Ron Van Clief

Acting

Ron Van Clief

Born

1943-01-25 (83)

Place of birth

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

24 titles

Ron "The Black Dragon" Van Clief is a martial arts legend. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943, he started martial arts training in his early teens. At 5 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds, Van Clief was fast, powerful, and tough. He won 10 New York State Full-Contact Karate Championships. He won multiple Karate Point-Fighting Titles. By the early 1970s he had earned his 10th Degree Black Belt. His karate record was reported to be 110-8. In 1994 at age 51, he launched a comeback on December 16, 1994 fighting former World JuJitsu Lightheavyweight and Ultimate Fighting World Champion Royce Gracie. The Black Dragon landed one good punch, but was taken to the canvas where after a valiant batt…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 5 titles

Enter the Clones of Bruce poster
7.4

Get ready to play a game of death… and another… and another. This wild documentary dives into the Bruce Lee exploitation craze.

Enter the Clones of Bruce

2023

The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief poster
2.0

Follows the astonishing true life story of Ron Van Clief, nicknamed the Black Dragon, who was the first Black American martial arts film star.

The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief

2023

That's Brucesploitation! Making Fist of Fear, Touch of Death poster
NR

This retrospective featurette includes words from filmmaker Jim Markovic, producer Terry Levene, screenwriter Ron Harvey, director Matthew Mallinson, and actors Ron Van Clief and Fred Williamson. Topics include the sordid history of Aquarius Releasing and their other Bruce Lee knock-offs, assembling the film from lukewarm leftovers, shooting new scenes, filming at Madison Square Garden, the "guest stars", script re-writes, Adolph Caesar, creating a fake news station, and more. (Blu-ray.com)

That's Brucesploitation! Making Fist of Fear, Touch of Death

2020

The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief poster
5.5

The astonishing true story of Ron Van Clief, the first black martial arts movie star, known as "The Black Dragon". His determination to win — despite horrific odds — exacts a heavy toll and his life becomes a roller coaster ride with spectacular highs, devastating lows, and more than a few cliff-hangers.

The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief

2020

Snow Black poster
2.0

Sarah Camden, a special operations soldier with PTSD, returns home to bury her mother. She realizes that she has to rid her hometown of gangs, drugs and crooked politicians. Sarah calls in her special ops buddies to clean up the town.

Snow Black

2021

2010s · 3 titles

1990s · 5 titles

Top Fighter poster
6.6

Welcome to the world of the martial arts. A voyage for the times of the martial arts cinema, from the beginning in China in the 6th Century A.C. by a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, until the actual time and the influence in the world, with interviews to actors and historians, and a review to the most important movies of all times and to the most famous action movies actors. A magnificent jewel of this genre what nobody wouldn't lose.

Top Fighter

1995

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors poster
NR

UFC 4 - used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $64,000. The event also featured three alternate fights. All seven tournament fights were shown on the live pay-per-view broadcast.

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors

1994

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee poster
8.1

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee exposes the truth behind Lee's death and the cover-up that ensued.

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee

1993

Colorz of Rage poster
6.0

Writer-director Dale Resteghini's indie drama follows a young interracial couple (Resteghini and Nicki Richards) whose recent move to New York from the Boston suburbs lands them in an environment of bigotry and hatred that they're ill-equipped to handle. Hip-hop artist turned actor Redman also stars in this thought-provoking tale.

Colorz of Rage

1999

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors poster
7.4

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event was seen live on pay-per-view, and later released on home video.

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors

1994

1970s · 7 titles

Behind the camera