Bruce Lee

Person Score

 
9.5 Superb
85 votes

Your Score

Biography

Recent Role:
Li Tsung on Longstreet
Gender:
Male
Born:
11-27-1940
Died:
7-20-1973 (A hypersensitive reaction to a compound in the drug Equagesic in which led to a swelling of the brain and caused a Cerebal Adema)
Birthplace:
San Francisco, California, USA
Birth Name:
Bruce Jun Fan Yuen Kam Lee
AKA:
Lee Jun Fan, Jun Fan Yuen Kam, Lee Jun Fan Yuen Kam, Little Dragon Lee, Siu-Lung Lee, Yam Lee, Xiaolong Li, Lee Siu Lung
Bruce Lee was born on the 27th November 1940 (the Chinese year of the Dragon) in the city of San Fancisco sometime between the hours of 6AM and 8AM. Bruce was the third child of his parents Lee Hou-Cheun and his mother Gracie Lee.

At birth, he was given the name Lee Jun Fan (which means "Return Again") by his parents. Shortly before leaving the hospital, a nurse suggested that it might be a good idea to give the child an English Christian name to avoid any complications with his American birth certificate. The nurse suggested the name Bruce Lee, and the newborn's parents

More agreed.

After the family's return to Hong Kong, Bruce's father found work as an actor. Often, young Bruce would accompany his father to film shoots and eventually, through his father's connections, he was given a role in a film The Beginning of a Boy. He was only 6 years old. Many other Child roles would follow. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in over 20 films, the most famous of which being The Orphan.

But like many other Hong Kong Chinese kids, Bruce Lee spent much of his early years on the streets as a self confessed trouble-maker. During this period of his life, Bruce often found himself involved in street fights. Sometimes he would arm himself with a toilet chain, though more often than not he would just use his fists and feet.

Bruce complained to his parents that he was being bullied. He asked if they would allow him to take Kung Fu lessons as a means of learning to defend himself from the bullies. His parents agreed to pay for Kung Fu lessons from Yip Man, a grand master of the Wing Chun style. For several years Bruce attended Yip Man's school of Wing Chun, rapidly growing in proficiency.

When Bruce Lee was 14 years old he enrolled for dancing lessons and later went on to become the Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. But with every passing year Lee's focus on the martial arts grew more intense. Around the age of 18 Lee started to form his own ideas about what made an effective martial arts style. But Lee's parents feared for the safety of their son and decided to send Bruce away from Hong Kong out of harm's way.

Bruce returned to San Francisco to finish school. He earned his high school diploma and in the autumn of 1962, he enrolled at the University of Washington, seeking a degree in Philosophy. During his time at school, Bruce started to teach kung fu. In 1963 he opened the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Seattle. He would also meet his future wife Linda at the University.

By June 1964 Lee decided to give up his studies and moved to Oakland, California to open a second school of martial arts. Bruce and Linda were married on the 17th August 1964.

In 1965, Bruce and Linda celebrated the birth of their son Brandon. Sadly, his father died just one week following Brandon's birth. Filled with despair, Bruce considered abandoning teaching martial arts as a living when he received a phone call from television producer William Dozier. Dozier had seen some footage of Bruce in action and wanted to ask Bruce if he would be interested in playing the role of the "Number One Son" in a television adaptation of Charlie Chan. Bruce expressed his interest and soon drove to Hollywood for an audition. Though the reaction was positive, the Charlie Chan idea soon died.

But Dozier soon started work on a new project, a television series called the Green Hornet, a show which would utilize the same kind of format as the already hugely successful Batman series. Bruce was to play the part of Kato, the chauffeur and sidekick to the lead hero, Britt Reid. The Lees moved to Los Angeles in March 1966 and Green Hornet went into production that summer.

Green Hornet was canceled after only 26 episodes. But Bruce had left his mark on Hollywood. Now a martial arts celebrity, Bruce would often make personal appearances at karate demonstrations, film conventions and parades. He made appearances on television shows like Longstreet, Ironside and Blondie. Then came his appearance in the 1969 movie Marlowe. This was Bruce Lee's first appearance in a Hollywood feature length film and though his role was minor, he stole the screen from lead actor James Garner.

Bruce was now giving private martial arts lessons to Hollywood stars such as Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Also receiving instruction from Bruce Lee at this time were Karate champions Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis and Mike Stone. Between them, Norris, Lewis and Stone would go on to win every major Karate tournament in the USA.

In 1970 Bruce suffered a massive back injury during a weight lifting session. The injury was so severe, that doctors informed Lee that he had to stay hospitalized for 6 months or risk being paralized. And that he would never be able to practice the martial arts again. Barely able to move, Bruce stayed at home looking after Brandon and new baby daughter Shannon while Linda worked. Depressed and wanting to give up, Linda suggested that Bruce focus his energy on his mind. He began an intensive academic self study on martial arts. Eventually his notes filled eight, two-inch thick notebooks and years later these notes would be edited by Linda and published as "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do".

