Actor Jim Kelly, who played an American martial arts expert in Enter The Dragon with Bruce Lee, has died June 29, 2013 at the age of 67.

Kelly, Born on May 5, 1946 in Millersburg, Kentucky. He began his athletic career in high school, competing 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.

Kelly began his martial arts career under the tutelage of Shaolin-Do Grandmaster Sin Kwan The’ in Lexington, Kentucky. Additionally, he trained in Okinawan karate under the direction of Masters Parker Shelton, Nate Patton, and Gordon Doversola.

During the early 1970s, Jim Kelly became one of the most decorated world karate champions in the sport. In 1971, Kelly won four prestigious championships that same year, most notably, the World Middleweight Karate title at the 1971 Long Beach International Karate Championships.

He opened his own dojo which was frequented by numerous Hollywood celebrities. He taught karate to actor Calvin Lockhart for a role in a thriller feature film Melinda; he ended up playing a martial arts instructor in the movie.

Kelly became well known for his one-liners and fight scenes as Williams in the 1973 classic. Marilyn Dishman, Kelly’s ex-wife said he died on Saturday night at his home in California.

Kelly's other films included Three The Hard Way, Black Belt Jones and Black Samurai. But it was Enter The Dragon that was his most iconic film. Directed by Robert Clouse, it starred Bruce Lee, Kelly and John Saxon.

In later years, Kelly took up tennis professionally -- becoming a ranked player on the USTA senior circuit.

In the 1980s, Kelly re-trained as a professional tennis coach.

In 2010 he told The Los Angeles Times "I never left the movie business, it's just that after a certain point, I didn't get the type of projects that I wanted to do."

Kelly was never far from the screen or the spotlight. In 2004, he starred with basketball star Lebron James in a Nike commercial that spoofed another Bruce Lee film, "Game of Death."