Jon Benn R.I.P

I was very sad to learn today of the passing of Jon Benn. He was a larger than life character and was immensely fun to be around. I was lucky enough to meet him a few years back after he left a comment on my old blog. Someone had inquired as to what had become of him (I think it was on an old post about The Way of the Dragon) and he replied that he was still around and based in Shanghai.

Actually, I don't think Jon read my blog at all but was told about it by his friend Bill Yim (Bill deserves his own biography). Anyway, one thing led to another and a photographer friend (a big Bruce Lee fan) saw the comment from Jon and asked if I could put them both in contact because my friend was very keen to photograph him. Jon was doing a monthly visa runs (in and out of China) at the time and so on his next trip to Hong Kong we all met up for a beer.

Suffice to say Jon was still very much the raconteur and had some great stories to tell (most of which, but not all, can be found in his autobiography). I did catch up with him a few more times after that but he eventually left Shanghai a few years ago and returned to the US.

Jon, Feb 2011