How Stirling Silliphant, One Of The 20th Century’s Greatest Writers, Became My Mentor

Chapter 6 of 8 Bringing Stirling Back into the

By John Corcoran

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” —Nelson Mandela, South Africa president

In Chapter 5, I explained that Stirling Silliphant had completed a purely martial arts script on speculation provided so much rich, eloquent martial arts informa- entitled, “The Masters,” for which he was seeking tion in my interview with him that all of it needed to financing. He wrote it specifically with three renowned be published. It would appear as a five-part series in martial arts masters in mind: Okinawan karate’s Ta- “Kick Illustrated,” an unprecedented length in martial dashi Yamashita, kung-fu’s Eric Lee and taekwondo’s arts publishing. And that Stirling, to my utter surprise, Byong Yu. volunteered to edit/polish the transcripts for each part. There was no doubt about it now: My new relationship During the months I was working directly with him with Stirling had brought him back into the martial on this project, many other things developed between arts field at full gallop. So, both Part 3 of Stirling’s us and within the martial arts industry. History was interview and the martial arts movie-revival article, in about to be made. I sensed a second martial arts movie which he was liberally quoted, were published in the boom, the biggest since Bruce Lee, was going to erupt Sept. 1980 issue of “Kick Illustrated.” in Hollywood. In addition to researching daily news, competent magazine editors develop pipelines of The Answer to My “Hardball” Question information nationwide. Thus, you become a visionary able to predict industry trends early in their develop- It was in this Part 3 segment that Stirling did answer ment. the most difficult “hardball” question I posed to him in my interview. Remember my confusion over his It started with the “New York Times” best-selling seemingly negative, uncharacteristic comments about book, “The Ninja,” released in April 1980, the film Bruce in Alex Ben Block’s biographical book, “The rights for which were quickly optioned by a major film Legend of Bruce Lee”? It was as if he was striking out studio. My research made it clear to me this new trend at Bruce in anger. And his statement that Bruce had would continue to be centered on the ninja, the fasci- “deserted” him when he died? I asked him point-blank nating, stealthy “Shadow Warriors” of feudal Japan. why he said that. Here’s an excerpt from my interview with his response. In order to beat my competitors to the developing story, I assigned freelancer Stuart Goldman to write “Bruce spoiled me forever because, as long as he an article about it. It would be published in the same was present, as long as the master was around, I felt edition carrying Part 3 of my Silliphant interview omnipotent. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. He series. That called for a lot of movie material in one had been such a great teacher that, for the three years magazine, a lopsided balance, but I had no choice. To I studied with him, I really believed I could do all the remain at the top of my game as an editor, I had to wonderful things he was teaching me. I had a magic break the story! three years with a genius, and when he left Hollywood for , that magic departed with him. That led to the next surprise: When I mentioned the article-in- progress to Stirling, he wanted to participate “It was an admission that was very hard for me to and told me to have the freelancer call him. He had make to myself. It is not comforting to tell yourself Letter to SS about his bio for my book, “The Martial Arts Encyclopedia.” that your strength depends on someone else’s strength. nothing left to say about it. I never heard from her, and But in my case, it was true!” I got the clear impression that he didn’t want to grant the interview. I also felt Stirling’s endorsement of me My collaboration with Stirling on his mammoth in- and my work to an important media professional was terview series had now run its course, but that by no a wonderful compliment. What an endorsement for a means ended our relationship. Stirling called me up young writer! one day in 1981 and said that a staffer from “Daily Variety” (a leading film-industry trade publication) This same compliment of my work actually happened asked him to do an interview about his martial arts twice. This time it occurred when Stirling was ap- involvement. He said he told her that she should talk proached by the network TV newsmagazine, “20/20.” to me since I had already done the quintessential (See my colleague Neva Friedenn’s note to me about it interview with him on the subject. He told her he had in the illustrations.) SS letter with bio corrections for “The Martial Arts Encyclopedia.” Epilog: The Rise of “Ninjamania”

As most readers have discovered while reading my memoir about my relationship with Stirling, it is con- nected to numerous significant events in martial arts history. For those readers interested in how the second major martial arts movie boom came about, here’s a quick synopsis.

The first two films to launch the new martial arts movie revival hit screens in the same month. On Au- gust 14, 1980, “The Octagon” (not to be confused with today’s UFC’s “octagon” in which mixed martial arts bouts take place) debuted in theaters. Starring Chuck Norris and Lee Van Cleef and focusing heavily on ninja villains, the film ultimately earned $18.9 mil- lion in the U.S. and Canada. Chuck’s star was rapidly rising and “The Octagon” was the right project at the right time.

In a freak of timing, the success of Chuck Norris’ “Oc- tagon” led right into NBC-TV’s “Shogun,“ a five-part, 15-hour miniseries focusing on Japan and the Japanese samurai, which debuted on September 15, 1980. Shot completely on location in Japan, “Shogun” starred Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune, and was based on the early 17th-century adventures of English navigator William Adams. “Shogun” became a ratings blockbuster, drawing the highest number of viewers in TV history second only to “Roots.” Parts of “Shogun” also featured ninja characters.

Coupled with Norris’ hit film, the two projects jointly kicked off the new trend that later came to be called “Ninjamania.” Starting in May 1984, the trend got a My colleague Neva Friedenn’s note informing magnificent boost with the introduction of the “Teen- me of Stirling’s compliment to me when he spoke with a researcher for the “20/20” TV show. age Mutant Ninja Turtles” phenomenon. Through a string of later hit movies and TV shows, “Turtles” One other historic note in that memorable month of evolved into a financial empire whose toy and image August 1980 deserves mention here. On Aug. 29, merchandising alone reportedly yielded some $500 1980, “The Big Brawl,” ’s first, low-bud- million per year. get attempt to attract an American audience, debuted in North American theaters and ultimately grossed just Aside from the cartoon characters, the American $8.5 million. Jackie was reportedly paid $1 million for public was fascinated by the ninja’s mystique and the role. exotic gadgetry. The stealthy, black-cloaked assassins were portrayed as both heroes and villains in count- But the restrictions placed on his phenomenal cho- less movies, and the pop-culture craze quickly spread reography skills as well as his personal input by throughout the Western world, lasting ten years (1980- “Brawl’s” director, , greatly hampered 90) before it waned! Chan’s attributes that had made his Asian films so extraordinary. Consequently, “Brawl” came and went insignificantly, leaving no impact with American film- goers.

(Note: Almost 16 years later, the inimitable Jackie Chan finally penetrated the American film market after three failed past attempts. In 1995, his “” shot to first place in North American box- office receipts, ultimately grossing $32.3 million, and finally made him a globally-recognized movie star.)

“Variety” headline.