R.I.P. Mr. Han Man

For those of you who don’t already know, Shih Kien, best known internationally for his role as Han in Bruce Lee’s epic martial arts film Enter the Dragon, died on Thursday of kidney failure at the age of 96.

While most in the U.S. will remember Kien as Han, he had a prolific career that spanned more than 50 years. Well-respected actor and close friend of Bruce Lee, Kien trained in several northern kung fu disciplines rather than Chinese opera like so many of his peers, and began appearing in Cantonese-language martial arts films in the late 1940s. According to reports, up until he was cast as the lead villain in Enter the Dragon, Shek was best known as the lead villain in the Wong Fei Hung film series where he frequently fought with series star Kwan Tak-hing.