Karate ace and actor, who starred in the martial arts hit opposite Bruce Lee, had been suffering from cancer
The martial artist and actor Jim Kelly, best known for his nonchalant turn in the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, has died at the age of 67.
After making a name for himself on the karate circuit by winning four tournaments in 1971, Kelly was picked to star in the martial arts classic two years later. He plays the arrogant, insouciant Williams, who competes alongside Lee in a sinister competition organised by the mysterious Mr Han on a James Bond-style island. Kelly's impressive afro, sideburns and good looks made him the perfect choice for a film shot at the height of blaxploitation.
Kelly has since become a huge cult figure, though his acting career never quite took off despite a good deal of success in similar 1970s fare. Appearances in films such as Black Belt Jones,...
The martial artist and actor Jim Kelly, best known for his nonchalant turn in the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, has died at the age of 67.
After making a name for himself on the karate circuit by winning four tournaments in 1971, Kelly was picked to star in the martial arts classic two years later. He plays the arrogant, insouciant Williams, who competes alongside Lee in a sinister competition organised by the mysterious Mr Han on a James Bond-style island. Kelly's impressive afro, sideburns and good looks made him the perfect choice for a film shot at the height of blaxploitation.
Kelly has since become a huge cult figure, though his acting career never quite took off despite a good deal of success in similar 1970s fare. Appearances in films such as Black Belt Jones,...
- 7/1/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Jim Kelly, a martial artist famous for his role in the 1973 Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, died on Saturday of cancer, his ex-wife Marilyn Dishman told the Associated Press. "Yesterday, June 29, 2013, James Milton Kelly, better known as Jim Kelly, the Karate expert, actor, my first husband and Sabrena Kelly-Lewis's biological father died," Dishman wrote in a Facebook note about his passing. "Sabrena needs all of your good thoughts and prayers. This is a difficult situation to process. Even I am having trouble processing it. Like his mother, there will be no service!" Kelly starred in numerous martial arts
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- 6/30/2013
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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