Darnell Garcia
Born
New York, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFormer law enforcement officer
Known forMartial arts tournament winner

Darnell Garcia is a former martial arts champion, author, actor and former DEA agent. At one stage in his martial arts career he was rated 7th in the United States. He had roles in the martial arts films Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones, Blind Rage and Enforcer from Death Row. In the 1990s, Garcia became embroiled in a drug and corruption scandal.

Background

Garcia was born in New York and grew up in California,[1] and is of Puerto Rican heritage. His high school years were spent in California. While in Los Angeles, he wasn't the most popular with his neighbors due to his car racing. Garcia was thrown out of Manual Arts High School, but what possibly saved him was his gymnastic skills. The Washington High coach got Garcia on the team and he managed to keep out of trouble until he was able to graduate and get his high school diploma. He worked in a steel plant and then for an aircraft company. He was drafted into the army in 1966.[2]

According to an article in the Los Angeles Sentinel dated January 21, 2016, Bridal Path Films were in negotiation with major studios to make a movie based on his life.[3]

Martial artist

Garcia began training in American Tang Soo Do in 1968 when he enrolled at a Chuck Norris Karate Studio in El Segundo, California.[4] In 1972, Garcia earned his black belt from Chuck Norris under the tutelage of fellow Norris black belt Gheral Taylor. Garcia would then compete as a member of Norris' competition team. At the Grand National Championships, Garcia was fighting in his fifth tournament as a black belt. Garcia fought against Fred Wren and won 7-5.[5] In December that year, and after only holding his black belt for a year, he competed in the 1972 International Karate Championships in Long Beach, California. Before a crowd of 8000, he won against champion Joe Lewis, taking the Grand Championship title.[6] Garcia appeared on the cover of the February 1973 issue of Black Belt magazine and featured in a 7 page article.[7]

Garcia appeared in the Elvis Presley financed documentary, The New Gladiators, released in 2002. The documentary which was begun in 1974 was deemed missing for many years then finally found and restored.[8]

Garcia was also the advertising director for Inside Kung Fu magazine.[9]

Film work

Actor

By the age of 28, he had appeared in Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon. [10] In Enter the Dragon, along with Mike Bissell and fellow Tang Soo Do instructor, Pat Johnson, he was one of the three hoods who come up to harass John Saxon on the golf course.[11][12] He also appeared in Blind Rage and Enforcer from Death Row.[13] The Efren C. Piñon directed Blind Rage, which was filmed in various locations including Manila was a tale about five blind men robbing a bank. Garcia was billed as one of the main actors. The film also starred D'Urville Martin, Leo Fong, Tony Ferrer, and Rick Adair and Fred Williamson.[14][15] Garcia worked with Fong and Piñon again in Enforcer from Death Row.[16][17] Later he appeared in Death Force, a 1978 film directed by Cirio H. Santiago which starred James Iglehart, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Jayne Kennedy and Carmen Argenziano.[18]

Other film work

In addition to acting, Garcia worked for Fred Williamson with Williamson's company Po' Boy Productions. Garcia's work with Williamson was mainly behind the camera. He had moved into stunt work as well.[19]

Law enforcement career

Having been drafted into the army in 1966, Garcia eventually became a military policeman. He took exams during basic training and was only two points away from Officer Candidate School. That was enough to encourage himself to think deeper about where he could head to. He turned down offers to enroll in Warrant Officer Flight School and became a military policeman. After graduating from Leadership Training School in Georgia, he was sent to Anchorage, Alaska. While there he served as a stockade guard, the personal bodyguard to a very senior medical officer and also managed to talk a prisoner out of killing himself. Garcia had seven letters of commendation by the time he finished his military service in 1968. He then returned to Los Angeles.[20]

Prior to his becoming a DEA agent, he was with the LAPD.[21] In 1985 Garcia was fired by the DEA because he refused a transfer to Detroit. A case was made on the basis of national origin discrimination and it went to court. In 1986 he won his right to be reinstated in a decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.[22]

In the early 1990s, Garcia and fellow agents, John Jackson and Wayne Countryman appeared in court for stealing drugs and money laundering. In 1991, Countryman was sentenced to 5 years.[23] In 1997, Garcia was sentenced to 80 years imprisonment for his part in drug trafficking and money laundering.[24] Garcia was eventually released from federal prison in November 2011, having served 21 years.[19]

