Roy Horan III (January 1, 1950 – October 12, 2021) was an American actor and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

best known for his Hong Kong

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

. Horan played Lewis in the 1981 martial arts film '' Game of Death II'', and Priest/Russian in the 1978 martial arts film ''

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have sku ...

'', opposite

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

. He was a student of

Hwang Jang-lee Hwang Jang-lee (; born 21 December 1944) is a South Korean martial artist and actor best known for his Hong Kong martial arts films. He is a ninth- dan grandmaster in Tang Soo Do and Taekwondo who began training in 1957. Prior to his acting care ...

, who appeared with Horan in several films.

Personal life

Roy Horan III was born in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

in January 1950, the eldest of eight children born to Roy Horan Jr. and Eileen Mary (Buckley) Horan of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Horan married Christina Hui Din Fun on December 20, 1981, and they had two daughters. His daughter,

Celina Jade Celina Jade (born Celina Horan; 10 June 1985) is a Hong Kong and American actress, singer, songwriter, model, and martial artist. She is nominated as one of four of the greatest beauties in Hong Kong besides Carol Cheng, Lydia Shum and Amy Yip. ...

, made her film debut in 2008's ''

Legendary Assassin ''Legendary Assassin'' () is a 2008 Hong Kong action film directed by Wu Jing in his directorial debut, who also starred in the lead role, and also features fight choreography by Nicky Li. The film also marks the screen debut of singer, songwri ...

'' along with

Tai Chi Boxer ''Tai Chi Boxer'' (), also known as ''Tai Chi II'' or ''Tai Chi Fist'', is a 1996 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo-ping and Zhang Xinyan, co-written by Yuen and Sze Yeung-ping, and edited by Zhang and Koo Chi-wai. It is a sequel ...

and '' Fatal Contact'' film star Wu Jing. Horan died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, on October 12, 2021, at the age of 71.

History and early career

Acting

Horan made his film debut in the 1976 movie ''

Bruce Lee's Secret ''Bruce Lee's Secret'' is a 1977 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Chan Wa and William Cheung Ki, which is also a pseudo biopic of Bruce Lee. It stars Bruce Li (not to be confused with Lee) as "Bob" Lee, whose life is essentially th ...

'' as Charlie. Horan went on to play Tolstoy in the 1977 film '' Snuff Bottle Connection'', and the Russian priest in the 1978 film ''

'' along with

and

. In 1980s, Horan appeared as Lewis in the 1981 film '' Game of Death II'' along with Tong Lung and Hwang Jang-lee. Horan also directed in the 1981 documentary ''Art of High Impact Kicking''. Horan played American Consular in 1987 film ''

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 ''No Retreat, No Surrender 2'' is a 1987 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen, and starring Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer and Cynthia Rothrock. The film is a Hong Kong-American co-production. Despite its title, it does not have a ...

'', along with Hwang Jang-lee, Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer and

Cynthia Rothrock Cynthia Rothrock (born March 8, 1957) is an American martial artist and actress best known for her martial arts films. She holds black belt rankings in seven styles of martial arts and was a high-level competitor in martial arts before becomin ...

, which he also wrote and produced.

Final film and retirement from acting

In 1991, Horan retired from acting at the age of 41, after final film ''Shanghai 1920''. Horan served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...

. Roy was the Founder and CEO of Innovea Ltd., a company that trains/consults in higher-order thinking, including creative and mindful approaches for enhancing performance and well-being. He also tackled social emotional learning for learning disabled children and trained others to develop an environmentally-friendly mindset. Roy formulated the Ocean Model which combines empirical studies of creativity and intelligence with Eastern philosophical concepts on the same. He conducted electrophysiological studies on the neuropsychological relationship between creativity and meditation and investigated the problem of creativity assessment, for which he developed the Creative Momentum Model, a tool for assessing creative achievement. Roy also designed new psychometric instruments for measuring core competencies (Integral Psychological Profile), creative potential (Information Boundaries Recognition Test; Unusual Gratitude), stress/resilience profile (StressQuest).http://www.linkedin.com/pub/roy-horan/0/869/525

References

Filmography

Movies

*'' Snuff Bottle Connection'' (1977) - Russian Prime Minister *''

'' (1977) - Charlie *''

'' (1978) - Russian *''Ring of Death'' (1980) - Russian Prime Minister *'' Game of Death II'' (1981) - Lewis *''Gun is Law'' (1983) *''

'' (1987) - American Consular *''Shanghai 1920'' (1991) - (final film role)

Director

*''Art of High Impact Kicking'' (1981)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Roy 1950 births 2021 deaths Film producers from Maryland American male film actors American male taekwondo practitioners Hong Kong film directors People from Laurel, Maryland 20th-century American sportsmen