Actor Jim Kelly, made famous for his role in the 1973 film "Enter the Dragon" starring Bruce Lee, died over the weekend.
The martial arts actor succumbed to cancer according to reports from the Associated Press.
"Yesterday, June 29, 2013, James Milton Kelly, better known as Jim Kelly, the Karate expert, actor, my first husband and Sabrena Kelly-Lewis's biological father died," Marilyn Dishman, Kelly's wife wrote in a note on Facebook. "Sabrena needs all of your good thoughts and prayers. This is a difficult situation to process. Even I am having trouble processing it. Like his mother, there will be no service!"
Kelly starred in several martial arts films in the 1970s including "Blackbelt Jones," "Three the Hard Way" and "Black Samurai." Since then, he had quit acting and become a professional tennis player.
"I never left the movie business," Kelly told the LA Times in 2010. "It's just that after a certain point, I didn't get the type of projects that I wanted to do. I still get at least three scripts per year, but most of them don't put forth a positive image. There's nothing I really want to do, so I don't do it. If it happens, it happens, but if not, I'm happy with what I've accomplished."
Kelly was 67-years-old when he passed away. He began training in martial arts in 1964 in Kentucky. Five years later, after he'd moved to San Diego, he received his black belt in Karate. The Hollywood Reporter wrote in 1971 he won four major martial arts championships in a row, making him a staple in the karate world. Producer Fred Weintraub hired him for a small role in 1973's "Enter the Dragon" where he played a glib, wise-cracking American marital artist. He later teamed up again with Weintraub to make "Black Belt Jones." Kelly was a natural athlete, in fact, his second cousin was baseball star Willie Mays.
Below is a video of Kelly in a fight scene from the movie "Enter the Dragon." Be careful as this video contains strong language and violence.
