Taylor Wily, 'Hawaii Five-0' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' Actor ...
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Taylor Wily, ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Actor, Dies at 56
He spent his early career as a professional sumo wrestler.
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Taylor Wily, who played a shrimp truck vendor and a police informant on the television reboot of “Hawaii Five-0,” and who earlier was an acclaimed professional sumo wrestler, died on Thursday. He was 56.
Paul Almond, a legal representative for Mr. Wily, confirmed his death. A location and cause of death were not immediately available.
Mr. Wily starred as Kamekona in more than 170 episodes of “Hawaii Five-0,” a reimagining, from 2010-2020, of the 1970s crime drama that followed the escapades of state police officers in Hawaii. His character became a fan favorite, morphing into the show’s resident entrepreneur, running a shaved-ice business and a helicopter tour company alongside his shrimp venture.
“‘Hawaii Five-0’ could become ‘Kamekona Five-0,’” Masi Oka, who played Dr. Max Bergman on the later series, said in a 2012 interview with CBS.
The series followed a fictional state police unit that seemed to routinely crave shrimp. Mr. Wily’s character was a warm and comedic presence that resonated with viewers as well as with residents in Hawaii.
Peter Lenkov, a producer of the series, said on social media that he had been drawn to Mr. Wily from his first audition, and that he had been impressed enough to make his character a recurring one.
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