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Jim Kelly

Jim Kelly

Acting

Biography

James Milton "Jim" Kelly (May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013) was an American athlete, martial artist, and actor best known for his roles in 1970s action and blaxploitation films. Born in Millersburg, Kentucky, Kelly excelled in athletics from a young age, participating in multiple sports before dedicating himself to Okinawan karate. He became a decorated karate champion, winning several prestigious titles in 1971 and opening his own dojo in Los Angeles. His appearance alongside Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon" (1973) launched his acting career, leading to starring roles in films like "Black Belt Jones" (1974) and "Three the Hard Way" (1974). Beyond martial arts and acting, Kelly was also a professional tennis player, achieving a high ranking in senior men's doubles in California. Jim Kelly, who was 6'2" (1.88 m), died on June 29, 2013, in San Diego, California, due to cancer. He is remembered as the first Black martial arts film star, who broke down the color barrier and left a memorable presence on screen.

Known For

Highway to Heaven
7.4

A probationary angel is sent back to Earth to team up with an ex-cop and help people.

Highway to Heaven

1984
Enter the Dragon
7.4

A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.

Enter the Dragon

1973
Bruce Lee, the Legend
7.9

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee, the Legend

1984
BaadAsssss Cinema
6.0

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.

BaadAsssss Cinema

2002
Black Belt Jones
6.0

Jones is a secret agent who has gone into semi-retirement, concentrating instead on teaching the martial arts to inner city youths. The karate school is run by a kindly old coot named Pops. His gambling debts, however, bring the local thug, Pinky, down on him. To make matters worse, Pinky is then hired by some white thugs who want to get a hold of the property Pops' school occupies so they can build a shopping mall. When things get heavy, Black Belt Jones leaps into action. Only he's not alone. Pops' daughter, Sidney, shows up to lend a hand, proving herself every bit as agile and powerful a martial artist as Jones.

Black Belt Jones

1974
Three the Hard Way
6.3

After his wife is kidnapped by a group of White supremacists, a record producer teams up with a PR man and a martial artist to get her back and put a stop to their plot to poison the water supply with a toxin that only kills Black people.

Three the Hard Way

1974
Golden Needles
5.3

An ancient Asian statue with the power to grant health and long life via secret acupuncture points is being pursued by a wealthy criminal, but his plans are put in peril when a slovenly detective is tasked with protecting the relic.

Golden Needles

1974
Top Fighter
6.7

Welcome to the world of the martial arts. A voyage for the times of the martial arts cinema, from the beginning in China in the 6th Century A.C. by a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, until the actual time and the influence in the world, with interviews to actors and historians, and a review to the most important movies of all times and to the most famous action movies actors. A magnificent jewel of this genre what nobody wouldn't lose.

Top Fighter

1995
The Tattoo Connection
5.3

When a diamond is stolen in Hong Kong, the company insuring the diamond sends a former CIA agent to Hong Kong to retrieve it. Meanwhile, one of the thieves begins to have a change of heart because his girlfriend wants him to leave his criminal organization.

The Tattoo Connection

1978
Take a Hard Ride
5.3

After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Sonora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.

Take a Hard Ride

1975
The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
8.4

A look at the life of superstar Bruce Lee.

The Unbeatable Bruce Lee

2001
Death Dimension
4.3

The Pig has a plan to eradicate some people with a freeze bomb that instantly freezes people to death. It is up to Detective Ash to stop him and protect the woman with the secret to the ice bomb embedded in a microdot under the skin of her forehead.

Death Dimension

1978
Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee
8.1

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee exposes the truth behind Lee's death and the cover-up that ensued.

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee

1993
Black Samurai
5.6

When the daughter of the royal family is held hostage, an agent for "D.R.A.G.O.N." will stop at nothing to destroy the evil organisation which abducted her.

Black Samurai

1976
One Down, Two to Go
4.7

A pair of tough cops go after the mob who jinxed the martial arts tournament and injured their buddy.

One Down, Two to Go

1982
Melinda
4.8

A slick, smooth-talking, womanizing young black DJ falls hard for an enigmatic woman he's just met. Things take a turn for the worse, though, when she is found dead in his apartment. It turns out that she was killed by the local mob, which is trying to frame him for the crime. With the police after him, he calls on some of his old acquaintances to help clear his name and avenge the woman's death.

Melinda

1972
Location: Hong Kong with Enter the Dragon
N/A

Promotional film on the making of 'Enter the Dragon.'

Location: Hong Kong with Enter the Dragon

1973
Hot Potato
4.1

Martial-arts expert tries to rescue an ambassador's daughter who was kidnapped in Thailand.

Hot Potato

1976
Stranglehold
6.5

Deep inside the nation's top chemical weapons facility, a brilliant terrorist takes a Congresswoman hostage. The Navy can't stop him. The Air Force can't reach him. The Coast Guard can't kill him. Only one man can do the job: special agent Ryan Cooper. He's in a race against time to save the world, facing his greatest challenge yet!

Stranglehold

1994
Afro Ninja
4.8

This homage to martial arts legend Jim Kelly is based on a hugely successful YouTube video. Reggie's got a dead end job, a cruel boss, and no real prospects. Until he uncovers a pair of magic nun-chucks that gives him karate superpowers and set Reggie up for a battle with the evil Kung Fu Master.

Afro Ninja

2009