Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry dies in shark attack

 

Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry dies in shark attack

Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry has died following a shark attack in Hawaii.

Perry, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was surfing at Malaekahana beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when he died on Sunday afternoon. Local emergency services said they were called at 1pm to a person “fatally injured by a shark” and used a jetski to retrieve Perry’s body from the ocean.

Honolulu Ocean Safety acting chief Kurt Lager told a press conference that Perry was a lifeguard and professional surfer “loved by all”, who was known throughout the world and in Oahu’s North Shore. “Tamayo’s personality was infectious, and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,” he added. “Our condolences go out to Tamayo’s family.”

In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth in the series, starring Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp, Perry portrayed one of the buccaneers. He is also credited as a stunt performer on the Owen Wilson surfing movie The Big Bounce, adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novel. Mayor Rick Blangiardi called Perry’s death “a tragic loss”. “Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected, [he] grew up right over here, and just a great member of our ocean safety team.” Blangiardi also called on the public and press to “honour and respect” Perry’s family while they are dealing with their loss.

Though they command a disproportionate amount of news media attention, there were just 69 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide last year, 10 of which were fatal, according to the 2023 edition of the international shark attack file curated by the Florida Museum of Natural History. The US state of Florida recorded the most unprovoked shark attacks, with 16 (none of which were fatal), of any global region.