Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Jet Li. Jackie Chan. Donnie Yen. Quick. Which one of these action film stars grew up in the United States? Or, more appropriately, which one of these stars had to leave the United States before he could make a name for himself in Hollywood? That would be Yen. Sure, while he’s not as famous in the United States as either Li or Chan, he has a loyal following worldwide and an impressive resume of films — the best of which were made in Hong Kong.
“Without a question, Bruce Lee was the uncontested idol for a lot of little black boys growing up in the ’70s. We absolutely accepted him as Soul Brother No. 1.”
Crouching tiger, not-so-hidden Madonna. That’s the vibe Madonna wanted for the “Sky Fits Heaven” number of her Drowned World Tour. Never mind she had never taken a kung fu, tae kwon do or karate class.
Lady Madonna is no stranger to Chicago. She got a good dose of the city when she filmed “A League of Their Own” here in 1991. But when she hits town this time, it’ll be her first concert tour stop as a married mother of two young’uns. Think that’ll cramp her style when she’s here next week for her two sold-out concerts? We doubt it very much.
Think Madonna’s got arms to die for? Well don’t die, sweetie. Exercise! The diva credits her awesome biceps to yoga. She loves it so much that she even wrote a song (“Shanti/Ashtangi”) based around a chant she used while doing yoga.But some of us would rather pull our teeth out than strike a yoga pose.
Ho-Sung Pak went from portraying a Ninja Turtle to choreographing the kung fu segments for Madonna’s current tour. As co-owner of martial arts gym Pow! in the West Loop, Pak splits his time between L.A. and Chicago.
You have met the man of your dreams. Besides being a walking, talking hottie, he’s smart, funny and well-educated. You look at him and can totally imagine making babies with him. Bad news, though. He only thinks of you as a p-a-l; you’ve got a great personality, but he’s not going to be asking you out anytime soon.
Who would’ve thought that a turtle could go up against Jackie Chan and hold his own? Not long after battling evil as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, former Chicagoan Ho-Sung Pak found himself playing the heavy opposite Jackie Chan in “The Legend of Drunken Master.”