Originally a highly regarded professional sumo wrestler, Taylor Wily portrayed a police informant and a shrimp truck seller on the TV version of “Hawaii Five-0, and died on Thursday. 56 was his age. Taylor Wily dies at 56
Taylor Wiley News
Legal counsel for Mr. Wily, Paul Almond, verified his death. Neither a place nor a cause of death were immediately known.
In more than 170 episodes of “Hawaii Five-0,” a reimagining of the 1970s crime drama that chronicled the exploits of state police officials in Hawaii, Mr. Wily was featured as Kamekona. His character evolved into a favored figure, and he became the program’s resident entrepreneur. In addition to his shrimp business, he owned a shaved-ice company and a helicopter tour company.
“Hawaii Five-0 could become Kamekona Five-0,” observed Masi Oka, who portrayed Dr. Max Bergman on the later series, in a 2012 CBS interview.
The show tracked a fake state police agency that appeared to be always pining for shrimp. Viewers as well as Hawaii natives connected with Mr. Wily’s kind and humorous demeanor.Series producer Peter Lenkov remarked on social media that he had been captivated to Mr. Wily from his first audition and that he had been impressed enough to have his role a regular one.
As Kemo, a hotel employee in Hawaii in the 2008 film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Mr. Wily helped Jason Segel’s character—a jilted boyfriend seeing his ex-girlfriend vacationing with her new paramour in the same location. Mr. Wily’s subdued humor made difficult circumstances including loss and sadness lighter.
June 14, 1968 saw Taylor Tuli Wily born in Honolulu. Standing over six feet tall and occasionally weighing more than 400 pounds, he could be a frightening physical presence even though he was renowned for his kind manner.
On the understanding that the buddy wouldn’t inform Mr. Wily’s mother, he first learned sumo wrestling in 1987. Not too long later, he entered a contest.
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“I was into sumo; I won a case of spam and some rice, and that was it,” Mr. Wily recalled in a 2016 interview with Sherdog, a YouTube channel devoted to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mr. Wily also discussed the rationale behind his labeling as Teila Tuli for his U.F.C. game during the same interview. The individual stated, “They were opposed to my use of an English name.” “So I took Taylor and spelled it the way we spell it here in Polynesia, Teila, and used my middle name, Tuli, and got rid of Wily.”
Smiling, he said he hoped the admittance wouldn’t bring bill collectors his direction.
Under the name Takamishu, he participated in sumo wrestling in Japan for two years. Eventually reaching the makushita division, the third-highest in the league, he became the first wrestler born outside Japan to win a title bout and won many championships.
Claiming knee problems, he quit the sport in 1989 and turned to mixed martial arts. Mr. Wily lost via a technical knockout in the first Ultimate Fighting Championship, held in 1993.
First seen on television in a 1982 episode of “Magnum, P.I., he made other cameo appearances on programs like “Marker” and “North Shore.”
His wife Halona Wily and two children also survive.
Mr. Wily talked about his gratitude for his part in “Hawaii Five-0,” and what the experience meant to him in a 2014 interview with Hawaii News Now.
“You get to play Hollywood but be right here in Hawaii; it’s the best job in the world,” he remarked. “Home.”