Publications

Title Isbn Publisher Year Notes #
Explosive Instinct and Mind Power Koinonia Productions 1978 [1][25]
The Fighting Art of Tang Soo Do ISBN 9780865680142 Unique Publications 1982 [1][26]

Filmography

Year Title Role Director Notes #
1973 Enter the Dragon Hood Robert Clouse
1974 Black Belt Jones Unknown Robert Clouse [10]
1975 Bamboo Trap Unknown Ernesto Ventura
1976 The Outside Man Unknown Efren C. Piñon
1976 Ninja Assassins Unknown Marshall M. Borden, Efren C. Piñon
1976 Blind Rage Hector Lopez Efren C. Piñon [27]
Also Production Coordinator[28]
1977 Mr. Mean Unknown Fred Williamson Uncredited role[29]
1978 Death Force Hitman Cirio H. Santiago [27]
1984 Killpoint Karate Fighter Frank Harris [30]
2001 Wolfen Unknown Michael Wadleigh
John D. Hancock
Rupert Hitzig		 Uncredited role[29]
2002 The New Gladiators Himself Bob Hammer [31]

References

  1. 1 2 3 In.com - Darnell Garcia Bio
  2. ↑ Black Belt, February 1973 - "It's only a game of tag"
  3. ↑ Los Angeles Sentinel, January 21, 2016 - Redemption: Ex-DEA Agent Darnell Garcia tells the truth and nothing but the truth By Brandon I. Brooks, Managing Editor
  4. ↑ Garcia, Darnell (1982). The Fighting Art of Tang Soo Do. Unique Publications Inc. ISBN 0-86568-014-0.
  5. ↑ Black Belt, August 1972 - Pages 4p, 50 World Wide Tourneys
  6. ↑ Black Belt, December 1972 - Page 52 World Wide Tourneys, Garcia for Real-Dethrones Joe Lewis at Internationals
  7. ↑ Black Belt, February 1973 - Page 9 Contents
  8. ↑ MA Entertainment - The New Gladiators (1974-2002)
  9. ↑ Black Belt, May 1976 - Page 50 My husband's a black belt - Arranged by Stuart Sobel
  10. 1 2 Black Belt, January 1976 - Page 26 Man on the Street
  11. ↑ America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Registry, By Daniel Eagan - Page 694 Enter the Dragon
  12. ↑ Black Belt, December 1973 - Page 45 BUDO BREEZE by Robert F. Beard
  13. ↑ Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1988 - 3 Ex-Agents Under Fire : A Look at Their Reputations--and Their Roots - WILLIAM OVEREND
  14. ↑ Wrong Side of the Art! - Blind Rage (1978, Philippines)
  15. ↑ Grindhouse Database - Blind Rage Main Details
  16. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes - ENFORCER (1978)
  17. ↑ Fist of B-List, 3.17.2011 - Enforcer from Death Row (1978)
  18. ↑ American Film Institute - Death Force, Cast:
  19. 1 2 Los Angeles Sentinel, January 21, 2016 - Redemption: Ex-DEA Agent Darnell Garcia tells the truth and nothing but the truth By Brandon I. Brooks, Managing Editor
  20. ↑ "It's only a game of tag". Black Belt Magazine. February 1973. p. 15.
  21. ↑ Thin White Lines, By John P. Sutton - Page 326
  22. ↑ Los Angeles Times - October 06, 1989 - Ex-DEA Agent Hopes to Block His Extradition - Ronald L. Soble
  23. ↑ "Former Agent Gets 5 Years For Selling Drugs He Seized". The New York Times. September 11, 1991 – via Reuters.
  24. ↑ Soble, Ronald L. (July 23, 1991). "Ex-DEA Agent Garcia Sentenced to 80 Years". Los Angeles Times.
  25. ↑ Google Books - Title Karate: Explosive Instincts and Mind Power
  26. ↑ Tang Su Do, Roberto Daniel Villalba - Page 158
  27. 1 2 DVD Details - Darnell Garcia Archived 2017-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ↑ Hollywood.com - Darnell Garcia
  29. 1 2 Darnellgarcia.com - Filmography
  30. ↑ BFI - Darnell Garcia, Filmography
  31. ↑ Black Belt, December 2002 - Page 71 Elvis and Ed Parker on Tape
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