Bruce Lee was a strong believer in the power of the mind and refused to accept that he would be disabled for life. Against doctor's orders, he slowly and gradually reintroduced his body to the stresses of training again. Within a year Bruce had regained all that he had lost, and more. However, off screen and in private he would suffer extreme chronic back pain for the rest of his life.

Having recovered, Bruce focused everthing on his career. He was determined to be a major star and introduce the eastern art of Kung fu to the rest of the world through film and television. He began working on an idea for a television series about a Shaolin monk who roamed the Old American West in search of knowledge and adventure. Warner Brothers liked the idea and developed it into the major hit series Kung Fu, however, to Bruce's intense disappointment, the starring role was given to actor David Carradine, a non-asian and non-martial artist. ABC had decided that to use Bruce Lee for the lead role would be too risky, Bruce being too Asian looking and too small a name.

Still reeling from the disappointment of losing the role in Kung Fu, Bruce took a fleeting visit to Hong Kong in 1971 and found, to his complete surprise, that he had become a well known and admired superstar there. Green Hornet had been renamed The Kato Show and was one of the most watched television shows in South East Asia. To capitalize on that, many of the films Bruce had appeared in as a child were being screened over and over again in cinemas throughout Hong Kong.

Bruce returned to Los Angeles, but immediately received an offer from Hong Kong film producer Raymond Chow to star in two Chinese martial arts feature films. Chow offered to pay Lee $15,000 for the two films. In July 1971, Bruce arrived in the remote Tai village of Pak Chong for the shooting of his first film for Raymond Chow, The Big Boss.

Bruce Lee had finally arrived.Paramount studios retained Bruce for three episodes of Longstreet. Warner Brothers, who had previously dumped Bruce Lee's film project The Silent Flute, and had given the lead role in Kung Fu to Carradine, wanted to place Bruce Lee under television option for $25,000. Hong Kong producer Run Run Shaw made weekly overtures to woo Bruce away from Raymond Chow, even sending him a blank check and telling him to fill it in for any amount he desired. With his life bombarded with offers and counter offers, Bruce flew back to Hong Kong with Linda, Brandon and Shannon for the premiere of The Big Boss.

The film was the biggest event to hit Hong Kong cinema. To the people of Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was suddenly more than just a film star- he was a symbol of their identity and a real life hero.

Lee's next film, Fists of Fury, broke box-office records across all of South East Asia. This brought Bruce the incredible power of creating his own production company, writing the script to his next film, Way Of The Dragon, and directing the film himself.

Way Of The Dragon grossed more money than any Hong Kong film before it. Warner Brothers agreed to pay Bruce $500,000 for the shooting of a martial arts film entitled Blood and Steel. Retitled Enter the Dragon, this major motion pictured is still considered by many to be the greatest martial arts film ever made.

During post production on the film, Lee collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where he was given a drug. No cause was found, even after an exam back in the states.

Bruce continued post production on Enter The Dragon and then resumed work on another of his own projects, Game of Death, which he had started filming just prior to "Dragon". While discussing the script of Game of Death with Raymond Chow at the apartment of Taiwanese actress Betty Ting-Pei, Lee developed a severe headache. Ting-Pei gave Bruce a tablet of Equagesic, a strong asprin based tablet prescribed to her by her doctor, and he went to a bedroom to lay down.

Raymond Chow telephoned the flat to find out why Bruce had not turned up for their planned dinner. Betty Ting-Pei said she could not wake Bruce. Chow rushed to the apartment and found Lee in a coma. A doctor was called, arrived almost immediately and spent ten minutes trying to revive Bruce Lee. By 10 o'clock an ambulance had arrived and Lee was rushed to the hospital.

There were two funeral ceremonies. The first was in Hong Kong, where there was a traditional Buddhist service. Outside the Kowloon funeral parlour a croud of 25,000 fans wept. The second ceremony was a more private affair, held in Seattle where Bruce and Linda had met and where Lee had perhaps been at his happiest. Bruce Lee's body was buried in the city's Lake View Cemetery. He was laid to rest wearing the traditional Chinese outfit he had worn in Enter the Dragon. The final tribute was spoken by close friend and fellow actor James Coburn.

Days after Lee's body had been laid to rest, Enter the Dragon had its premiere in Hollywood. The film was an instant hit in the USA and soon took the rest of the world by storm. The worldwide theatrical gross for Enter the Dragon is two hundred million dollars, an unheard of amount for the day, making Enter the Dragon one of the most profitable films of all time and certainly the most successful martial arts film of all time. Perhaps more importantly however, it helped to make Bruce Lee a legendary, semi-mythical hero who is admired and respected by many millions of people across the world.

From the Forums

More Topics
  • My personal hero.

