Jim Kelly was born in Paris, Kentucky. He began his athletic career in high school, competing successfully in basketball, football, and track and field. He attended the University of Louisville where he played football, but left during his freshman year to begin studying Shorin-ryu karate. Additionally, he trained in Okinawa-te karate under the direction of Shihan Gordon Doversola.
Kelly won the Huntington Beach Classic and credits Doversola with making him a world class fighter. During this time other notables as Joe Lewis would also train in the same dojo. After winning the middleweight title at the 1971 International Middleweight Karate Championship in Long Beach, he opened his own dojo.
With his funky Afro hairstyle, super cool attitude and superb karate skills, Jim Kelly was instantly identifiable, and one of the top martial arts film stars of the early 1970s. After appearing in a minor film role, Kelly’s second screen effort was as one of the invited guests to the deadly Han’s Island in Enter the Dragon.
His Role of “Williams” in the Bruce Lee vehicle gained him international recognition. Kelly quickly cropped up in several more martial arts influenced “blaxploitation” films including Three the Hard Way (1974), Golden Needles (1974) and Black Belt Jones (1974), with its interesting fight finale in a soap filled car wash!
He then appeared in several other action films of the late seventies, however since 1980, Kelly has only cropped up in relatively minor roles. A talented athlete, winning ranked titles both in tennis and karate, Jim Kelly was an integral part of the African-American & martial arts cinematic explosion of the 1970s.
Jim looks forward to meeting all his fans at both the Melbourne and Gold Coast expos in 2012. There are signing* and photo* sessions throughout each Saturday (10.30am to 5.30pm) and Sunday (11am to 5pm) excluding breaks and there’s a general admission Q&A during each weekend.
* Autograph ($30 each) and photograph ($40 each) fees apply.
Guest confirmed health and other commitments pending.
