A Tribute to the Martial Artist Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly, the martial artist and actor in Enter the Dragon died on June 29th 2013, aged 67. Kelly will be remembered for not just his charismatic fighting role, but his superb lines and presence on screen. Like Lee, he too was often typecast by a myopic Hollywood inhibited by its own prejudices.
On this anniversary of Kelly's death, I'm releasing a radio transcript featuring Jim Kelly, amongst a host of recognisable names in the martial arts field of that era.
International Reporter Gerald Greene, had gathered together in his studio half-a-dozen personalities to discuss the pros and cons of working alongside the Bruce Lee - the Little Dragon.
(To catch all of the subtle references, Greene suggests you first familiarise yourself with the film Enter the Dragon and the rest of his collected transcripts in the audacious compilation: One Last Thing)
THE RADIO SHOW GUEST LIST INCLUDED:
The Round Table Discussion
Colt, Williams, Han Man, O’Hara and Roper discuss working with the Little Dragon in the book: One Last thing
Williams: The karate Instructor on the run from a racist police force.
Roper: Dodging and diving gambler on the run from loan sharks in the USA. (Roper was the obligatory Hollywood name to feature alongside Lee in order to attract investment an interest in the film.)
Colt: Karate champion who challenges Lee in the Coliseum fight in the film ‘Way of the Dragon’. (Colt came to symbolise everything that Lee had spent his life fighting: The continual discrimination of white American actors over Asians in the cinema and the confining limits of the traditional teaching methods in the martial arts.)
Han: Asian drug dealer (on the run from the Shaolin temple). (“Mr Han Man” - as he was referred to by Williams in the film - was also a distinguished Chinese actor, but couldn't speak a word “of English, so had his voice dubbed over by Key Luke, who famously played Kwai Chang Caine’s blind Shaolin tutor in the Kung Fu TV Series).
O’Hara: Han’s bodyguard who fights Lee in Enter the Dragon. (The fight begins with O’Hara breaking a board in front of Lee’s face, to which Lee unforgettably replies: “Boards don’t hit back.” Lee then proceeds to demonstrate just exactly what does hit back.)
TRANSCRIPT OF RADIO SHOW: THE INTRODUCTIONS
Gerald Greene: Good evening and welcome to this week’s episode of Alphabetical Legends. My name is Gerald Greene and on this week’s show we are focusing on the letter L - for popular culture has indeed been blessed with some superb actors that have carried the letter to legendary heights: Christopher Lee, Spike Lee, Lee Van Cleef, Lee Majors and even Jet Li. But over and above all these, there has been one Lee that perhaps defined a whole genre of entertainment and social activities: The Little Dragon himself, Bruce Lee; actor, writer, producer and acknowledged King Of Kung Fu.
On tonight’s Round Table Discussion we will be discussing his impact on the lives of so many people across all the continents of the world and to do so, we have invited an esteemed panel of guests.
So let’s get on with the introductions: On my left - wearing a well-cut suit as always - I have Mr Williams - How are you Mr Williams?
Williams: Busy, very busy. But, hey, still looking good…
Gerald Greene: Next to Williams, we have the infamous opponent to Lee in the unforgettable Coliseum fight, Mr Colt. What are you up to these days Colt?
Colt: Oh, you know. Loads of TV work, films, endless series. Political campaigning, religious fund-raisers…
Gerald Greene: Fascinating, fascinating…maybe we can come back to some of that in another show? To my right side, I have the amiable and admirable Mr O’Hara, star of two films with the little Dragon. Welcome Mr O’Hara.
O’Hara: Thanks for inviting me.
Gerald Greene: Sitting next to O’Hara we are privileged to have with us Mr Han-Man. As Mr Han does not speak English, he has brought his interpreter Keye Luke. How are things with Han, Keye?
Han (Luke): Fine, fine, it is good to be here. Mr Han tells me he’d like to quote himself from Enter the Dragon: “Welcome to you all and I look forward to a discussion of truly epic proportions.”
Gerald Greene: Thank you for that quote Han. And finally, opposite we have Williams’ buddy in Enter The Dragon, Mr Roper himself. Welcome Roper.
Roper: The pleasure is all mine.
THE BOUNCE FACTOR
Gerald Greene: Colt, can we start with you. Perhaps, more than most of us here, you worked intimately with the man on his third film. The coliseum fight has gone down in the annals of martial history as one of the greatest fight sequences ever filmed. What is your outstanding memory of that Lee during that fight?
Colt: Well, he was bouncy. Not as hairy as some had hoped, but extremely bouncy.
Gerald Greene: Williams?
Williams: Yeah, Tigger had nothing on that cat. He was bouncy, Colt’s right about that.
Gerald Greene: O’Hara?
O’Hara: A bit bouncy. Though, not so much off-screen.
Gerald Greene: Mr Han-Man?
Han (Luke): Mr Han says that he is in agreement with the general bounciness of the conversation but would like to add that Lee’s Style was unorthodox too.
Williams: But effective.
Gerald Greene: Maybe we could leave the ‘bouncy’ discussion a moment and just go back to the coliseum fight. What does the panel think of the symbolism - classicism versus formlessness, Asia versus America or just the Japanese karate Gi versus the Chinese black trousers? Colt…?
Colt: Well, I’d have to return to the bouncy argument because I remember, after we watched the first out-takes, I said to Bruce: “Hey Bruce. Don’t you think I’m looking a bit rigid compared to you”, and he says that’s ‘cause you are rigid Colt. So I say “Can’t we change it?” and he says, “It’s your legacy Colt, it’s all you have to work with.”
Roper: Sounds fair.
Colt: But it was just a script, guys! A Karate suit, a belt, a cat and lots of bouncing. But, if the script had said for me to bounce, you think I couldn't bounce just as good as Lee?
Williams: Man, you come right out of a comic book
Roper: Colt, you really need someone to answer that?
Colt: No, listen to me. You don’t understand, it was all in the script.
Williams: Sure it was.
Colt: If you don’t believe me, ask Han-Man. It was the same for him in Enter the Dragon. He got the rigid role in that one.
Gerald Greene: Han?
Han (Luke): Gentlemen, gentlemen. We are all ready to bounce, just as we are born knowing only life. It is rigidity that you must learn to prepare for.
Gerald Greene: Is he still quoting? OK, enough of this. Time-out Panel! But don’t go away folks because we’ll be right back before you know it, after this quick word from our sponsor….
READ THE ENTIRE Interview and DOZENS MORE Conversations with DEAD Masters IN…
One Last Thing: All the interviews, all the stories all the controversies
For Part II in which arguments escalate over who appeared where in the poster of the film you'll need to read: The History of the Martial Arts, the role of Culture and Tradition and the relationship of East to West blown wide open in this philosophical comedy, from the author of The Manual of Bean Curd Boxing.
"Impudent, cheeky, saucy, and beautifully –wonderfully –insanely irreverent! I love this book for all the reasons I love rock-n-roll, American muscle-cars, and 1970's Shaw Brothers martial arts flicks. Reading this book, you'll be stained by its wisdom! - Anthony Guilbert, author of 'Notes From The Drift'.
For more radio transcripts, conversations with the dead, fly-on-the-wall discussions and probably the most surreal account of the martial arts in history, get the book (if you must from Amazon) or much better using one of the links above.
