Antonio Giovanni Morelli (May 16, 1956 – April 19, 2015) was a Canadian professional kickboxer,

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, and actor.

Biography

Morelli was born in

Lytton, British Columbia Lytton is a village of about 250 residents in southern British Columbia, Canada, on the east side of the Fraser River and primarily the south side of the Thompson River, where it flows southwesterly into the Fraser. The community includes the ...

on May 16, 1956, and raised in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

and Abbotsford. Originally trained as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, he won a Gold Medal in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

category at the 1979

Western Canada Summer Games The Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG) were established in 1975 as a multi-sport event to provide development opportunities for amateur athletes and to help them advance their skills in a competitive, but friendly environment. Athletes range i ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Kickboxing

Morelli became the

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Howa ...

(WKA) Super Light Heavyweight Champion, after defeating Travis Everett on April 19, 1980 in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. On March 4, 1982, he defeated debuting Maurice Smith by decision. Fourteen months later, he lost the title to Smith in the seventh round by KO. Morelli was a member of the WKA World Team, along with

Benny Urquidez Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United St ...

, Don Wilson, and

Graciela Casillas Graciela Casillas (born 1957) is an American former boxer and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division. After training in several traditional martial arts, Casillas began competing as a kickboxer in 1976, and in 1979 she became the fir ...

. Morelli was the subject of a 1980 documentary, ''The Kickboxers'', directed by Gary Bush.

Film career

Morelli's stunt career began in 1983, and took part in various film and television projects, including ''

Walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States *Walls, Ontario Perry is a township (Canada), ...

'', ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named '' Airwolf'', and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War the ...

'', ''

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic historical Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim ...

'', ''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of t ...

'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

'', '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon'', ''

Rise of the Planet of the Apes ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film series and is the seventh install ...

'', ''

The Cabin in the Woods ''The Cabin in the Woods'' is a 2011 science fiction comedy horror film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchis ...

'', ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' and ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

''. He was a primary stunt coordinator on the television series ''Wiseguy'' and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

''. He played a henchman in the

Sammo Hung Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a figh ...

-starring Hong Kong action comedy ''

Paper Marriage ''Paper Marriage'' ( zh, t=過埠新娘, j=Gwo3 Fau6 San1 Neong2) is a 1988 Hong Kong action cinema, Hong Kong action comedy film directed and co-written by Alfred Cheung, and starring Sammo Hung and Maggie Cheung. It was released by Orange Sk ...

'' (1988), which was filmed in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Death

A longtime resident of

Langley, British Columbia The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surroun ...

, Morelli died suddenly on April 19, 2015, aged 58.

References

External links

* 1956 births 2015 deaths Canadian stunt performers Canadian male kickboxers Cruiserweight kickboxers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Sportspeople from British Columbia 20th-century Canadian sportsmen {{Canada-film-bio-stub