Heartbroken fans shared their condolences after actor and professional surfer Tamayo Perry, best known for performing in Pirates of the Caribbean, was fatally injured while surfing off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii on Sunday.
Perry appeared in 2011's Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and had a role in 2002's Blue Crush, among other projects.
Perry, who served as a City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard, died after a shark attack. During a press conference, Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department confirmed that authorities responded to calls reporting a surfer being attacked near Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu’s North Shore shortly before 1 p.m. local time.
Enright, who confirmed that Honolulu Ocean Safety had responded to the attack via jet ski and later transported Perry to shore, said:
"As you can imagine, this is [an] extremely difficult time for all of us. I ask for your kindness and your patience as we all just try to get through this next hour into these next weeks and months."
Perry began his career with the Ocean Safety department in July 2016, said Enright. Following the incident, Ocean Safety personnel posted shark warnings in the area.
You can see a news report about Perry's death below.
Honolulu Ocean Safety Acting Chief Kurt Lager remembered Perry as “a lifeguard loved by all," adding:
“He’s well known on the North Shore. He’s a professional surfer known worldwide. Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more."
Fans offered their condolences after the news of Perry's untimely death broke.
Perry initially gained recognition in Hawaii and beyond in the early 2000s, when his unique skills, especially in free surfing the North Shore pipeline, caught the attention of fellow athletes, according to Surfer Magazine. He then transitioned to a career in Hollywood, making appearances in several films and on television.
He and his wife, Emilia Perry, ran the Oahu Surfing Experience, offering surfing lessons. According to his biography on the business's website, he surfed professionally for over 15 years, with a notable highlight being his victory in the Pipeline Master trials in 1999.
The Pipeline off Oahu's North Shore is renowned for its challenging tube that surfers strive to ride for as long as possible. However, it is also the most dangerous wave in the world, claiming the lives of some of the best surfers.
Brendan Buckley, the editor of Stab Magazine, a surfing-focused website, said Perry "was never like somebody that was going to contend for a world title" and "was more of the type to just kind of hunt down big, crazy waves and have that documented," which garnered significant respect among the surfing community.