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Taimak, The Last Dragon
The Last Dragon is a legendary cult classic from the 1980s, filled with action, humor, and an iconic soundtrack. But when the movie ends, the true story of its unforgettable hero begins...
Taimak was only 19 years old when he starred in The Last Dragon. He was already a champion martial artist, a bouncer at New York City's famous clubs, and a budding ladies' man. Over the next thirty years, he had many more adventures. He learned lessons, fell in love, made countless new fans, and discovered the spiritual strength inside himself.
In this book, you'll follow Taimak's inspirational, hilarious, shocking, eye-popping life story. You'll be right there with him as he meets everyone from David Bowie to Mike Tyson, and you'll join him as he experiences triumphs and heartbreaks in the world of Hollywood. You'll even learn more about his relationship with Denise Matthews (Vanity) and his other co-stars from The Last Dragon.
Taimak's life isn't all about Hollywood, though - it's a story that everyone can relate to. You'll read about his battles with self-doubt, his encounters with racism, and the struggles that he faced as a lonely kid growing up in the big city. You'll meet his quirky parents, his beautiful girlfriends, and the friends and rivals he encountered in the dojos and grindhouse theaters of New York.
By the time you're done reading Taimak's story, you might just get a Glow of your own!
Taimak was only 19 years old when he starred in The Last Dragon. He was already a champion martial artist, a bouncer at New York City's famous clubs, and a budding ladies' man. Over the next thirty years, he had many more adventures. He learned lessons, fell in love, made countless new fans, and discovered the spiritual strength inside himself.
In this book, you'll follow Taimak's inspirational, hilarious, shocking, eye-popping life story. You'll be right there with him as he meets everyone from David Bowie to Mike Tyson, and you'll join him as he experiences triumphs and heartbreaks in the world of Hollywood. You'll even learn more about his relationship with Denise Matthews (Vanity) and his other co-stars from The Last Dragon.
Taimak's life isn't all about Hollywood, though - it's a story that everyone can relate to. You'll read about his battles with self-doubt, his encounters with racism, and the struggles that he faced as a lonely kid growing up in the big city. You'll meet his quirky parents, his beautiful girlfriends, and the friends and rivals he encountered in the dojos and grindhouse theaters of New York.
By the time you're done reading Taimak's story, you might just get a Glow of your own!
245 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 19, 2016
12 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2016
There were so, so many memorable parts; Taimak’s mom and dad’s backstory for starters…his growing up living in London and Rome and New York…what motivated his want to study martial arts… the many who inspired him... and countless legends he’s worked with, or shared friendships with…and the one premonition that really hit hardest by the end the memoir: “if there is a God on earth, that role was written for you.”
The poems add texture, and the photos were a bonus. The quotes, particularly Bruce Lee and Miyamoto Musashi’s, were another touching plus. I can go on and on commending on other things that grabbed me, such insight as what the “play” on radio meant, to reading about the history of the Shaw Brothers’ studios, the wrestling gig, the dating, to the wisdom behind what makes some actors more successful on screen; but in short it can’t be emphasized enough how grand the storytelling is. Anyone who has an appreciation for either memoirs or martial arts movies, …or how about loved the film ‘The Last Dragon’ will be in for a special treat. Organized and unpretentious I highly recommend.
The poems add texture, and the photos were a bonus. The quotes, particularly Bruce Lee and Miyamoto Musashi’s, were another touching plus. I can go on and on commending on other things that grabbed me, such insight as what the “play” on radio meant, to reading about the history of the Shaw Brothers’ studios, the wrestling gig, the dating, to the wisdom behind what makes some actors more successful on screen; but in short it can’t be emphasized enough how grand the storytelling is. Anyone who has an appreciation for either memoirs or martial arts movies, …or how about loved the film ‘The Last Dragon’ will be in for a special treat. Organized and unpretentious I highly recommend.
November 8, 2016
This was a quick easy read about the life of Taimak Guarriello, who was once an 80's fictional hero to fans of the movie, "The Last Dragon." As a fan of pop culture and autobiographies, I was intrigued by the inside details regarding the filming of the movie "The Last Dragon" more than I was about Taimak's life. I also found it interesting how Taimak got into martial arts, however, and I'm sure fans of martial arts will probably enjoy Taimak's details about martial art techniques and the competitions he participated in. However, I found parts of the story repetitive, especially in the beginning of the first few chapters. For instance, his parents know a lot of people in the entertainment industry, but after awhile it comes the name dropping has no merit since none of the celebrities they met actually contributed to their success. Socially, Taimak seems kind of vague about his relationships with women. It felt it was kind of thrown in, as if to say, 'Oh yeah, and by the way I like women, I dated, cheated, and so on, but it too matter of fact for anyone to feel it was authentic. It was an after-thought to say the least. Perhaps it was intentional since Taimak's a shy and private person, but it may as well have been left out all together. The random poetry was nice, but I was confused by the broken up scripts that were included in between chapters. This is something a good content editor could've picked up on, and advised him to delete it. The ending was a summary of Taimak's philosophy and beliefs about life and love. I have to say that I've read many celebrity biographies over the years, and this book fits one shelf above the bottom. It's not so bad where it deserves to be on the bottom, but there's enough information just to see how it all ends.
