On June 29, 2013, at the age of 67, a karateka died of cancer. Jim Kelly nicknamed "The Dragon".
Jim was born on May 5, 1946 and was an athletic child growing up, playing basketball, football and baseball. Interested in martial arts, young Kelly studied Shaolin-do, and then the Okinawan style of karate - Shorin-ryu. In 1971, he already won the world middleweight karate championship, and then opened his own dojo, where he taught hand-to-hand combat skills to various Hollywood stars.
Kelly's first film was an action detective film. "Melinda" (1972), but fame came to him in 1973 after the role Williams in film "Enter the Dragon", and until my last days Kelly considered Bruce Lee the greatest martial artist who ever lived. Jim himself is considered the first black star of martial arts films and one of the founders of such a subgenre as "blaxploitation", starring in films such as "The thorny path of three" (1974) "Jones is a black belt" (1974) "Black Samurai" (1976) "Deadly Dimension" (1978) and others.
In the 80s and 90s Jim Kelly He practically did not act in films, preferring teaching and only occasionally appearing as an extra in various B-action films. Kelly's last film was an action comedy. "Afro Ninja" (2009)
Bright memory…
It seems that the athlete should be healthy. But death does not ask whether you are a karateka or not. If you are a person, then you are mortal. And she takes it. And cancer is one of the most terrible instruments of death.
Holy shit, why so early((Like an athlete and a karateka. Why did he die?
From cancer.
:(
I remember this from childhood, it’s a pity
...that's how they leave... I'm afraid to imagine what will happen when Jackie is gone...
So what is it...