in memoriam

This Has Not Been Easy…

Since I started writing (or at least trying to write) this article in an effort to get my nerve back with posting and reporting again, my family and I were close to a week since the death of my sister, Dr. Isis Lee-Marie Golden. She was an inspiration to many people in her life who were fortunate to know her – of course, none more fortunate than myself, my mother and father, for whom she was the absolute pride and joy. My sister, who died at her residency on the morning of April 7 in Lansing, Michigan, has to be the darkest chapter we’ve ever faced, and we’ve had some pretty damn dark ones. While her death wasn’t the only personal tragedy I’ve had to live with, because until last week, we were four. And now, we are three. My emotions were in a constant state of flux, and because […]

In Memoriam: Eric Kovaleski (1979-2020)

Lee B. Golden III

News broke over the weekend that actor, community leader and martial artist Eric Kovaleski sadly passed away in the early hours of Saturday, February 29. Cause of death remains unknown as of this report. From age three, Kovaleski was introduced to martial arts by his father, Tang Soo Do Grandmaster Robert Kovaleski, and Korean martial arts pioneer, Senior Grandmaster Frank Trojanowicz. In 1994 he founded his first school with his current multi-based chain, Master Kovaleski’s Karate U.S.A. In addition to serving as President of the Global Korean Martial Arts Federation, among other endeavors, he also shepherded the Legends Of The Martial Arts Hall Of Fame Awards serving as founder and President alongside Vice President, actress and martial arts star, Grandmaster Cynthia Rothrock. Kovaleski’s growing network would also see the addition of actor, Grandmaster Kim Won Jin (The Suspect, China Strike Force, The Scorpion King), with both planning Kim’s own versatile […]

In Memoriam: Hans Wikkeling II (1983-2019)

Lee B. Golden III

UPDATED October 28, 2019 at 7:04pm EST News is currently circulating about the death of stunt performer and martial artist Hans Wikkeling II as of Tuesday. An update from a family member on Friday confirmed the cause of death was drowning. “Hans passed doing what he loved to do, swimming in the ocean and on October 17th his body was found on the beach in Davenport, CA.” said Ahjahlia Hall in Facebook post. “It was deemed that his death was due to drowning.” Folks were alerted of Wikkeling II’s mysterious disappearance on September 24 upon which friends filed a missing persons report prior to an October 11 update revealing a description of his 2005 Hyundai Accent GL in hopes of learning of his whereabouts. His body was discovered on Saturday, October 19. Wikkeling II, originally from San Jose, California, grew up in the fandom with star properties such as Teenage […]

IN MEMORIAM: Ken Siu

Lee B. Golden III

You’re forgiven for taking to your film collection to put on Bloodsport this week a few more times over if you’ve heard the latest on the passing of Ken Siu. Reports came in over the weekend as Siu was inexplicably seen in a photo, hospitalized for months and on a breathing apparatus (via Twitter). Siu has several film acting credits from the early eighties and has since worked as either second unit director or assistant director. Such credits further include Jackie Chan hits, Brett Ratner’s Rush Hour and Rob Minkoff’s The Forbidden Kingdom. Siu also served in the same capacity on Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Double Impact and Newt Arnold’s Bloodsport; Siu is best known for the supporting role of Victor with Van Damme starring centrally, based on the exploits of Frank Dux and set in the dangerous underworld of the Kumite. Van Damme has since broken the news via social […]

IN MEMORIAM: Koichi Funayama (1975-2018)

