Robert Wall obit

Robert Wall, 9th Deg Black Belt 'Enter The Dragon' Actor Dead At 82 ... Worked w/ Bruce Lee & Chuck Norris

 

 He was not on list.

Tang Soo Do master Robert Wall, who trained with and acted alongside Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in some of the greatest martial arts films of all time has died at the age of 82 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Wall was a 9th degree Tang Soo Do black belt under Norris ... who is credited with bringing the discipline to the West. The men trained together for many years ... and were business partners.

In addition to being a martial arts master, Wall also played important roles on the silver screen.

Robert appeared in 1972s "Way of the Dragon" and 1973s "Enter the Dragon" -- both starring Lee, the most well-renowned martial artist to ever live.

Wall and Lee had a memorable and very real (albeit one-sided) fight in "Enter the Dragon."

In fact, years after they filmed the fight scene, Bob revealed Lee actually broke his ribs.

"Bob, I wanna hit you, and I wanna hit you hard," Wall revealed Lee told him prior to filming.

The reason ... Bruce -- who'd known Wall for 8 years before filming the movie -- wanted the fight to look as authentic as possible, so the two masters went full-speed.

Wall's family sent us the following statement on Robert's passing.

"Bob was the greatest husband and father. Family was Everything to him. He lived a remarkable life & There is a hole in our hearts that will never be filled. His spirit & legacy will live on forever within us. He was our rock."

Wall was a 9th degree black belt under Chuck Norris and the co-founder and CEO of a martial arts organization known as World Black Belt Inc. In 1975, Wall authored the book Who's Who in the Martial Arts and Directory of Black Belts (Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 75-2280), the first book of its kind for martial artists.

Wall was particularly famous for his public rivalry with Steven Seagal, which provoked a series of challenges between the two between 1988 and 1992. It started when Seagal made disparaging commentaries about Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and other American martial artists in interviews, culminating in two articles in the Black Belt magazine where he claimed he would fight to the death anybody who believed they could defeat him.

Indignant at Seagal's slights of Lee and American martial artists, as well as offended by his boasts, Wall gathered a group of martial artists willing to answer the challenge, who were nicknamed the "Dirty Dozen" in a reference to the 1967 war film The Dirty Dozen. The group included Benny Urquidez, Bill Wallace, Howard Jackson, Roger Carpenter, Allen Steen, Jim Harrison, Dennis Alexio, Richard Norton, Billy Robertson, Pat Burleson and William "Blinky" Rodriguez, with Gene LeBell and Gerard Finot as potential members and Karyn Turner as a possible promoter for one or more matches.

 

Rest in peace.

Filmography

Films

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1972      Way of the Dragon          Tom/Fred            While the film refers to his character as Tom, the end credits name his character as Fred.

1973      Enter the Dragon              O'Hara

1974      Black Belt Jones                Mob Henchmen                Uncredited

1978      Game of Death Carl Miller          

1981      Enter the Ninja Thug      Uncredited

1985      Code of Silence Thug      Uncredited

1985      Invasion U.S.A. Vince     Uncredited

1986      Firewalker           Jose      

1988      Hero and the Terror        Wall      

1992      Sidekicks              Bob Wall             

2004      Sci-Fighter           Las Vegas announcer     

2009      Blood and Bone                O'Hara

2018      Anatomy of An Antihero 3            Master Bob        

2020      The Search for Count Dante                        

2020      Anatomy of an Antihero: Redemption     Master Wall       

Carleton Carpenter obit

Carleton Carpenter, MGM and Broadway Actor Who Starred Alongside Debbie Reynolds, Dies at 95

 

He was not on the list.

Carleton Carpenter, who performed on stage and screen alongside stars such as Debbie Reynolds in “Two Weeks With Love” and Judy Garland in “Summer Stock,” died Monday in Warwick, N.Y., according to his reps. He was 95.

Carpenter was a multi-hyphenate artist whose career spanned eight decades. His 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds covering the song “Aba Daba Honeymoon” sold more than a million copies. He performed in countless radio, television and film productions and on stages on- and off-Broadway. He even went on to write a number of books, including his 2017 memoir, “The Absolute Joy of Work.”

Born Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. on July 10, 1926 in Bennington, Vt., Carpenter attended Bennington High School and served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended the National High School Institute for Theatre Arts at Northwestern University and began his performance career as a clown and magician at carnivals.

In 1944, Carpenter moved to New York City and was quickly cast in David Merrick’s short-lived Broadway play “Bright Boy.” His biography in the show’s program said he “got this part twenty-four hours after his arrival in New York.”

That show was followed by “Three to Make Ready” with Ray Bolger, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” with Hermione Gingold and the 1957 premiere of “Hotel Paradiso” with Bert Lahr and Angela Lansbury, which marked Lansbury’s Broadway debut.

Carleton performed on numerous radio and TV shows beginning as early as 1946, when he was a regular on the early NBC show “Campus Hoopla.” He made his film debut in Louis de Rochemont’s controversial 1949 picture “Lost Boundaries” about a Black family that passes as white.

In 1950, he was signed to a contract with MGM, starting with the film “Summer Stock” alongside Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. He also appeared in “Father of the Bride” with Elizabeth Taylor and “Three Little Worlds,” his first collaboration with Debbie Reynolds.

In “Two Weeks With Love,” Reynolds and Carpenter made history when they covered an old vaudeville song, “Aba Daba Honeymoon.” The song was released as a single, the first time that had ever been done, and it shot to the top of the charts. The two organized a vaudeville act and toured the Loew’s theater circuit around the country.

Carpenter also toured as Cornelius with the Mary Martin company of “Hello Dolly,” including a stint entertaining troops in Vietnam at the height of the war. His final Broadway credit was the 1992 production of “Crazy For You,” which he also toured across the country. His last New York performance was in the 2006 City Center Encores revival of “70 Girls 70.”

Carpenter was also a songwriter, with credits including “Christmas Eve,” recorded by Billy Eckstine, and “Cabin in the Woods” and “Ev’ry Other Day,” which he recorded for MGM Records. He also wrote the musical “Northern Boulevard,” which was staged in New York and Vermont. Carpenter was also the author of mystery novels, including “Games Murderers Play” and “Deadhead,” and had his writing published in Alfred Hitchcock Magazine.

He is survived by his nieces Lesley Phelps and Mrs. Michael Hall Axt, a close cousin Barbara Gallett, several other cousins and his longtime friend Alan Eichler. Services are pending and a memorial will be held at a later date.

Filmography

Year       Title       Role

1949      Lost Boundaries                Andy

1950      Father of the Bride          Usher at wedding

Three Little Words           Dan Healy

Summer Stock   Artie

Two Weeks With Love    Billy Finlay

1951      Vengeance Valley            Hewie

The Whistle at Eaton Falls             Eddie Talbot

1952      Fearless Fagan   Pvt. Floyd Hilston

Sky Full of Moon               Harley 'Tumbleweeds' Williams

1953      Take the High Ground!   Merton 'Tex' Tolliver

1959      Up Periscope      Lt. Phil Carney

1970      Cauliflower Cupids           Christopher

1971      Some of My Best Friends Are...   Miss Untouchable

1981      The Prowler        1945 M.C

1983      The American Snitch       Arthur