HAWAII FIVE-O (1968) Cast THEN and NOW, All cast members died tragically?
Hawaii Five-O brought crime, danger, and island mystery into living rooms with a style no other police drama had. From the unforgettable theme song to the sharp suits, ocean views, and tense investigations, the cast became part of classic television history. But after the cameras stopped rolling, their real lives followed very different paths.
Fame, private struggles, quiet exits, and losses fans still remember today. Let’s begin this journey and see what happened to the cast of Hawaii Five-O. Danny Williams was played by James MacArthur at the age of 30. Young, steady, and always ready when McGarrett barked, “Book ’em, Danno.” Danny became the loyal second man at the heart of Hawaii Five-O.
He gave the show a cleaner, boyish counterweight to Jack Lord’s harder command style. He died in 2010 at the age of 72, with the cause not widely detailed in public reports. Before the islands made him a TV regular, he had already been a Disney adventure star in films like Swiss Family Robinson. And he also came from serious theater blood as the son of Helen Hayes.
Danno is one of those characters who got stuck in pop culture through one line. McGarrett may have owned the camera, but Danny gave the team its dependable rhythm. The guy beside the boss, chasing suspects, taking orders, and making the whole Five-O unit feel like a real squad. Chin Ho was played by Kam Fong at the age of 50.
Calm, seasoned, and carrying real island authority, Chin Ho gave Hawaii Five-O something most crime shows could not fake. He felt rooted in Honolulu, not like a mainland cop dropped into a postcard version of Hawaii. Kam Fong passed away in 2002 at the age of 84 after lung cancer. Before acting, he had actually served with the Honolulu Police Department, >> [music] >> and that real-life background showed in the way he carried himself.
He also survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, giving his life story a weight far beyond television. Chin Ho helped ground the show in local texture. The beaches, music, and car chases gave Hawaii Five-O its style, but characters like him gave it credibility. He was quiet, professional, and believable. Exactly the kind of man who made the original Five-O team feel connected to the islands.
Duke was played by Herman Wedemeyer at the age of 44. Solid, calm, and carrying the kind of local presence that made the Five-O squad feel more believable, Duke brought a steady police energy to the series. He did not need to dominate scenes. He looked like a man who knew the streets, the people, and the rhythm of island law enforcement.
Herman Wedemeyer died in 1999 at the age of 74 after a heart attack. Before Hawaii Five-O, he had been a real athlete, playing football at St. Mary’s, and later moving into politics in Hawaii, which gave his life a much wider story than one TV role. Duke helped the show feel less like a tourist version of Hawaii.
McGarrett had the big command style, but characters like Duke gave the squad a grounded local layer. He made the police work feel connected to the islands, not just staged against a beautiful background. Che Fong was played by Harry Endo at the age of 46. Quiet, precise, and always useful when the case needed science instead of another chase, Che brought the lab side of Hawaii Five-O into focus.
He was the technician who could turn evidence, fingerprints, and tiny details into the next break in the investigation. Harry Endo passed away in 2009 at the age of 87 after a stroke. Before becoming part of the Five-O world, he had worked as a bank executive, which makes his later TV career feel even more unexpected.
For fans, though, Che Fong became his signature role. Che gave the series a nice change of pace. The show had plenty of guns, suspects, and McGarrett intensity, but someone had to slow things down and make the clues matter. Che did that with calm focus, helping the cases feel smarter and more procedural. Kono was played by Zulu at the age of 31.
Big, tough, and full of island personality, Kono brought a rougher physical energy to the early 5-0 team. He looked like the kind of cop who could handle himself in a fight, but he also gave the squad a warmer, more local flavor. Zulu died in 2004 at the age of 66 after complications from diabetes. Outside the show, he was also known as a Waikiki entertainer and radio personality with a public life closely tied to Hawaii’s local entertainment scene.
Kono gave the early seasons some muscle and charm. He was not polished in the same way as McGarrett, and that was part of the appeal. He made the team feel broader, less like one boss with sidekicks, more like a group of different island personalities working the same beat. Governor was played by Richard Denning at the age of 54. Polished, official, and exactly the kind of political figure McGarrett needed above him, the governor gave Hawaii 5-0 its chain of command.
He was not out chasing suspects through Honolulu, but his presence made the 5-0 unit feel powerful, protected, and tied to real state authority. Richard Denning passed away in 1998 at the age of 84 after cardiac arrest. Before the islands became part of his TV legacy, he had already worked for decades in film, radio, and television, including Creature from the Black Lagoon and Mr.
and Mrs. North. The governor helped sell the show’s old-school crime drama setup. McGarrett could be intense, stubborn, and almost impossible to slow down, but there was still someone above him giving the cases political weight. That made the investigations feel bigger than just one cop’s mission. Ben was played by Al at the age of 33.
