Biography for

Bruce Lee (I) More at IMDbPro »

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Date of Birth
27 November 1940, San Francisco, California, USA
Date of Death
20 July 1973, Hong Kong (cerebral edema)
Birth Name
Lee Jun Fan
Height
5' 7½" (1.71 m)
Mini Biography
The greatest icon of martial arts cinema, and a key figure of modern popular culture. Had it
not been for the amazing Bruce Lee and his incredible movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable
whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced
mainstream western cinema & audiences the way it has over the past three decades.

The influence of Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres
including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation.....and they all have
their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was born "Lee Juan Fan" in November 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi
Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately, one year later the family returned
to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of 5, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's
roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu gui fu yun (1948). At the
age of 12, Bruce commenced attending La Salle College, and was later beaten up by a street
gang, which inspires him to take up martial arts training under the tuition of "Sifu Yip Man"
who schools Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years (this was
the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee). The talented & athletic
Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing, and at the age of 18 won a major dance championship in
Hong Kong.

However, his temper and quick fists saw him fall foul of the HK police on numerous
occasions, and his parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San
Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a relative's restaurant, however he eventually
made his way to Seattle, Washington where he enrolled at university to study philosophy, and
found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. In 1963, Lee met Linda Emery
(later his wife) and in addition he opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way.
During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts
identities in the USA including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon
Rhee. He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach
Nationals. Through one of these tournaments, Bruce met Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring
who introduced him to TV producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of
"Batman", Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character of "The Green Hornet" to TV and
was on the lookout for an Oriental actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, "Kato". Around
this time, Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to
Oakland to be closer to Hollywood.

Bruce's screen test was successful, and "The Green Hornet" starring Van Williams went to air
in early 1966 to mixed success. However, the show was surprisingly terminated after only
one season (30 episodes), but by this time he was receiving more fan mail than the show's
star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles, and began
providing personalized martial arts training to film stars including Steve McQueen and James
Coburn. In addition, he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun, plus incorporating aspects
of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and okinawan karate. He also developed his
own unique style "Jeet Kune Do" (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity
then comes his way, as he landed the small role of a stand over man named "Winslow Wong"
intimidating private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Wong paid a visit to Garner and
proceeded to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a
spectacular high kick that shattered the light fitting. With this further exposure of his talents,
Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye
James Franciscus on the TV series "Longstreet" (1971).

With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pockets, Bruce returned for a visit to
Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Chow who had recently started
"Golden Harvest" productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst
young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in _Tang sha da xiong (1971)_ ( aka "Fists
of Fury", aka "The Big Boss"). The film was directed by Wei Lo, shot in Thailand, on a very
low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However when it opened in
Hong Kong, the film was an enormous hit! Young Chinese flocked in their thousands to see
this ground breaking film starring a tough, athletic Chinese hero who dispensed justice with
his fists and feet. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee, and quickly assembled
another script entitled Jing wu men (1972) (aka "The Chinese Connection", aka "Fist of
Fury"). The second film (with a slightly improved budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and
was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find his beloved
master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school. Once again, he uncovered the
evil doers and set about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher. The
film featured several superb fight sequences, and at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to
surrender to the Japanese law and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets!

Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed back with thousands of fervent Chinese movie
fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to
break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company,
Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing
and acting in his next film, _Meng long guojiang (1972)_ (aka "Way of the Dragon", aka
"Return of The Dragon"). A bigger budget, meant better locations and opponents, with the
new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert Ing-Sik Whang, karate
legend Robert Wall and seven times US karate champion Chuck Norris. Bruce played a
seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome, and finds his
cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection.

By now, Lee's remarkable success in the Orient had come to the attention of Hollywood film
executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island
fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film, and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon
co-starring alongside Lee to give the film more Western appeal. The film culminated with
another show stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of
mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the
subsequent weeks, Bruce was involved in completing over dubs and looping for the final cut.
Various reports from friends and co-workers cite how he was not feeling well during this
period, and on July 20th 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after
taking a headache tablet, and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called, and he was
then taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding
was death was due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet. In other
words, death by misadventure.

