RIGHT ON! TARGET

If you're impressed by my backhand you should see my wing chun double punch.

We bet you didn’t know martial arts icon Jim Kelly was also a proessional tennis player. In 1975 he joined the USTA Men’s Senior Circuit and reached a number two ranking in men’s doubles. Later in life he owned a tennis club in San Diego. Here you see the Enter the Dragon star working on his court moves in a shot published in the African-American celeb magazine Right On! in 1979. Kelly was not a great actor, but in those quickly made, low-budget actioners from the ’70s, who was? You can count the top talents on ten fingers. But he was the first black martial arts star, and a serious stud, which means his legacy is assured. He died today seven years ago.

Right On!, Enter the Dragon, Jim Kelly, blaxploitation

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 7

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).

October 6

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.