Professional surfer Tamayo Perry – known to surf fans Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – died after suffering a shark attack in Hawaii.
According to Associated Press, lifeguards brought Perry back to shore on a jet ski after a person reported a man who appeared to have been bitten by a shark. The Oahu native reportedly worked as a lifeguard on the north shore of the Hawaiian island, where authorities responded. Perry was 49 years old.
“He’s well-known on the North Shore. He’s a world-renowned professional surfer,” Honolulu Interim Ocean Safety Chief Kurt Lager said at a news conference, according to the AP. “Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more.”
In a bio shared on his surf school’s website website, Perry recalls surviving a “freak accident that turned into a near-fatal experience” while surfing at Pipeline in Hawaii. “The incident all happened due to someone’s (another person’s) lack of knowledge,” he wrote. “The lessons I took away from this event inspired me in my goal of instilling proper surf etiquette and safety in those I teach.”
He took his talent to the big screen as a stuntman in The big leap. His acting resume included Blue Crush, Hawaii Five-Oand an uncredited role as a buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean: on strange seas. According to his biography, he also appeared in Charlie’s Angels: Full steam ahead It is Lost.
In December 2023, he and his wife Emilia Perry celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary. “Few on this planet have been lucky enough to encounter a rare unicorn or spot an elusive mermaid in the wild. Even fewer have been blessed to court a unicorn or a mermaid, where you can call her yours. I am an extremely blessed man, for I did exactly that,” he wrote in an Instagram tribute at the time. “I have truly discovered the rarest and most precious creature of all and she is all mine. 22 years married to this day and still counting the #wonderful #memories we share daily. Intelligent, wise, creative, energetic🤦, loving, beautiful and the Most important of all is that you love Jesus, which means you will be stuck with me for all eternity.”
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