The martial arts world and the stunt world lost one of its brightest stars and one-of-a-kind talents today. The award-winning martial arts legend, James Lew, has passed away at the age of 73. Lew is one of those faces that you know you’ve seen in action movies, as he was one of Hollywood’s best stunt coordinators and fight choreographers. Lew had previously won an Emmy for his stunt work on the Marvel Studios series Luke Cage. Luke Cage star Mike Colter posted a picture of himself and Lew on his Instagram, where he broke the news of Lew’s passing.
Colter’s post read, “Just got the call that James Lew, the emmy winning stunt coordinator for @marvelslukecage has passed. I saw him last year and it was as if no time had passed. We reminisced and talked about the 1st season of #lukecage and how much fun we had and how little sleep we got. We planned to connect and have breakfast by the beach when we had a moment. I saw him a few days later and we chatted again at an event in his neighborhood. Not long after that I received a call from a mutual friend saying he was in the hospital. I gave him a call to check in and he seemed to be in good spirits. He said it was a wake up call to slow down. He looked forward to getting back on his feet and he did. But now he’s gone.
Condolences to his family and friends. He was a really good dude and i’m glad to be a footnote in his legacy and his career. Glad to call him a friend. Rest easy man. You will be missed. I shed a tear for you now but I will smile whenever your name is mentioned.”
According to Colter’s post, Lew had previously been hospitalized, but there hasn’t been an official announcement for the cause of death. Lew was a staple of the martial arts magazine, Black Belt, which has given him a sweet tribute that you can check out HERE.
As a character actor in the martial arts film genre, you may recognize Lew in films like Big Trouble in Little China, Best of the Best, The Perfect Weapon and Lethal Weapon 4. His journey as an actor and stuntman started back in the 70s with his early credits including the famous TV series Kung Fu, which starred David Carradine. His breakout as a choreographer and coordinator was on John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, which includes one of the coolest martial arts gang battles that American cinema has ever put out.
As action films ruled Hollywood in the 80s and 90s, Lew would appear more often on screen and became a tinseltown fixture as a fight choreographer on films like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Double Impact and The Crow television series, which starred Mark Dacascos. Lew’s career would include collaborations with such big names as Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jeff Speakman.
According to IMDb, Lew has 154 stunt crew credits on his resume and 183 acting roles. Lew was a true journeyman in the industry and we have always loved his work here at JoBlo.
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