Chinese movie fans were absolutely shattered that their virile idol, had passed away at such a
young age, and nearly 30,000 fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong. A second, much
smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View
Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan
Inosanto. Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was
a huge hit with American audiences, which then prompted National General films to actively
distribute his three prior movies to US theaters...each of them was a box office smash. Bruce
Lee was an international film star after he had died!

Fans worldwide were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films, and thus remaining footage
(completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh
O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978).
The film used a look alike actor and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee
in numerous scenes. The film is a poor addition to the line up, and is only saved by the final
twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower.
Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Si wang ta (1981) (aka "Game of
Death II"), with more look alike and stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of
footage of the real Bruce Lee.

Tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a
freak accident on the set of The Crow (1994).

Bruce Lee was not only an amazing athlete and martial artist, but he possessed genuine
superstar charisma and through a handful of films he left behind an indelible impression on
the tapestry of modern cinema.
Trade Mark
Often had a scene in his films where in a fight, he gets wounded. Standing stunned, he tastes
his own blood and then he goes berserk wiping out any opponent in his path.
Made animal sounds when he fought to unnerve his foes and focus his strength. His
characters were often proudly Chinese and battled foes who racially oppressed his people as
in when he smashed a "No dogs or Chinese allowed" sign with a flying kick
Use of Jeet Kun Do, a form of martial arts he invented himself in which freedom of reaction
was far more important than rigid form