Cool, confident, and carrying a natural island charisma, Ben added another strong local face to the 5-0 squad. He had the kind of presence that fit both the police work and the Hawaii setting without feeling forced. Al Harrington passed away in 2021 at the age of 85 after a stroke. Away from the badge, he was also a major Hawaiian entertainer, singer, and teacher, later appearing in the Hawaii 5-0 reboot as well.
His career stayed deeply connected to the culture and people of the islands. Ben gave the show more than just another detective. He brought warmth, local flavor, and an easy confidence that helped keep the squad from feeling too mainland. In a series built on Hawaii’s streets, beaches, and neighborhoods, that kind of authenticity mattered.
John Manicote was played by Glenn Cannon at the age of 36. Smart, serious, and carrying the polished pressure of the prosecutor’s office, Manicote brought the legal side of Hawaii 5-0 into the picture. He was not there for car chases, he was there for cases, evidence, and the part where McGarrett’s arrests had to stand up.
He died in 2013 at the age of 80 after an illness. His life was strongly tied to Hawaii beyond acting, including years as a drama professor at the University of Hawaii. That gave his presence on the show a real local connection. Manicote made the 5-0 world feel more complete. McGarrett could catch the criminals, but someone still had to deal with the courtroom side.
Characters like Manicote reminded viewers that justice was not just the arrest, it was the whole system around it. Nick was played by Danny Kamekona at the age of 32. Tough, smooth, and carrying that easy local confidence, Nick fit right into Hawaii 5-0’s world of island crime, backroom deals, and street level tension.
He had the kind of presence that could make a small role feel like there was a bigger story sitting behind it. He passed away in 1996 at the age of 60 after a heart attack. Beyond 5-0, he became familiar to wider audiences through roles in The Karate Kid Part II, Robot Jox, and other film and TV work, often bringing a strong Hawaiian presence to Hollywood projects.
Nick added to the show’s local flavor. Hawaii 5-0 worked best when the islands felt like more than scenery, and actors like Kamakona helped with that. He gave the crime stories a grounded edge, the sense that every case came from a real community, >> [music] >> not just a tourist postcard. Det.
Truck Kealoha was played by Moe Keale at the age of 30. Big-hearted, solid, and full of island warmth, Truck brought a friendlier kind of strength into the 5-0 world. He could fit into the police action, but he also had that relaxed Hawaiian presence that made him feel different from the harder mainland style cops.
Moe Keale passed away in 2002 at the age of 62 after a heart attack. Outside the show, he was a beloved Hawaiian musician and entertainer, and his song “Aloha is” became closely tied to his legacy. His life after television stayed deeply connected to Hawaiian culture. Truck gave the series another local heartbeat. McGarrett had the command voice, the stare, and the famous closing line, but characters like Truck made the team feel connected to the people of Hawaii.
He brought warmth into a show that could otherwise be all crime, pressure, and pursuit. Frank Kamana was played by Douglas Mossman at the age of 36. Calm, capable, and naturally believable in the police world, Kamana helped fill out the 5-0 team with another strong island presence. He was not there to overpower McGarrett’s style.
He helped make the squad feel wider, more local, and properly staffed. Douglas Mossman died in 2021 at the age of 88 with no widely reported cause of death. Away from acting, he was also involved in Hawaiian entertainment and production work, and he appeared in several roles across the original Hawaii Five-O run. Kamana is part of the show’s local texture.
The series had its big theme music, fast cars, and McGarrett intensity, but it also needed familiar island faces to keep the world believable. Mossman helped make the police stories feel rooted in Hawaii rather than simply filmed there. Tosaki was played by Khuan Hai Lim at the age of 47. Sharp, watchful, and carrying that grounded island presence, Tosaki fit naturally into the crime world of Hawaii Five-O.
He was the kind of character who made a case feel more local, >> [music] >> more specific, and less like a generic mainland police story dropped onto beautiful scenery. Khuan Hai Lim passed away in 2008 at the age of 86 after cancer. Before and beyond the show, he had a long career across Hawaiian theater, film, and television, and he appeared in several different roles throughout Hawaii Five-O.
He was also active in local arts and became one of those familiar island performers who helped shape the show’s real texture. Tosaki reminds viewers why the original series still feels tied to Hawaii in a way many crime shows never manage. It was not only McGarrett, the theme music, or the car chases, it was also actors like Lim bringing local faces, voices, and rhythm into the cases, making the islands feel like a real community instead of a postcard.
Frank Okawa was played by Tommy Fujiwara at the age of 42. Calm, serious, and believable as a man moving through Hawaii Five-O’s police and crime world, Okawa added another local layer to the series. He had the kind of screen presence that did not need to shout. He simply helped make the episode feel rooted in the islands.
