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DON "THE DRAGON" WILSON
Don "The Dragon" Wilson's humble beginnings
started in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he was born and raised in
the shadow of Cape Canaveral, where his father worked as an engineer
for N.A.S.A. Don was an honors student in high school, and his
quest was to follow in his father's footsteps. He attended the
Coast Guard Academy, where he studied engineering, and wanted to
become a military officer, but a lesson from his older brother,
Jim, who had already been studying kung-fu changed his life forever.
Don had also been a great athlete in high school, captaining both
the football team and the basketball team, where he was the team
MVP in both sports. Therefore he couldn't understand why at a solid
205 lbs., he could not outfight his smaller 155 lb. brother. Don
was soon competing in competitions, and point fighting.
Don was studying the Dragon style (Pai Lum) of kung-fu, however he did not
feel fulfilled with this style and wanted to prove that kung-fu practitioners
could really fight. He discovered the world of kickboxing, where he became
a student of the game, and started his professional kickboxing career in 1974,
training and fighting out of his brother Jim's dojo. By 1978 his ring performances
had attracted sponsorship from an investment group, and by 1979 he was the
PKA U.S. Middleweight Champion. At that point, Don had been working on his
techniques with PKA world champion Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. This
was the genesis of Don's legendary kicking skills. He was able to use every
kind of kick invented, including the jumping and spinning variety, and could
deliver double and triple kicks from each leg.
At that time, Don was considered the heir apparent to the PKA world title vacated
by the retirement of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. However the PKA advocated
a policy dictating that all contenders had to be exclusive property of the
PKA, and Don felt that it was not to his advantage to be exclusive, because
Don would fight under any sanction, against any fighter, to prove his abilities.
In 1980, Don won the WKA Light-Heavyweight World  Champioship, his first World
title. Later in 1980, he won his second World title, the STAR Light-Heavyweight
Champioship. In 1982, he won the WKO World Light-Heavyweight title. In 1983,
Don won the KICK World Light-Heavyweight title, and later in the year added
the WKA World Cruiserweight title. He also was named Official Karate magazine's
Fighter of the Year.
In 1984, Don won Super Light-Heavyweight World titles in both the WKA and STAR
organizations, along with Official Karate, and Black Belt magazine's Halls
of Fame, and culminated with STAR Career Champion - The Highest rated Kickboxer
of all time. By the time Don hung up the gloves, he had won 2 more World titles
under the sanctions of ISKA, and the PKO. What makes "The Dragon" the
greatest champion is the fact that he won 11 World Titles, in 3 different weight
classes under 6 different sanctioning organizations. He was world champion
for 11 straight years, defeating12 other world champions, 12 number-one contenders
and 15 National champions on four continents. Don thoroughly dominated kickboxing
as the undisputed world champion, fighting anyone, under any rules, and he
defeated the best champions in their own hometowns, while they were in their
prime. Don's impressive career record consists of 71 wins, 47 by knockout,
and 6 by kick-knockout, and he was also the first kung-fu practitioner to become
a World Kickboxing champion. In 1996, Don was named the Greatest Competitor
of All Time by Kickside magazine-Europe.
As Don's phenomenal kickboxing career was winding down, he came to Hollywood
at the suggestion of his friend and fellow martial artist, Chuck Norris. After
hooking up with agent Ray Cavaleri (who is still his agent), Don got a national
commercial, and a stint on the soap opera "General Hospital". Shortly
thereafter came a fateful audition with the legendary filmmaker Roger Corman,
who had discovered such talents as William Shatner, Jack Nicholson, and Robert
DeNiro. Corman was so impressed with Don's kickboxing career and his natural
charm, that he immediately signed him to a non-exclusive seven movie contract,
and Don starred in the huge hit, "Bloodfist". Since Don was still
fighting, Corman actually once insured Don's face for $10 million with Lloyd's
of London. The tremendous success of "Bloodfist" urged Corman to
produce a sequel, and that success led to eight different versions of "Bloodfist".
Don had discovered his niche of producing (yes, he has co-produced all but
the first 4 films) and starring in exciting action films where he can showcase
his incredible kicking skills, his keen sense of humor, and his undeniable
charisma. "Bloodfist III" earned rave reviews in Variety magazine,
and the next project was "Ring of Fire", for which Don added the
screen credit of producer for the first time. The success of Ring of Fire" led
to sequels for that film, which led to his next important film "Red Sun
Rising". Don has been continually producing hit films that are exciting
and fun to watch, but more importantly make a profit, which seems to be happening
less and less these days. He also appeared in one of the hugely popular Batman
films, with a small role in "Batman Forever". Don is also not affraid
to stretch out as an actor, having taken a break from the action genre, by
starring in and co-producing a horror film called "Night Hunter",
in which his character becomes a vampire hunter after witnessing his parents
being killed by vampires as a youngster.
Don has established himself as a hard working Hollywood action star, having
starred in 24 films since his film career began in 1989. He has had as many
as five films released within a fourteen month period. His most recent effort
is an action film called "Whatever it Takes", which he considers
perhaps his best, and has two other name co-stars in Andrew "Dice" Clay,
and Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Don also recently had a guest starring
role as himself on the hit series "Moesha". He is successful because
he keeps improving as an actor and he projects integrity, warmth, and likeability.
Roger Corman, who certainly has discovered some of the greatest talent in the
history of the film business, told Don that he would be a star the first time
they met. Don "The Dragon" Wilson's star is definitely on the rise
and he will be one of the truly biggest action stars going into the new millenium.
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