American athlete, entity, and martial artist
James Milton Kelly (May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013) was an American errand boy, martial artist, and actor. Astern winning several karate championships, Player rose to fame in say publicly early 1970s appearing in several action films within the pugnacious arts and blaxploitation genres.
Player played opposite Bruce Lee quick-witted 1973's Enter the Dragon, cope with had lead roles in 1974's Black Belt Jones as honesty title character and Three depiction Hard Way as Mister Keyes.[2]
Kelly's progenitrix ran a locker-rental service farm Navy personnel.[3] Jim began coronet athletic career at Bourbon Division High School in Paris, Kentucky, competing in basketball, football, concentrate on track and field.
He artful the University of Louisville assortment a football scholarship, but left-wing during his freshman year rearguard a coach referred to put in order black teammate with a folk slur.[4][2] Instead he began end study Shorin-ryukarate.[5]
Kelly began his belligerent arts career under the learning of Sin Kwang The' (Shaolin-Do) in Lexington, Kentucky.
He smother with in Okinawan karate under dignity direction of Parker Shelton, Object Patton, and Gordon Doversola.[6] By way of the early 1970s, Kelly became one of the most elaborate world karate champions in righteousness sport. In 1971, he won four prestigious championships that equal year, most notably, the Universe Middleweight Karate title at honesty 1971 Long Beach International Karate Championships.[7] Kelly opened his beg off dojo, which was frequented preschooler numerous Hollywood celebrities and which ultimately landed him in position movies.[5][8]
In addition to his belligerent arts and film careers, Buffoon also became a professional sport player.
He played amateur sport in the 1970s at Plummer Park in West Hollywood.[9] Propitious 1975, he joined the USTA Senior Men's Circuit.[10] He someday reached the No. 2 burly in senior men's doubles play a part the state of California see the top ten in rectitude state in senior men's singles.[11] Later in life, he became the owner and director pursuit a tennis club in grandeur San Diego area.[2]
Kelly was the first black martial veranda film star.
His first layer role was a martial humanities instructor in the thriller characteristic film Melinda (1972). He got it after being asked because of the film's writer, to whom he was introduced by unified of his karate students, go teach martial arts to professor star, Calvin Lockhart.[11] Kelly commit fraud co-starred alongside Bruce Lee boast the blockbuster, Enter the Dragon (1973).[12] He played Williams, fastidious martial artist invited to shipshape and bristol fashion tournament run by crime potentate and renegade Shaolin monk Outdistance.
The role was originally instance for actor Rockne Tarkington, who unexpectedly dropped out days previously shooting in Hong Kong. Maker Fred Weintraub had heard allow for Kelly's karate studio in distinction Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, went there to see him, and was immediately impressed.[3] Lose concentration film gave him his nearly memorable lines:[1][13]
Han (Shih Kien): Awe are all ready to carry the day, just as we are hatched knowing only life.
It assignment defeat that you must terminate to prepare for.
Williams (Kelly): I don't waste my prior with it. When it be handys, I won't even notice.
Han: Oh? How so?
Williams: I'll be too busy looking great.— Enter the Dragon
This appearance additionally earned Kelly a three-film bargain with Warner Brothers and stress to starring roles in calligraphic string of martial arts-themed blaxploitation films.[14] The first was Black Belt Jones (1974),[15] in which he plays a local champion who fights the Mafia streak a drug dealer threatening coronate friend's dojo.
This and eminent of his other roles acted upon up the novelty of block up African-American martial arts master. Diadem other two Warner Brothers motion pictures were Golden Needles (1974), give up your job Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Ashley,[16] and Hot Potato (1976),[17] in which he reprises coronet role as Black Belt Designer and rescues a diplomat's chick from the jungles of Siam.
He also made three motion pictures with black action heroes Jim Brown and Fred Williamson: Three the Hard Way (1974),[18] hold your attention which he plays a warlike artist who helps Brown celebrated Williamson stop a black holocaust plot, Take a Hard Ride (1975),[19] a Spaghetti Western hassle which he plays a speechless Indian scout skilled in belligerent arts, and One Down, Digit to Go (1982),[20] in which he plays a co-owner oppress an international martial arts dojo.
In the late 1970s, do something also starred in the low-budget films Black Samurai (1977), Death Dimension (1978), and Tattoo Connection (1978).
After his appearance advance One Down, Two to Go, Kelly rarely appeared in motion pictures. He did appear in cardinal episodes of the TV program, Highway to Heaven, in 1985 and 1986.[21] A deleted aspect from the film Undercover Brother (2002), included on the DVD extra features, shows him end in a cameo appearance with Eddie Griffin.[22] In his last integument, Kelly made a cameo come into being as Cleavon Washington in Afro Ninja (2009), produced, directed uncongenial, and starring veteran stuntman Strain Hicks.[23] In a 2010 enquire with the Los Angeles Generation, Kelly explained his absence plant film:[2]
I never left the shoot business.
It’s just that aft a certain point, I didn’t get the type of projects that I wanted to dance. I still get at lowest three scripts per year, on the contrary most of them don’t butt forth a positive image. There’s nothing I really want consent do, so I don’t carry out it. If it happens, flush happens, but if not, I’m happy with what I’ve adept.
— Jim Kelly
Film and television official and producer Reginald Hudlin declared Kelly's enduring identity: “The iconography that Jim Kelly established kind the cool martial artist fumble the giant ‘fro resonates suck up to this day. If within solitary a few films you focus on create an image that lasts over 30 years, you blight have done something really exculpate.
And he did.”[2]
Kelly was married twice beam had one child. From 1967 to 1968, Kelly was joined to his college sweetheart Marilyn Dishman. His second marriage was from 1980 until his eliminate in 2013, to Marcia Bentley. From 1973 to 1976, Player dated film actress Rosalind Miles.[7] On June 29, 2013, Buffoon died of cancer at king home in San Diego, Calif..
He was 67 years old.[1]
"DVD set is devoted to Decade martial arts star Jim Kelly". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved Could 31, 2010.
Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak. Lanham, Maryland: The Scare Crow Company, Inc. p. 111. ISBN .
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Salon.com.
Face2Face Africa.
"Jim Kelly: Soldierly artist, movie star, tennis all for dies after battle with cancer". Bloody Elbow.
Retrieved February 17, 2021.
The Independent. Archived pass up the original on 2022-06-08. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
IMDb. 1974.
Tail Slate. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
IMDb. 1979.
IMDb. 1979.
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