Trivia
Ranked #100 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
[October 1997]
Father of Brandon Lee.
Died of brain edema in Hong Kong at age 32.
He is considered the greatest martial artist of the 20th century.
Developed his martial art style called Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist) which is
more of an idea of being flexible and practical with learning martial arts
Father of Shannon Lee
Interred at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, USA.
While "The Green Hornet" (1966) TV series was in production, Bruce made several
promotional appearances as Kato, but made a point to never do the standard martial art stunts
like breaking boards, which he felt had nothing to do with what martial arts are about.
Bruce Lee Jun Fan Yuen Kam (Bruce Lee's full birth name) was born in the year of the
dragon (1940), at the hour of the dragon (between 6:00AM- 8:00AM).
Was an accomplished dancer and Hong Kong cha cha cha champion.
A noted brawler in Hong Kong, Lee received formal training in wing chun under legendary
sifu Yip Man. He later trained in a variety of arts before creating his Jeet Kune Do style.
Weighed only 128 pounds at the time of his death.
Suffered a serious back injury while attempting a good-morning. During his recuperation, he
wrote several books on the martial arts.
His students in Jeet Kune Do martial arts included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Steve McQueen
and James Coburn.
His ancestry is German and Chinese. His father is a full-blooded Chinese, while his mother is
of German-Chinese decent (her father is German; her mother is Chinese).
His development of Jeet Kune Do came partially out of an incident with his school. A rival
martial artist challenged him to a duel over his decision to teach non-Chinese students. Lee
accepted the challenge and won the duel, but later thought that the fight took too long
because his martial art technique was too rigid and formalistic. Thus he decided to develop a
better system with an emphasis on practicality and flexibility.
Was constantly challenged by movie extras and other men seeking to gain fame by beating
him in a fight.
Left for Seattle in 1958 with $100. Gave cha cha cha lessons to first-class passengers to earn
extra money during ship ride to US.
Was sought after for instruction by established martial artists such as Joe Lewis and Chuck
Norris.
Faced discrimination from other Chinese kung fu masters when trying to learn other martial
arts styles. Would usually go to the number 3 or 4 man in a certain system to learn it in
exchange for teaching what he knew.
Demand for his private lessons grew so high, his hourly rate soared to $275 per hour.
His last movie, Game of Death (1978), was his first film to be shot with sound, unlike most
of his earlier films which were filmed without sound and later dubbed in by the actors. Some
of the lost footage was later shown in Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000) (V). You can
hear his own voice speaking English and Cantonese. Had he not died, his character's name in
this movie would have been Hai Tien.
Spoke English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.
Was able to name every single karate term and performed them with dead accuracy.
Adopted his legendary nunchaku routine in his movies from the legendary karate master
Hidehiko "Hidy" Ochiai. The two met at the Los Angeles YMCA in the mid 1960s.
Earned $30,000 for his first two feature films.
Developed a trick for showing off his speed: a person held a coin and closed his hand, and as
he closed it, Lee would take it and could even swap the coin for another.
His death was considered to be under 'extraordinarily bizarre' circumstances by many experts.
Many people claimed that it was the work of 'Oni' (Japanese for Demons or evil spirits),
while others claimed he was cursed. The theory of the 'Curse of Bruce Lee' carried over to the
extremely bizarre death of his son, Brandon Lee, who was shot and killed during the filming
of The Crow (1994) in 1993.
Before hitting it big as a movie star, he often trained with the martial arts world's biggest
stars, many of whom would latter become celebrities in their own right, such as world karate
champion 'Chuck Norris'. Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, Lee was never Norris'
instructor. They trained together, often trading techniques and ideas, but never had a student-
teacher relationship.
One of his martial arts students was James Bond star George Lazenby.
In his first and only meeting with Enter the Dragon (1973) composer Lalo Schifrin, Bruce
told him that he often trains to the "Mission: Impossible" (1966) theme.
Mastered a technique called "The One Inch Punch", in which he could deliver a devastating
blow yet have his fist travel a mere one inch (2.54 cm) in distance before striking an
opponent.
His first major U.S. project was the role of Kato in the television series "The Green Hornet"
(1966). He joked that he got this role because he was the only Oriental actor who could
properly pronounce the lead character's name: "Britt Reid.".
Mortal Kombat character "Liu Kang" was inspired by him, complete with the characteristic
animal noises.
When Elvis Presley's and Ed Parker's unfinished martial arts film "New Gladiators" was
found in 2003, there was 20 minutes of Lee's demonstration at a martial arts display in the
mid-'60s found along with it.
Is often honored in video games. In "Mortal Kombat" games, the character Liu Kang was an
obvious tribute to Lee. Then, in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993) (VG), a
character named Fei Long was introduced, bearing an uncanny resemblance in both looks and
fighting style to Lee. A lesser game, World Heroes (1993) (VG), also copied Lee as Kim
Dragon. Lastly, the "Tekken" games did the tribute to him not once, but twice. First with
Marshall Law, then with his son Forrest Law for the third installment of Tekken. Along with
this, his fighting style was honored in Virtua Fighter (1993) (VG) with Jacky Bryant, in Dead
or Alive (1997) (VG) with Jann Lee and in the "Soul Calibur" series as Maxi.
Has a statue placed in the country Bosnia. After many years of war and religious splits, Lee's
figure is to commend his work, to successfully bridge culture gaps in the world (2004
September).
His father, Lee Hoi Chuen (b. February 1901, died 8 February 1965) was a popular stage
actor, and died 8 days after Brandon Lee was born.
Lee was trained by Yip Man from 1954-1957 & Wong Shun-Leung from 1957-58.
Defeated British boxer Gary Elms by knockout in the third round in the 1958 Hong Kong
amateur boxing championships by using Wing Chun traps and high/low-level straight
punches. Before he met Elms in the finals, he knocked out three boxers in the first round.
Hawkings Cheung, his fellow Wing Chun street fighter, witnessed the event.
Lee knocked out Wong Jack-Man in Oakland, CA, in a 1965 no-holds-barred challenge
match. It was Lee's last official fight. It lasted three minutes.
Lee knocked-out Chung, a Choy Li Fut fighter, in Hong Kong in a 1958 Full-Contact match.
The match was refereed by Sheun-Leung Wong.
Lee knocked out Uechi in 10 seconds in a 1962 Full-Contact match in Seattle. It was refereed
by Jesse Glover.
Had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers: Phoebe Lee (b. 1938), Agnes Lee, older
brother and fencing champion Peter Lee, and younger brother and musician Robert Lee.
Some sources claim he also had a brother James who died of Black Lung in 1972, but James
Yimm Lee was in fact his training partner, and not his brother.
Son of Hoi-Chuen Lee
He was a gang leader in his teenage years. The name of his group was known as "The Tigers
of Junction Street".
UFC President Dana White considers Bruce Lee as "the father of Mixed Martial Arts".
Alongside Muhammad Ali, Lee is cited as a major influence by many K-1 and MMA
champions: Bas Rutten, Jose "Pele' Landi-Jons, Wanderlei Silva, 'Emilianenko Fedor',
Norifumi "Kid' Yamamoto, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, Frank Shamrock, Murilo Rua,
Mauricio Rua, 'Jerome Le Banner', 'Carlos Newton', Remy Bonjasky, Jeremy Horn, David
Loiseau and Tito Ortiz, among others.
To mark the occasion of what would have been Lee's 65th birthday (27 November 2005), a
bronze statue of a topless Bruce adopting a martial arts stance was unveiled in Hong Kong,
effectively kicking off a week-long Bruce Lee festival.
In the popular Nintendo game series, Pokémon, the fighting type monster Hitmonlee is based
on Lee.
In an interview he gave a few years before his death, he revealed that he was an atheist.
According to Hong Kong stuntman Phillip Ko, Lee was challenged by a tiger/crane kung fu
stylist, an extra on Enter the Dragon (1973), who claimed Lee was a phony. Lee, who was
furious at the claim, accepted the challenge to prove that his martial arts were indeed the real
deal. The fight, which took place on the film set, only lasted 30 seconds, with Bruce
pummeling his challenger with a series of straight punches to the face, low-line kicks to his
shins/knees/thighs and finally ended with the guy being smashed to the wall with his hair
pulled and his arms trapped by Bruce. After Lee forced the kung fu stylist to submit, he
showed some class by telling him to go back to work instead of firing him. This fight was
witnessed by the film's producer, Fred Weintraub, and Robert Wall.
There is a character in the anime and manga Shaman King that is very heavily based on him.
Also a character inspired by a Lee like character appeared in the Yugioh manga.
Chosen by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the "100 Most Inspiring Asian
Americans of All Time". (ranked #2).

