With the sad passing of Jim Kelly it's inevitable for his fans to not only be disappointed that there won't be a comebac
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Cognoscente — 2 weeks ago(March 18, 2026 06:36 AM)
Bruce wanted Jim to co-star with him in his next film after Enter the Dragon. A Japanese cinematographer corroborated this in a Japanese magazine circa the '70s.
Other people wanted to cash in on Bruce's idea. For example, there was an interracial movie called The Dynamite Brothers. It was made after Bruce died, and it employed the stuntmen whom Bruce wanted to take with him to Hollywood.
More about the situation:
https://popcultmaster.substack.com/p/the-taboo-connection -
blue_smoke — 12 years ago(August 16, 2013 03:37 PM)
His acting was lousy. Chuck Norris' acting is lousy, but Jim Kelly's was even worse. Even so I still think he could have been bigger than he was, if he had done movies with little dialogue and they focused on action sequences instead.
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Chanpuru — 12 years ago(September 03, 2013 04:11 PM)
I think saying that his acting was "lousy" is a bit strong.. and even if he wasn't A list it certainly doesn't explain his inability to have a B list career like many of his contemporaries did. I'm not asking why he din't win an Oscar or do Hamlet with the RSC.
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filmman3000 — 12 years ago(December 14, 2013 02:40 AM)
Oh wow I always thought Chuck Norris was the first American martial art actor. In fact Jim Kelly did Black Belt Jones a few years before Norris did his solo debut.
Obviously Chuck had the color advantage, but I am sure that didn't stop Kelly. Also, the budget for a Norris film didn't start being serious until Kelly faded away from the movie scene. So it's hard to know or make a difference. Also Norris was always smart with his acting career when the movies went down he went for TV, where he had a big success.
Also the quality between the directors Chuck and Jim is there. Chuck had Ted Post, and Steve Carver. I am sure if Kelly had a quality director after Black Belt Jones he would have been ok.
I think he mentioned at one point that he was fed up with the B-movies and quit. Wish he had done more films with more masters of the craft who would have done successful films, because that would have kept him from getting away. Love his B-movies tho.
Maybe his Tennis career got in the way, we will never know. -
FilmKoala — 10 years ago(December 19, 2015 08:20 PM)
I feel like he didn't achieve greater success because unlike fellow blaxploitation stars like Fred Williamson or Pam Grier, it was really easy to pigeonhole him as "That black kung-fu guy". Kelly wasn't what I would call a sensational actor either, so I think people had a harder time envisioning him playing a mobster or a club owner or a cowboy or anyone other than a martial artist. He was the kung-fu hero, Black Belt Jones, for pretty much his entire career.
With that said my life wouldn't be the same without Black Belt Jones and Three the Hard Way so that kung-fu hero was good enough for me. -
Woodyanders — 2 weeks ago(March 18, 2026 02:49 PM)
I think the main reason Jim Kelly wasn't a huge star is because he didn't possess the necessary range to play a variety of characters. While Kelly was perfectly acceptable as a likeable hero, he alas lacked the necessary hard edge to be convincing as either a tough detective or mean villain.
You've seen Guy Standeven in something because the man was in everything.