Yesterday, January 31, 2022, the actor and martial artist died at the age of 83 Bob Wall.
Many of you know him as an honored figure in martial arts, along with Chuck Norris, Bill Wallace и Joe Lewis who popularized karate in America in the late 60s and 70s. However, most probably remember him as an on-screen opponent Bruce Lee, the “villainous gwailo karateka” from the films "The path of Dragon" (1972), “Enter the Dragon” (He also “Dragon Island”) (1973) и “Game of Death” (1973).
Robert Allan Wall was born on August 22, 1939 in California and devoted his entire life to martial arts and their development not only in cinema, but also in literature.
Robert initially studies Okinawan karate under the guidance of Gordon Doversall and 1966 together Joe Lewis opens a karate studio Sherman Oaks Karate Studio.
In 1970, he won the US Professional Karate Championship and was subsequently elected to the Professional Karate Association Hall of Fame.
Black Belt in Judo Under Guidance Gina LeBella (1958), ninth degree black belts in American Tang Soo Do and Chun Kuk Do under the guidance of Chuck Norris, Okinawa-te black belt under the direction of Gordon Doversall (1963), black belt in Okinawan Shorin-ryu under the direction of Joe Lewis (1966). Studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from his brothers Machado.
Author of books “An Illustrated History of Martial Arts” и "Who's Who in Martial Arts and the Black Belt Directory", published in 1975 and reprinted 4 more times.
In the early 70s, under the patronage Chuck Norris gets acquainted with Bruce Lee and takes part in his films, embodying some of the Little Dragon's most memorable opponents - O'Hara and Carl Miller, even though in “Game of Death” Wall fights not Bruce himself, but his posthumous double Kim Tai Chun, but before that he has a duel with Sammo Hoon. Yes, the fight choreography performed by Wall was not endowed with special grace, but the “whiskers of death” were in place.
By the way, Bob played another O'Hara, albeit an episodic one, in the film "Blood and bone" (2009) with Michael Jai White starring. It was a modest but nice tribute to Bruce's legacy and who knows, maybe it was still the same O'Hara?
Alas, you cannot stop the flow of time. The winds are increasingly blowing away the old guard, leaving only their memory, as well as their military and cinematic legacy.
Rest in Peace, Bob. Now you can practice to your heart's content with Bruce Lee и Joe Lewis.
I am waiting. I hope there will be something exciting.
I would like to mention Pasha as a person who has been an active participant in this project since…
Sad ending, albeit with a joke...
Added a video from the filming of "Twilight of the Warriors".