Personal Quotes
Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
Simplicity is the last step of art.
A teacher is never a giver of truth - he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must
find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.
When an opportunity in a fight presents itself, "I" don't hit, "it" hits all by itself.
Empty your mind. Become formless and shapeless like water. When water is poured into a
cup, it becomes the cup. When water is poured into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be water,
my friend.
To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. If you want to understand
the truth in martial arts, to see any opponent clearly, you must throw away the notion of styles
or schools, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and so forth. Then, your mind will cease all conflict
and come to rest. In this silence, you will see totally and freshly.
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced
one kick 10,000 times.
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.
Don't think, feel! It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger
or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.
I don't believe in different ways of fighting now. I mean, unless human beings have 3 arms
and 3 legs, then we will have a different way of fighting. But basically we all have two arms
and two legs so that is why I believe there should be only one way of fighting and that is no
way.
If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into
the rest of your life. It'll spread over into your work, into your mortality, into your entire
being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go
beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you.
There's no challenge in breaking a board. Boards don't hit back.
Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the
function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's
potential.
Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and
fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love
becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.
Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by
bending with the wind.
Martial art is ultimately an athletic expression of the dynamic human body. More important
yet, is the person who is expressing his own soul.
I have always been a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, but above all, am
actualising myself to be an artist of life.
A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at.
The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock the hell out
of the guy in front, but to knock the hell out of your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups.

Salary
Jing wu men (1972) $7,500
Tang shan da xiong (1971) $7,500
Longstreet (1971) (TV) $2,000/episode