Jim Kelly

James Milton Kelly (May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013) was an American athlete, martial artist, and actor. After winning several karate championships, Kelly rose to fame in the early 1970s appearing in various action films within the martial arts and blaxploitation genres. Kelly played opposite Bruce Lee in 1973's Enter the Dragon, and had lead roles in 1974's Black Belt Jones as the title character and Three the Hard Way as Mister Keyes. Early life and athletic career Kelly's father ran a locker-rental service for Navy personnel. He began his athletic career at Bourbon County High School in Paris, Kentucky, competing in basketball, football, and track and field. He attended the University of Louisville on a football scholarship, but left during his freshman year after a coach referred to a black teammate with a racial slur. Instead he began to study Shorin-ryu karate. Kelly began his martial arts career under the tutelage of Sin Kwang The' (Shaolin-Do) in Lexington, Kentucky. He trained in Okinawan karate under the direction of Parker Shelton, Nate Patton, and Gordon Doversola. During the early 1970s, Kelly became one of the most decorated world karate champions in the sport. In 1971, he won four prestigious championships that same year, most notably, the World Middleweight Karate title at the 1971 Long Beach International Karate Championships. Kelly opened his own dojo, which was frequented by numerous Hollywood celebrities and which ultimately landed him in the movies. In addition to his martial arts and film careers, Kelly also became a professional tennis player. He played amateur tennis in the 1970s at Plummer Park in West Hollywood. In 1975, he joined the USTA Senior Men's Circuit. He ultimately reached the No. 2 ranking in senior men's doubles in the state of California and the top ten in the state in senior men's singles. Later in life, he became the owner and director of a tennis club in the San Diego area.