Happy (Belated !!) Birthday Russ Meyer

    

    With much apologies a belated Birthday & Remembrance goes out for the big-bust king Russ Meyer. Born on March 21 1922 he served in the U.S. Army during WWII as a combat cameraman. Working as a still photographer in Hollywood and as a photographer for the early years of Playboy he made his first "nudie-cutie" in 1959 THE IMMORAL TEAS in 1959.
    During the coming decades he wrote/produced and directed such classics as FASTER, PUSSYCAT KILL! KILL! (1965), MUDHONEY (1965), SUPERVIXENS (1975) and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF ULTRA-VIXENS (1979) among others most featuring dominant big breasted woman and weak ineffectual men. Always fiercely independent in the early 70's he hooked up with 20th Century Fox which spawned the gloriously over-the top BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS ("This is my happening and it freaks me out !!") in 1970 followed up by SEVEN MINUTES in 1971.
    He sadly passed in 2004, but left behind a magnificent (in more ways then one) body of work. He is sorely missed.

  

    

Happy Birthday Jim Kelly

 "The Cool Master of King-Fu and Karate !"

Tagline from BLACK SAMURAI 1977

     A very special birthday wish and remembrance needs to go out today for Jim Kelly who was born on this day in 1946. In a decade that spawned more then it's share of cinema bad-asses, Jim Kelly was one of the 70's baddest.

    Winner of many karate championships, he became the first African American martial arts movie star and initially rose to prominence as Williams in the Bruce Lee classic ENTER THE DRAGON from 1973. In 1974 he starred as the title character in BLACK BELT JONES, kicked ass alongside Fred Williamson and Jim Brown in Gordon Park's THREE THE HARD WAY and appeared  with Joe Don Baker in GOLDEN NEEDLES. In 1977 there was Al Adamson's BLACK SAMURAI and the blacksploitation western TAKE A HARD RIDE FROM 1975.
    At 6' 2" with his trademark afro and sideburns he made a striking presence in his films and was able to convey an aura "don't mess with me" attitude without saying a word.
    He would later become a professional tennis player and passed away in 2013 much too young  from cancer at the age of 67.