Actor, martial arts star James Lew reportedly passed away at the age of 73. His cause of death was not made public at the time of announcement.
Lew is best known as a fixture in martial arts circles to this day, studying from age 14 and growing into numerous styles, achieving his way through the tournament and breaking into film and TV in the 1970s. Some select credits over the years as an actor and stuntman/coordinator include TV series “Kung Fu,” and John Carpenter’s Big Trouble In Little China, as well as Best Of The Best, The Perfect Weapon, Timecop, Red Sun Rising, “The Crow: Stairway To Heaven,” Lethal Weapon 4, the Rush Hour Trilogy, and HBO Max series “Warrior”. In 2006 he made his directing debut with 18 Fingers Of Death, and co-directed alongside Robert Samuels on Jay Kwon’s 2021 indie action starrer, Made In Chinatown.
In 2017, Lew won a primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for “Marvel’s Luke Cage.” The stunt multiphenate was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2003 and later into the Black Belt Hall of Fame in 2024 in the Stuntman category alongside stalwarts Simon Rhee and Jeff Imada.
Lew is survived by wife Jordanna and stepson Ryan, and a community of friends and colleagues spanning decades of Lew’s pioneering career.
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