Jim Kelly (martial artist)

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For other persons named Jim Kelly, see Jim Kelly (disambiguation).

Jim Kelly (born May 5, 1946 in Paris, Kentucky) is an American athlete, actor and martial artist who came to prominence in the early 1970s.

Kelly began his athletic career in high school, competing successfully in basketball, football, and track and field. He attended the University of Louisville and left during his freshman year to begin studying Shorin Ryu karate. After winning the 1971 International Middleweight Karate Championship, he opened his own martial arts school.

As an actor, Kelly is best known for co-starring alongside Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. This appearance led to starring roles in a string of martial arts-themed Blaxploitation films, among them Black Belt Jones and Three the Hard Way. Most of Kelly's film roles played up the (then) novelty of an African-American martial arts master. After his appearance in 1982's One Down, Two to Go, Kelly appeared in movies only rarely.

In 2004, he appeared with NBA star LeBron James in the Nike commercial "Chamber of Fear".

Today, Jim Kelly resides in Southern California and works as a professional tennis coach.

[edit] External links

• Jim Kelly at the Internet Movie Database