A Hawaii surfer and lifeguard whose skills and charisma saw him appear in Hollywood films was killed in a shark attack in Hawaii on Sunday.
Tamayo Perry, 49, who appeared in the film “Pirates of the Caribbean” and was known for his brave and daring surfing skills, was killed on the island of Oahu, where he was born, raised and worked for Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services. and throughout his surfing life.
A caller told 911 dispatchers that the man’s body appeared to have suffered more than one shark bite, the Honolulu Department of Emergency Services said in a statement.
Shayne Enright, emergency services spokesperson, told a news conference on Sunday that rescuers arrived at Mālaekahana beach by jet ski before 1 p.m. and brought Perry ashore, where he was declared dead.
“It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of one of our incredibly dedicated lifeguards from the City and County of Honolulu, who tragically lost his life today in an apparent shark attack on the coast north,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a statement.
Blangiardi said Perry “embodied bravery, commitment and a deep sense of duty, serving our community with unwavering dedication.”
“His heroic actions and tireless efforts to keep our residents and visitors safe will never be forgotten,” he added.
Acting Ocean Safety Chief Kurt Lage also said at the news conference that Perry was known as a professional surfer with an “infectious personality” to fans of the sport around the world.
Perry was best known in the surfing world for riding the powerful waves of Pipeline, the iconic North Shore break known for producing the bubbling, breaking left-hand barrel made famous by its appearance in the opening sequence of the original “Hawaii: Five-O”. series.
In his biography posted on the website of Oahu Surfing Experience, the surf and paddle lesson business run by Perry and his wife Emilia, he describes Pipeline as “the deadliest wave in the world.”
Perry was born and raised “just east of the North Shore,” his biography states. The area of its first and last wave, Kahuku, is in the northern half of Oahu, but it is also sometimes described as part of the eastern part of the island.
The location gave it easy access to Pipeline and other world-famous locations along the North Shore, including Waimea Bay, Rocky Point and Sunset.
In 1999, Perry won the trials portion of the Pipeline Masters, opening the door to the main event and elevating him to the big stage of professional surfing. Kelly Slater, widely considered the greatest of all time, won the title that year.
The strong performance at Pipeline opened the door to other world-famous events, including a competition in a relatively unspoilt location that was gaining notoriety as a dead ringer for Pipeline’s dark side: Teahupo’o of Tahiti.
Part of French Polynesia, it is the venue for the 2024 Paris Olympics surfing competition. The Teahupo’o Meat Grinder is a fault line on a shallow reef where the Pacific appears to fold over it -even. It inspired terror, caused injuries and killed surfers.
Perry reached the final four spots in the 1999 competition, according to his biography. “The waves required 110% concentration, commitment and respect,” reads his biography.
In the following years, he became mayor of Pipeline and a “lifestyle surfer” known for tackling big waves but not necessarily for riding the often mediocre waves of professional competitions. Lifestyle surfers get their photos in surf magazines, which makes sponsors happy.
“He went from a kid from a very small town to a very well-known, world-class surfer,” said his longtime friend Jason Blitzer.
But Perry was drawn to working as a home lifeguard.
While surfing Pipeline during a significant winter swell in 2005, Perry said he was hit by a wayward board embedded in a breaking wave. The accident required 100 stitches to his head, Blitzer said.
The experience, which Perry described as near-death, inspired him to focus on educating beachgoers about water safety and surfing etiquette, which requires surfers to hold on to their boards and avoid hitting anyone downstream of a wave, he said.
At one point, Perry left the lifeguarding profession only to return to it 15 years later, Blitzer said.
The friend, a former North Shore lifeguard and former professional bodyboarder, cautioned that working as a lifeguard at Pipeline is not a typical government job. A Pipeline lifeguard saves some of the fittest athletes on the planet.
“You can’t sit in this tower unless a very small group of elite humans tap you on the shoulder and tell you that you should be there,” he said in a interview.
He described Perry as one of a kind in a sport surrounded by driven competitors and threatening seas.
“He’s a world-class sailor,” Blitzer said. “Unmatched, to be honest with you. He was a surfing professional at the highest level. He knew the water better than 99.9% of the population.”
Perry could have been an everyday speaker – on water safety, on how to surf, on how to behave as a visitor to Hawaii. But that wasn’t the case, Blitzer said.
“He really kind of embodies aloha,” he said, referring to Hawaii’s spirit of hospitality and kindness. “If you saw him at Pipeline Tower, he doesn’t care who you are, he’ll talk to you.”
Blitzer found no irony in Perry’s disappearance during his stay in Kahuku, where he had been surfing since he was 12 years old.
“Water can be the one that gives the most or the one that takes the most, it all depends on the day,” he said. “So never take it for granted, the ocean. And honestly, if it could happen to Tamayo, it could happen to anyone.”
Perry is survived by his wife Emilia and his father, Blitzer said.
His acting credits include “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” as well as television shows including “Lost” and the contemporary iteration of “Hawaii: Five-O.”