    Anyone feel the same? Just thought he deserved atleast 1 topic even though he didnt do series as much as movies :- )

    3 comments, last one Apr 2, 2011
  • Oh... The Memories

    Hi my name is Gary. I bet that there isn't a whole lot of people who remember when this used to be TV Tome and Movie Tome. Those were the days. I remember when I was an editor back in those days. I had editorial rights of over 200 movies, shows, and people. I rememeber taking Great pride inMore being the editor of Bruce Lee. I was once told that I had the most complete page on a person. I went to great lengths to allow a tribute website to let me use their bio of Bruce Lee that was over 6 pages long. I wrote his 24 word cause of death myself. I was obcessed with him and all the shows and movies I edited. Then this new system came in and I was stripped of manyshows and they eventually stopped e-mailing me notifications and I eventually lost my rights to the Bruce Lee page... It makes me sad thinking about it.

    1 comments, last one Nov 25, 2007
More Topics

Bruce Lee News

More
  •  
    9 Superb
    bruce consider a legend and a god of amoung marital artist hide show

    bruce lee the greatest martial artiest in history. and made so many movies and did alot for his people. and made training areas and had his own place for training people fought alot of people in movies and out of the movies. even though he is gone alot of people still like to watch bruce lee movies and he is jumping and kicking people and punching people that sorta makes me want to get up and starting doing that even though i know i cant he was one of those kind of people that you would be memerized just watching him on screen.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect

    Bruce lee, the man, the myth, the legend, the god.

    hide show

    What can be said about Bruce Lee, he is completely timeless and easily the most influential martial artist ever. I won't go on about his life and accomplishments as there is plenty of information out there already. I reluctantly watched fist of fury in 1983 when I was 8 and instantly became hooked. My parents hired movies out every Saturday night and they would always let me choose one.I drove my dad insane for about 6 years as I would always get a Bruce movie. In 1983 there wasn't a VCR in every room so all too often I would see my father's face contort into the strangest shapes of frustration as he walked into the sitting room to hear "Waassaaa!" for the 46th time. All Bruce's films had a grittiness to them that was lacking in martial arts movies of the time. The realism was fantastic, no flying through the air, no balancing on branches, no catching arrows in the teeth (not that these films aren't also enjoyable), just raw brutal choreography which has yet to be beaten. Check out any movie fight scene from any other movie from the same era and laugh at how pathetic they look in comparison.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    Bruce Lee is a legend, No Question about it. hide show

    Bruce Lee is a legend, No Question about it, Hes my personal hero in this world and ive never ever seen someone as multitalented.
    Not only is he the man who can kick EVERYONE's butt, Hes also a good actor and one of the most charismatic people ive ever known to exist.
    Growing up in china he often found himself getting in trouble, He took up martial arts after he got beat up in a streetfight, After that he was the one beating the rest up.
    However being involved in gangs and getting in alot of fights wich was illegal in China at that time his family decided it would be best to send him to America, There he arrived with nothing but a 100 bucks in his pocket, He tried to take up acting but because of the racism in that time period it didnt work out all that well and he later went back to china where he became a huge star, Then back to america where he got the part in the popular Enter The Dragon, He became huge but tragically he didnt get the time to become as huge as he could.
    While filming what was going to be his "Masterpiece" Game of Death, He was found dead one day at the age of 33, Reason of death being uncertain, From here its hard to seperate fact from rumour, Rumours such as him being killed by triads started to circulate, But most commonly accepted is that he died of Cerebral Edema caused by an allergic reaction to drugs.

    However his family believes his death was NOT accidental.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    awesome martial artist hide show

    im into kenpo karate and i know you did not have a particualr style but i really like what you did you were so cool about everything and you were really one of the fastest human beings that i have ever seen, it sucks that you died i just finished watching enter the dragon and it was freakin sweet seriously. you are a legend in martial arts dude, i love that movie, especially the hall of mirors that was so cool i seriously was confused thought still man u are awesome and i have alot of respect, well peace dawgs, juanito, Proud member of the BUN association

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    Martial arts legend. hide show

    Lee's parents were opera stars and this gave him a grounding in the performing arts. Along with the skills of comic acting and singing, he studied kung fu. In time he would develop his own system, jeet kune do, based on the older art but using his unique modifications to suit it for real street fights.

    Lee's stint on tv was short-lived, but the film world offered far better prospects. The agile and wiry actor fit perfectly the role of martial arts film hero. This was at a time when action scripts were not just fight fests; they also gave the characters something to say, using wits and heart as the primary modes of life, with physical power as a last resort.

    His time with us was cut short by his passing in 1973, after a fluke reaction to the medication Equagesic. Countless thousands turned out to pay respects at his funeral.

    Millions around the world still love his films and his martial arts style.

    Bruce Lee gave much to the world and is much missed.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
 

Top Contributors

What is a TV.com Contributor?