competing in one of the first ever UFCs against Gerard Gordeau in 1993.
However, it didn't exactly go well for the actor who had his tooth knocked out when Gordeau kicked him in the jaw.
Wily did previously admit though that he had no regrets about taking part in a dangerous sport.
"There was a different feeling when you walked through that octagon," he told The New York Post back in 2018.
"I was scared. I ain’t lying, I was scared. Now when I look back on it, now that I’m more mature, I’m just grateful to God to just have the opportunity to risk it."
Fans have since taken to social media to pay tribute to the actor.
One wrote: "He was amazing actor he will be missed."
Another added: "I’ve never hated a character of his. RIP."
While a third commented: "This breaks my heart. He was my favorite character on Hawaii Five-0. RIP Taylor, you were loved by many."
Wily is survived by his wife, Halona, and their two kids.
Topics: UFC, Film and TV, Celebrity
Callum Jones