"Man you come straight out of a comic book." Jim Kelly ( Enter the Dragon 1973)
James M. Kelly also known as Kim Kelly was born May 4, 1946 in Paris, KY he began his athletic career in high school a true natural athlete he competed in track & field, football, and basketball. He earned a football scholarship to University of Louisville, he left after his freshmen year and began studying Shorin-ryu Karate. He was also trained in Okinawa-te-Karate under the leadership of Shihan Gordon. In 1971 Jim Kelly won the Long Beach International Karate Championships he opened his own dojo and credited Gordon for making him a world class fighter. Jim Kelly taught Joe Lewis karate and trained actor Calvin Lockhart for the thriller film Melina; a film Kelly also starred in.
Jim's most notable films are: Enter the Dragon (1973), Black Belt Jones (1974), Three the Hard Way (1974), Take a Ride ( 1975), and Black Samurai(1977) just to name a few.
Other Facts: He was married once and divorced, he was professional tennis player for the UTSA Senior Men's Circuit. In 2004 he appeared in the Le Bron James's Nike Commercial "Chamber of Fear," a spoof of the Bruce Lee film Game of Death.
Jim Kelly died on June 29, 2013 at the age of 67 I was not alive in the 70's and 80's but I have had the chance to watch his films he was really talented and very handsome. RIP you will be missed.
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