Taylor Wily, 56, of "Hawaii Five-0" has died

HONOLULU — Taylor Wily, the beloved actor from Laie of "Hawaii 5-0" reboot fame died Thursday, according to social media reports. He was 56.

KITV News has since confirmed the actor's passing. No cause of death has been reported. Wily appeared in 171 episodes of the series, capturing the hearts of many with his charming personality as Kamekona Tupuola, the owner of Waiola Shave ice, Kamekona's Shrimp Truck and Kamekona's Helicopter Tours.

Executive producer Peter M. Lenkov expressed his grief through several Instagram posts: "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 in into making you a regular ... on the show ... and in my life. You were family. And I will miss you every day, brother ... Five-0 was our dream job. And I was lucky we got to share that magic together."

His big-screen break was in 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (filmed at Turtle Bay Resort right near his hometown) in a hilarious pig-killing scene with actor Jason Segel. 

Wily, born Teila Tuli, was of American Samoan descent. Before getting into acting, he was a successful sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. He was given the sumo name Takamishū. He was undefeated in his first 14 fights, winning two consecutive yūshō or tournament championships. At 440 pounds, he was one of the largest wrestlers in sumo. He is survived by his wife, Halona, and two children.

Editor’s note: The story has been updated to include Wily’s film history and sumo history. 

Nuy Cho is the executive producer of Spectrum News Hawaii. Read more of her stories here.