Lee B. Golden III

Another loss in the stunt world was felt on Monday when stuntman Koichi Funayama passed away at the age of 42. Funayama, whose credits partly include Netflix series Marco Polo, 20th Century Fox’s The Wolverine (2013), Fukuda Yuichi’s Gintama (2017), and Miike Takashi’s Blade Of The Immortal (2017), reportedly fell unconcious last week upon suffering from multiple organ failure stemming from fulminant myocarditis, a disease that attacks the heart. Colleagues and close friends kept tabs with updates on social media, including fellow stuntman and friend Kenji Sato who broke the news to social media friends last week. Almost immediately, Phillip Chang, another friend to Funayama living in Vancouver where Funayama spent time with colleagues and friends, launched a GoFundMe page to fundraise toward medical and incidental expenses. Funayama sadly passed away on November 19. He is survived by his wife, Megumi, and their three children. The GoFundMe page will remain […]

In Memoriam: DARREN SHAHLAVI (1972-2015)

Lee B. Golden III

English actor and martial artist Darren Shahlavi is a man whose career remains one of the most prolific in today’s film industry for martial arts fans alike. Having spawned a career from his heyday as a Hong Kong stuntman to movies ranging several genres, Shahlavi‘s most notable films include roles in Tai Chi II with Jacky Wu Jing, Bloodmoon with Gary Daniels, I Spy with Eddie Murphy, The Final Cut with Robin Williams, Ip Man 2 with Donnie Yen, Tactical Force and The Package with actor Steve Austin, and most recently in shows like Arrow, Metal Hurlant Chronicles and Mortal Kombat Legacy opposite Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan. Needless to say, Shahlavi has been an amazing man to witness on screen in the past two decades, which in turn brings tragic news with regard to all these references in the past tense. The word came via social media from brother Bobby […]

In Memoriam: Actor, Stuntman CARLOS LOPEZ IV

Lee B. Golden III

Carlos Lopez IV (6/26/89-10/2/14) The stunt community is pretty tight knit, one where almost everybody knows everybody in some capacity. So when things happen, specifically speaking in terms of an accident or a tragedy, virtually everyone feels it, and the loss is especially greater when the younger ones pass on. For the past few days now, that community was feeling that very pain as I looked in my newsfeed and spotted numerous posts sharing news pertaining to SAG-AFTRA accredited actor, martial artist and freerunner, Carlos Lopez IV, who died on Thursday, October 2. The Hollywood Reporter reported on Friday that the 25-year old actor and avid stuntman and Charlotte, North Carolina native, who was traveling with his girlfriend in Lisbon, Portugal was performing a non-work related parkour jump from his fourth floor window onto a balcony. Lopez shares numerous credits that include the Danny McBride martial arts comedy, The Foot […]

I Just Really Needed To Get This Off My Chest This Morning

Lee B. Golden III

Robin McLaurin Williams, 7/21/51 – 8/11/14 (Photo: Patch Adams, 1998 film) Saying anything about the death of legendary comedian, actor and Chicago native, Robin Williams was a little difficult for me last night. I suppose enough time has past now, the sun is up on my end, eating breakfast, at work and starting my day. I’m still affected, but moving forward is our best and only option at this point. But I’m in the mood to reflect… A few people have died this past week though…legendary action film director and producer Menahem Golan, actor J.J. Murphy who died four days into filming the new season of Game Of Thrones, mother and father who fell off a cliff in Spain while trying to take a vacation selfie as their children watched in horror…and even the hundreds and hundreds of deaths that have taken place between Gaza and Israel, and so on. In […]

In Memoriam: PANNA RITTIKRAI

Lee B. Golden III

Our hearts go out to the friends and family of actor, martial artist, stunt coordinator and all-around filmmaker Panna Rittikrai, best known for his intergral role in helping bring Thai action cinema to the forefront of the film industry between his early career as a stuntman and an action director and performer as of late, including the Thai action classic Born To Fight and its 2004 remake, Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong 1 and 2, Dynamite Warrior, Bangkok Knockout, and many more. Rittikrai‘s condition was a surprise to me several months ago (I can’t remember when). I chose not to speak too much on it until I learned all the facts and even now, not everything is clear on his diagnosis how long he has been ill, except for those closer to him with a more informed position on the issue; The official reports and posts I’ve read thusfar indicated an unnamed […]