Happy Birthday to Taimak Guarriello, the man we know as Bruce Leroy from the 1985 urban kung-fu cult classic The Last Dragon. He turned 49 today but still looks like he could play Leroy.  My main man is still glowing even-though it’s been 28 years since his breakout movie. He’s been a hero to me and thousands of others since we first saw his journey from catching that arrow to asking Vanity to teach him some moves.

We’ve recently lost some of the stars of The Last Dragon, Julius Carry (Sho’nuff) in 2008, Leo O’Brien (Richie Green) in 2012 and we don’t hear much from Denise “Vanity” Matthews (Laura Charles) since she became born again so let’s appreciate Taimak while we can.

Did you know?

Taimak was born in Los Angeles on June 27 1964, raised in New York City and Europe and currently resides in NYC. His mother is black, his father is Italian and he has 2 sisters and a brother.

Taimak is a real life Kung-fu master?

Laura Charles got it right. Taimak is the real deal. He recently added a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to his 7th Degree Black Belt; he’s also a skilled practitioner of Shoalin Kung Fu, Chinese Goju, Boxing, MMA, Aikido, Judo, Fencing and won the New York State kickboxing championship when he was 18 years old. In 2010, he was inducted into The Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

He still acts and has added writer, director, fight choreographer, pro wrestling, modelling, martial arts instructor and fitness expert & trainer to his repertoire.  He also delivers seminars all over the country helping kids in “at risk” communities achieve their dreams.

Be on the look out for his film “I’ve Seen Things”. Here’s the teaser:

 

I’ve heard he will be at the BET awards this weekend, could he be making a surprise appearance? or is he just there to watch? He didn’t respond when I asked… so we will have to wait and see…

He has his own blog and is active on Twitter and Facebook so be sure to send him a birthday shout-out yourself!

 

 

TheLastDragonTribute.com is a blog dedicated to preserving the joy of Berry Gordy’s 1985 Motown meets Kung Fu cult classic The Last Dragon. We also delve into all things Bruce Lee, Martial Arts and enjoy reminiscing about 70′s,80′s & 90′s pop culture. Follow us from the links below for your daily dose of the Glow!