Michael Dudikoff still exuded the good looks that made him an action heartthrob when he was spotted in last week.
Showbiz
Michael Dudikoff: Still Handsome at 71!
Michael Dudikoff still exuded the good looks that made him an action heartthrob when he was spotted in Los Angeles last week.Born in the local suburb of Redondo...
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Born in the local suburb of Redondo Beach, he drifted into modeling in the 1970s and from there into acting, including in the comedy Bachelor Party.
His big break came however, with the classic 1985 feature American Ninja, in which he played the lead role turned down by Chuck Norris.
Armed with an iron physique, a healthy dose of rugged sex appeal and a new set of martial arts skills he learned for American Ninja, Dudikoff became a top action star.
His movies in the ensuing couple of decades included the Vietnam War films Platoon Leader and Soldier Boyz, as well as River of Death the Bounty Hunters pictures.
Spry and robust at 71, he was seen on Thursday mowing his own lawn and doing some work in the garden. His hair is still strawberry blond.
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Michael Dudikoff's big break came with the classic 1985 feature American Ninja, in which he played the lead role turned down by Chuck Norris
Born in the local suburb of Redondo Beach, he drifted into modeling in the 1970s and from there into acting; pictured in a 1982 picture
Pulling a maroon shirt and a set of Adidas sweats over his sporty frame, he pupped on a pair of gardening gloves and occasionally a straw hat.
Dudikoff was born in Redondo Beach in 1954 to a first generation Russian American US Army veteran and a French Canadian pianist.
Dudikoff still exuded the manly charm and athletic vigor that made him an action heartthrob when he was spotted in Los Angeles last week
Spry and robust at 71, he was glimpsed last Thursday mowing his own lawn and doing some work in the garden, his hair still strawberry blond
Dudikoff was born in Redondo Beach in 1954 to a first generation Russian American US Army veteran and a French Canadian pianist
After the 2002 direct-to-video sci-fi picture Stranded, he exited the acting profession and worked as a realtor before sporadically taking roles again in the 2010s
In 2004 he exchanged vows with his wife Bella Dudikoff, with whom he shares three children and to whom he is married to this day
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Dudikoff starred in American Ninja as Joe Armstrong, an amnesiac American soldier in the Philippines who turns out to have prodigious ninja skills he acquired in his murky past
Released in 1985, the movie emerged as a massive box office triumph that resulted in four sequels including1987's American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, in which Dudikoff is pictured
Dudikoff starred as Joe Armstrong, an amnesiac American soldier in the Philippines who turns out to have prodigious ninja skills he acquired in his murky past.
Although he had no martial arts training before he was cast, he learned quickly under fight choreographers Tadashi Yamashita and Mike Stone.
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'I always knew how to defend myself because I used to get in and out of trouble as a kid, but I boxed,' Dudikoff told the Chicago Sun-Times later.
'I never did any martial arts before I made this film, so it was a real challenge for me, especially in keeping limber enough to throw those kicks.'
Dudikoff (top right) is pictured in one of his early film roles, the rollicking 1984 sex comedy Bachelor Party starring Tom Hanks (center) as the groom
Released in 1985, the movie emerged as a massive box office triumph that resulted in four sequels, two of which saw Dudikoff reprise his role - American Ninja 2: The Confrontation in 1987 and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation in 1990.
He also acted in several other Cannon action films, including Firstenberg's 1986 feature Avenging Force and the 1988 Vietnam War picture Platoon Leader, which was directed by Chuck Norris' brother Aaron Norris.
In 1989 he featured in River of Death, a jungle adventure picture that co-starred The Man from U.N.C.L.E. icon Robert Vaughn as a Nazi scientist in hiding.
His 1990s work included the Vietnam War movie Soldier Boyz, as well as the movies Bounty Hunters and Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball, which starred him alongside soap star Lisa Howard as the titular fugitive recovery agents.
After the 2002 direct-to-video sci-fi picture Stranded, he exited the acting profession, worked as a realtor and in 2004 exchanged vows with his wife Bella Dudikoff, with whom he shares three children and to whom he is married to this day.
Although he began taking sporadic roles again in the 2010s, such as in the 2015 picture Navy Seals vs Zombies, his most enduring legacy remains American Ninja.
A decade ago he shared how touched he was 'when people come up and say: "I started doing martial arts because of you; now I have my own academy and I teach martial arts, and I just wanted to thank you and come over here and shake your hand.” That right there, it gives me chills just talking about it,' via Den of Geek.
'I get choked up when people come up to me and say those kind of words. You’re doing a film and you don’t know what kind of reactions you’re getting from people until you walk into the public and they walk up to you and tell you how much they care and love you. It’s, to say the least, humbling.'
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