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Donnie Williams was born in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Prior to his martial arts career and acting, Donnie served in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman serving with the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam.
During his time in the Navy, when he wasn't deployed (Vietnam), he took up Karate during his spare time. He practiced his Karate skills five hours a day. After leaving the service, Donnie continued to train in Karate and compete in tournaments.
Donnie's confidence and skill in the martial arts led to winning numerous titles and awards eventually being rated as one of the best Karate fighters in the world. He eventually earned the martial arts title Grandmaster and was awarded 10th Degree Black Belt.
In 1969, he co-founded the Black Karate Federation (BKF) in Los Angeles to encourage blacks to compete on the then nearly all-white karate tournament circuit.
It was his time in Karate that Donnie Williams was introduced into the movie business. Casting agents approached the BKF and hired Donnie for an uncredited bit part in the Bruce Lee film, Enter the Dragon (1973) where he bids his student "Williams" (played by fellow black martial artist, Jim Kelly) farewell as he goes off to Hong Kong.
Donnie went on to star in nine more feature films in the next twelve years. In addition to Bruce Lee, Donnie got to work with other martial artists in film from both the United States and abroad like Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, David Carradine and Bruce Li. In addition to acting, Donnie also choreographed fight scenes for actors in other films.
In between his few parts in film, Donnie continued his martial arts career; Williams reached the pinnacle of his fighting career, the overall title at the 1977 International Karate Championships in Long Beach. He was the first black to attain that honor.
He had promised to serve God the rest of his life after winning that competition. Digging up his Bible, Williams enrolled in a correspondence course with the non-denominational International Gospel Assn. in Missouri. Then, during the early eighties, he founded the non-denominational The Family Church International in Monrovia, CA which he continues to lead today.
In addition to martial arts, film and clergy, Donnie has a love for law enforcement. He earned his AA degree in Police Science at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, California. He trained county park police officers in self-defense and served as a reserve officer.
He founded a Chaplaincy Program with the Monrovia, California Police Department and served as a Developer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Chaplaincy Program. At one point he was named Reserve (Law Enforcement) Officer of the Year for Los Angeles County. He retired as a reserve officer and chaplain for the Monrovia Police Department.
Donnie continues to serve God to this day and has led hundreds of people closer to God with his practical teachings of the Bible. Though no longer in the film industry, Donnie has regularly been "in front of the camera" as a guest preacher on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), as well as the Word Network.
Vietnam Veteran, martial arts Grandmaster, actor, and Bishop Donnie Williams has been married to his wife Valerie, a senior pastor in their church for over thirty years. They have five children.