August 29, 2025
As a teenager, The Last Dragon was my favorite movie. Taimak was fine and Vanity was the it girl. Together they made the perfect combination for a visually pleasing movie. And I enjoyed the story🎬🍿.
Here we are 40 years later and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 is a classic! And Taimak is still fine😍😂. Just thinking about this movie brings back many great memoirs from my childhood. So you can imagine my surprise, when just last month, I learned Taimak released a memoir back in 2016😮! How could I have missed this🤯! I immediately purchased the audio version and started listening to it within minutes.
The book is narrated by Taimak. Which I was initially excited about. However, in hindsight, I wish I had read the physical copy. His narration was flat and lacked the emotional depth his story deserved.
The memoir offers an honest and layered look at Taimak’s life beyond martial arts and movie fame. He shares eye-opening truths about his childhood, family and the entertainment industry.
I enjoyed learning about his humble beginnings. He also shared some interesting stories about his life and his journey in Hollywood.
For instance…
Taimak stated he only made $15,000 from filming 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧. He also stated that he initially didn’t get along with Vanity. That was until their first kissing scene. After that it was on and popping’😂.
• Taimak thought he had a solid bond with Berry Gordy, but after refusing to sign a contract, Berry ghosted him. For good.
• When Janet Jackson’s people offered him a mere $500 is appear in Janet’s video for 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘈𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, he said absolutely NOT! And countered at $3500. They agreed and he went on to be Janet’s leading man in the video.
• He even opens up about being falsely accused of domestic abuse by a long time girlfriend.
Speaking of girlfriends…there’s a whole chapter dedicated to his past relationships. Here he admits to having dated Carmen Electra, Lisa Bonet, and Troy Beyer. But he says he never gave his full heart to any of them because he was in love with a woman named Veronica. But that relationship was toxic. He states “Just because you love someone doesn’t mean the relationship will work out.”
At the end of every chapter, there’s an original poem written by Taimak.
It’s hard for me to say whether or not this is a solid body of work because the audio quality really got in my way. So I’ll say, if you’re a fan, you may enjoy this one. If you’re not a fan, you won’t miss anything.
Here we are 40 years later and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 is a classic! And Taimak is still fine😍😂. Just thinking about this movie brings back many great memoirs from my childhood. So you can imagine my surprise, when just last month, I learned Taimak released a memoir back in 2016😮! How could I have missed this🤯! I immediately purchased the audio version and started listening to it within minutes.
The book is narrated by Taimak. Which I was initially excited about. However, in hindsight, I wish I had read the physical copy. His narration was flat and lacked the emotional depth his story deserved.
The memoir offers an honest and layered look at Taimak’s life beyond martial arts and movie fame. He shares eye-opening truths about his childhood, family and the entertainment industry.
I enjoyed learning about his humble beginnings. He also shared some interesting stories about his life and his journey in Hollywood.
For instance…
Taimak stated he only made $15,000 from filming 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧. He also stated that he initially didn’t get along with Vanity. That was until their first kissing scene. After that it was on and popping’😂.
• Taimak thought he had a solid bond with Berry Gordy, but after refusing to sign a contract, Berry ghosted him. For good.
• When Janet Jackson’s people offered him a mere $500 is appear in Janet’s video for 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘈𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, he said absolutely NOT! And countered at $3500. They agreed and he went on to be Janet’s leading man in the video.
• He even opens up about being falsely accused of domestic abuse by a long time girlfriend.
Speaking of girlfriends…there’s a whole chapter dedicated to his past relationships. Here he admits to having dated Carmen Electra, Lisa Bonet, and Troy Beyer. But he says he never gave his full heart to any of them because he was in love with a woman named Veronica. But that relationship was toxic. He states “Just because you love someone doesn’t mean the relationship will work out.”
At the end of every chapter, there’s an original poem written by Taimak.
It’s hard for me to say whether or not this is a solid body of work because the audio quality really got in my way. So I’ll say, if you’re a fan, you may enjoy this one. If you’re not a fan, you won’t miss anything.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews