Jim Kelly, who famously starred in the 1973 martial art’s cult film Enter the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee, has died of cancer at the age of 67.
Sporting an Afro hairstyle and sideburns, Kelly was almost known as well for his trademark looks as his martial arts abilities. His fight scenes were legendary, particularly in Enter the Dragon, where his one-line quips also proved quite popular.
Kelly later starred in several other films, including Three the Hard Way, Black Belt Jones and Black Samurai. In a 2010 interview with Salon.com, Kelly told the website he started studying martial arts in 1964 in Kentucky and earned a black belt after relocating to California. He said he set his sights on becoming an actor after winning karate tournaments. He also played college football.
People reported the role in the Bruce Lee film was his second and that overall he had about a dozen film roles, most of them all coming during 1970s before his acting work tapered off. In recent years, he drew lines of autograph seekers at comic book conventions.
"It was one of the best experiences in my life," Kelly told salon.com of working on Enter the Dragon.
''Bruce was just incredible, absolutely fantastic. I learned so much from working with him. I probably enjoyed working with Bruce more than anyone else I'd ever worked with in movies because we were both martial artists. And he was a great, great martial artist. It was very good."
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