Aw, this is awful! Taylor Wily — known for portraying Kamekona Tupuola on Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I.— has passed away at just 56 years old.
His longtime manager and friend, Michael J. Henderson, confirmed the tragic news to E! News on Friday, saying the former sumo wrestler and MMA fighter died of natural causes. So, so sad. Peter M. Lenkov, the creator of Hawaii Five-0, first revealed the loss on Instagram the day before. Alongside a picture with the actor, he wrote:
“I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now.”
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Peter later got the strength to pen a heartfelt tribute to Taylor, recalling the first time they ever met before production of the CBS series started in 2010. He said:
“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.”
Check out the two posts (below):
Our hearts go out to his loved ones. Rest in peace, Taylor…
[Image via CBS/YouTube]