Jim Kelly – Blaxploitation/Martial Arts Star Dead at 67

“Ghettos are the same all over the world. They stink!”

We’ve lost a true movie bad-ass. I can remember staying at my grandmother’s house in Greenville, South Carolina in 1975 when I was 13 and walking to an ‘urban’ movie theater a mile or so away. They were showing something called THE BLACK SAMURAI. It was rated R but they sold me a ticket anyway. I excitedly took my seat and, as the only Caucasian in the audience, enjoyed my one and only big-screen Blaxploitation experience back in that genre’s heyday. I shared this story with the film’s star Jim Kelly, when I met him at Cinema Wasteland a couple of years ago and not only did he get a kick out of it, he knew exactly which theater I was referring to – The Plaza, having made an appearance there a couple of years earlier to promote BLACK BELT JONES.

A Louisville, KY native, the 6’2” Jim Kelly was an international karate champion, running his own martial arts school in San Francisco when he was cast in the 1973 the kung fu classic ENTER THE DRAGON as “Williams”. With a commanding screen presence, intense fighting skills, and  cool afro, Kelly went on to star in BLACK BELT JOENS, HOT POTATO, ONE DOWN TWO TO GO, and many more. Kelly later became a professional tennis player, joining the USTA Senior Men’s Circuit and appeared alongside LeBron James in a 2004 Nike TV ad. Jim Kelly has died at age 67. The details of his death have not been made public but when I find something out, I will update this post.