Actor David Hekili Kenui Bell, who appeared in movie Lilo & Stitch, dies at 46

NEW YORK – In Disney’s latest live-action remake Lilo & Stitch (2025), David Hekili Kenui Bell has a short but memorable role in which he is so bewildered to see aliens that he lets his shaved ice plop to the ground. The appearance was the Hawaiian actor’s first in a feature film.

Bell, who had played minor roles in a few productions, died on June 12. He was 46.

His sister, Ms Jalene Bell, confirmed his death on social media on June 15 and in a family statement that did not provide a cause of death.

He was credited simply as Big Hawaiian Dude on his IMDb page, but on TikTok, he referred to himself as the Shave Ice Guy.

Lilo & Stitch, which is based on the 2002 animated film of the same name, opened in cinemas in May and became one of the most profitable recent films as it earned more than US$800 million (S$1 billion) in box-office sales.

Bell’s role was part of a running gag in the franchise. In those moments, a sunburnt character who is relaxing somewhere drops his ice cream when the aliens arrive.

In one of two movie scenes where he appeared, the aliens startle him while he sits at the beach in a sleeveless shirt, with a towel on one shoulder and sunglasses atop his head. Predictably, he drops his shaved ice.

“These damn aliens owe me a shave ice,” he captioned the scene on TikTok.

In the original Lilo & Stitch, the man dropping the ice cream is bald and is often not wearing a shirt.

Bell had also appeared in two episodes of a Magnum P.I. (2018 to 2024) action series remake in 2018 and 2019, as well as in one episode of a Hawaii Five-0 (2010 to 2020) cop drama remake in 2014, according to IMDb.

He was also involved in the upcoming action comedy film The Wrecking Crew, about two half-brothers (Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista) solving their father’s murder in Hawaii, his page on the site said.

Bell appeared in the One Life, Right? commercials for the Kona Brewing Company. The advertisements won a 2025 Pele Award, according to his sister and the organisation’s website. The Pele Awards honour excellence in advertising and design in Hawaii.

Outside of acting, Bell worked at the Kona International Airport near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, according to the social media statement from his sister.

To celebrate her brother’s life and express their grief, she said that she and her grandson went to get shaved ice.

“David loved being an actor”, doing voice-overs and travelling as part of his work, she added. “The film industry and entertainment was so exciting to him.” NYTIMES