Tommy Fujiwara died in 2016 at the age of 80 after an illness. His career was closely connected to Hawaii’s film and television scene with appearances in Hawaii Five-O, Magnum, P.I., and other productions filmed in the islands. He was one of those working actors who helped give local productions a familiar face and a real sense of place.
Okawa’s role belongs to the show’s bigger island atmosphere. In a crime drama like this, every guest character, witness, suspect, or official helped build the world around the main squad. Fujiwara’s presence made the story feel less like a studio crime plot and more like something happening in a living, breathing Hawaii.
Chuck Price was played by Beau Vanden Ecker at the age of 27. Young, clean-cut, and very much part of the show’s guest star rhythm, Chuck brought a fresh face into McGarrett’s world of investigations, suspects, and island danger. He fit the old-school TV style where one episode could introduce a character who added just enough mystery or pressure to keep the case moving.
Currently 79, he has lived a much quieter public life compared with many actors connected to classic television. His screen credits stayed limited, and for viewers looking back at Hawaii Five-O, Chuck Price remains the role most clearly tied to his name. That kind of small TV footprint is common with guest actors from that era.
Chuck is a reminder of how these ’60s and ’70s crime shows were built week by week. The main squad carried the series, but every episode needed new faces to create danger, suspicion, romance, or trouble. Even a smaller role helped feed the island mystery machine that kept Hawaii Five-O moving. Professor Hattori was played by Seth Sakai at the age of 40.
Serious, watchful, and carrying the kind of quiet authority that fit Hawaii Five-O’s investigation world, Hattori helped give the episode a more specific local flavor. He was not just there to fill space. He added another believable face to the island network of experts, suspects, and people McGarrett had to read carefully.
Seth Sakai passed away in 2007 at the age of 75 after heart failure. His life reached far beyond one guest role with years in acting, music, and Hawaiian entertainment. He also appeared in productions like Magnum, P.I., The Hawaiians, and other island-connected projects, making him one of those local performers who helped keep Hawaii visible on screen.
Hatari fits the part of Hawaii Five-O that made it feel different from mainland crime dramas. The cases needed more than police offices and shootouts. They needed local people, local knowledge, and faces that felt connected to the place. Sakai helped give the show that grounded island texture. James Kealoha Kimo was played by William Smith at the age of 44.
Tough, physical, and built like he had walked straight out of a ’70s action scene, Kimo brought a harder edge into the Five-O squad. He was not as polished as McGarrett, but that roughness made him feel useful in a world of street cases, violent suspects, and dangerous corners of Honolulu. William Smith died in 2021 at the age of 88 with no publicly reported cause of death.
Long before and after Hawaii Five-O, he became known for playing bikers, fighters, soldiers, and hard men in films and TV shows like Laredo, Rich Man, Poor Man, and Any Which Way You Can. >> [music] >> He had the kind of face old action TV loved. Kimo gave the later Five-O team a more muscular feel. The original squad had procedure, local knowledge, and McGarrett’s command voice.
But characters like Kimo brought pure physical pressure. He looked like the guy you sent when a polite interview was not going to be enough. Jonathan Quay was played by Bill Edwards at the age of 53. Formal, official, and tied to the intelligence side of the show, K added that quiet government shadow feeling around McGarrett’s cases.
He was not the man chasing suspects through the streets. He was the kind of figure who made a case feel bigger, classified, and politically loaded. Bill Edwards passed away in 1999 at the age of 81 with no widely reported cause of death. His acting career included film and television work across several decades, but for Hawaii Five-O fans, Jonathan Quay became his most recognizable role.
The careful government contact who could step in when ordinary police work touched something more sensitive. Quay helped widen the Five-O universe beyond local crime. Sometimes the island cases connected to espionage, national security, and forces far above a normal police file. His presence made McGarrett’s world feel linked to Washington, intelligence work, and the bigger machinery behind the badge.
Horton’s girl was played by Josie Over at the age of 29. Stylish, brief, and very much part of the episode’s guest character world, she helped add a little glamour and mystery around the case. In Hawaii Five-O, even a smaller role could create the right mood. A hotel room, a nightclub, or some corner of island life McGarrett had to step into.
Josie Over passed away in 1992 at the age of 50 with no widely reported cause of death. Before her small screen appearances, she had moved to Oahu and became connected with local performance life, including dancing and island-based television work. Her credits were limited, but they stayed tied closely to Hawaii shot productions.
Horton’s girl belongs to that classic crime drama texture of the original series. Not every guest character needed a full backstory. Some were there to give a scene mood, a clue, or a little human detail. Roles like this helped each episode feel busy, stylish, and properly rooted in old Hawaii television. Wo Fat was played by Khigh Diep at the age of 58.
