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31 Years After His Movie Debut, "The Last Dragon" Heads To Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - After making his motion picture debut in the hit 1985 film, "The Last Dragon," nationally recognized martial arts expert Taimak became a household name. And, this weekend, he's heading to metro Detroit to meet and greet fans.

Taimak was hand-picked years ago by Motown legend Berry Gordy to play Bruce Leroy in the "The Last Dragon." And his career hasn't slowed down since. Taimak worked as a choreographer with Madonna on her Drowned World Tour, as choreographer for former rock band "Bush," on their "Chemical Between Us" video, and with numerous other Hollywood notables such as Debbie Allen. And now, Taimak is out with his autobiography.

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It's a life story, he hopes, will be an inspiration to others.

"The book's getting great reviews and people of all ages, races, cultures, they're coming out," Taimak told WWJ's Terri Lee by phone from New York.

"I am candid and transparent about my ups and downs and struggles, and about the things that really have motivated me to push forward in my life, and that's what I want to leave with people," Taimak added. "I want to leave people with something they can add to their journey."

"At the same time, I wanted to write something that was also gonna be entertaining because my life is very interesting," he said. "You know, I grew up in Europe and New York, and I'm black and Italian, and I got to meet a lot of interesting people like David Bowie, who was good friends with my mother, and James Brown and all kinds of iconic figures."

In 2009, Taimak developed a wellness program for young people. A message posted on "Taimak's Unfolding Dream Inc." website says "Our mission is for all participants to create and see a pathway to moment to moment happiness."

Undoubtedly, Taimak will make lots of metro Detroiters happy during his stop in metro Detroit. He'll be meeting and greeting fans at two showings of "The Last Dragon" at The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township on Sunday.

Taimak stopped by the WWJ Studio prior to the screening of "The Last Dragon" -- check out the podcast below:

I'll see you there!

For tickets to Sunday's showings, click here.

For more information on "Taimak's Unfolding Dream Inc." program, click here.

Follow Terri on Twitter @TerriJLee

Member:
Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA)
Detroit Film Critics Society (DFCS)
African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
Digital Arts, Film & Television (DAFT)
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)

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