My Take
Jim Kelly is one of those figures who makes you realize how rare it is to be genuinely great at two completely different things. A karate champion out of Paris, Kentucky — not exactly a martial arts hotbed — he competed at the highest levels and then walked onto a movie set like he owned it. His breakout in Enter the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee in 1973 is the stuff of legend: charismatic, cool under pressure, and moving like nobody else on screen. He wasn't just a fighter playing dress-up as an actor; he had real screen presence, and the blaxploitation era found in him something it genuinely needed. He passed away in June 2013, and the loss still stings for fans of that whole era of unapologetically fun, physically electrifying cinema. A real original.
Overview
James Milton Kelly (May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013) was an American athlete, martial artist actor, and professional tennis player. After winning several karate championships, he rose to fame in the early 1970s appearing in action films within the martial arts and blaxploitation genres.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jim Kelly
- Name (Japanese)
- ジム・ケリー
- Reading
- じむ・けりー
- Born
- May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Dog
- Origin
- Paris, Kentucky, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film actor / television actor / karateka / taekwondo athlete
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Bourbon County High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.