Calm, ruthless, and always looking like he was three moves ahead, Wo Fat became McGarrett’s greatest enemy. He did not need to shout or act wild. His danger came from control, patience, and that cold smile that made every encounter feel personal. Khai Diep passed away in 1991 at the age of 75 after kidney and heart failure. Away from Hawaii Five-O, he had a fascinating life as an actor, writer, and student of Eastern philosophy.
And he also appeared in shows like Mission: Impossible and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. before becoming linked forever to Wo Fat. Wo Fat gave the series its long-running villain energy. Most cases ended in one episode, but he made McGarrett’s world feel like it had unfinished business. Every time he returned, the show suddenly felt bigger than a local police case.
It became a battle of minds, pride, and old-school TV espionage. that Lori Wilson was played by Sharon Farrell at the age of 40. Smart, stylish, and stepping into a squad that had long been dominated by men, Lori brought a different kind of presence to Hawaii Five-O. She had the confidence of a detective who belonged in the room, even when the show’s old-school structure did not always give her enough space.
Sharon Farrell passed away in 2023 at the age of 82 after natural causes. Before joining the Five-O world, she had already appeared in films and TV shows like It’s Alive, The Reivers, and The Man from M.U.N.K.L. building the kind of varied career that moved easily between drama, crime, and genre stories. Lori Wilson added a fresh late series angle to the team.
McGarrett still carried the show’s command energy, but Lori gave the squad a little more modern texture. She was part of the series trying to shift with the times, bringing a female detective into a world built on tough men, fast cars, and hard stares. Luana was played by Laura Sode Madison at the age of 15.
Young, local, and part of the island world around McGarrett’s investigations, Luana brought a more personal face to the case. Hawaii Five-O often worked best when the crime story stepped away from offices and badges, and touched ordinary people living in the middle of all that tension. Laura Sode Madison passed away in 2011 at the age of 55 with no widely reported cause of death.
Her screen career was limited, and she is mainly remembered through Hawaii-based roles and appearances. That gives Luana the feeling of a small but very local piece of the original series. Luana helped keep the show connected to Hawaii beyond the police squad. The beaches and skyline gave the series its look, but characters like her gave it community.
Even a brief role could remind viewers that every Five-O case affected real island lives, not just suspects and detectives. Jimmy Borges was played by Jimmy Borges at the age of 33. Smooth, musical, and completely at home in the island entertainment scene, he brought a real Honolulu nightclub flavor into Hawaii Five-O.
His presence made the show feel less like a studio crime drama, and more like something happening inside a living local culture. Jimmy Borges passed away in 2016 at the age of 80 after battling cancer. Away from acting, he was best known as a beloved Hawaiian jazz singer and entertainer, performing for decades and becoming a respected figure in Honolulu’s music world.
His screen work was only one part of a much bigger island career. Borges gave the series something very specific, atmosphere you could not fake. Hawaii Five-O had cops, criminals, and car chases, but performers like him brought music, nightlife, and local style into the frame. That is the kind of detail that helped the old show feel tied to its place.
Det. Steve McGarrett was played by Jack Lord at the age of 47. Sharp, intense, and impossible to imagine without that hard stare, McGarrett became the face of Hawaii Five-O. He was all command voice, perfect hair, fast decisions, and that famous “Book ’em, Danno” energy that turned him into a classic TV cop icon.
Jack Lord passed away in 1998 at the age of 77 after congestive heart failure. Before leading Five-O, he had worked in film, television, and even appeared as Felix Leiter in the James Bond film Dr. No. But McGarrett became the role that defined his screen image for good. McGarrett gave the show its engine, the islands gave it beauty, the theme music gave it punch, but Jack Lord gave it authority.
Every case seemed to tighten the moment he walked in. He did not play Steve as casual or loose. He played him like justice had a schedule to keep. Jenny was played by Peggy Ryan at the age of 45. Bright, quick, and carrying the old-school show business timing of someone who had been performing since childhood, Jenny added a different spark to Hawaii Five-O.
She was not a detective or a crime boss, but she brought that familiar guest star texture the series used so well. Peggy Ryan passed away in 2004 at the age of 80 after a stroke. Long before Hawaii Five-O, she had been a dancer and film performer in classic Hollywood, appearing in musical comedies with Donald O’Connor.
Later in life, she became closely connected to Hawaii, performing and teaching dance there. Jenny gives the show a little taste of older entertainment history passing through the islands. Hawaii Five-O was a crime drama, sure, but it also became a meeting place for actors, singers, dancers, and local performers. Peggy Ryan’s appearance carries that vintage charm.
A small role, but with a whole career behind it. The cast of Hawaii Five-O may have left the islands behind, but their legacy, style, and unforgettable performances still live on with classic TV fans. Which cast member’s story surprised you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and watch the next then and now video.
