LEGENDARY WARRIOR LEE

BIOGRAPHY OF LEGEND LEE

Bruce Lee, born Lee Jun-fan on November 27, 1940, in San Francisco, California, was a martial artist, actor, and cultural icon whose influence transcends generations. His life story is one of resilience, innovation, and unparalleled dedication to his craft. Lee's journey into martial arts began at a young age. Growing up in Hong Kong, he started training in Wing Chun under the guidance of renowned instructor Ip Man. Lee's passion for martial arts was evident early on, and he quickly developed exceptional skills. However, life in Hong Kong presented challenges, including street fights and encounters with local gangs, which further fueled his determination to master martial arts. At the age of 18, Lee returned to the United States to continue his education. He enrolled at the University of Washington, where he studied philosophy and began teaching martial arts to support himself financially. During this time, Lee's unique approach to martial arts caught the attention of students and instructors alike. He emphasized practicality, efficiency, and adaptability, laying the groundwork for his own martial art philosophy, Jeet Kune Do. Lee's martial arts journey took a significant turn when he moved to California and opened his own martial arts schools. His teachings attracted a diverse group of students, including celebrities like Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Lee's reputation as a skilled martial artist continued to grow, leading to opportunities in Hollywood. In the early 1970s, Lee landed his breakthrough role in "The Big Boss," a martial arts film that propelled him to stardom. He followed up with iconic roles in "Fist of Fury" and "Way of the Dragon," solidifying his status as a martial arts film star. However, it was his performance in "Enter the Dragon," released shortly before his death, that cemented his legacy as a cultural icon. Beyond his film career, Lee was a prolific writer and philosopher. He authored books such as "Tao of Jeet Kune Do" and "Bruce Lee: Artist of Life," where he shared his insights on martial arts, philosophy, and personal development. Lee's philosophy emphasized the importance of self-expression, adaptability, and continuous self-improvement, resonating with audiences worldwide. Tragically, Bruce Lee's life was cut short on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32. His sudden death shocked the world and sparked numerous theories and speculation. While the exact cause of his death remains a subject of debate, Lee's legacy endures as a symbol of courage, innovation, and the power of the human spirit. Bruce Lee's impact extends far beyond the realm of martial arts and cinema. He inspired countless individuals to pursue their passions, embrace their uniqueness, and strive for excellence in all aspects of life. Today, his influence can be felt in various fields, from martial arts and fitness to philosophy and popular culture, making him an immortal figure in the hearts and minds of people around the world.

BRUCE LEE

27 NOV 1940 - 20 JULY 1973

Bruce Lee : Action on screen

A Child Actor

Bruce Lee’s forgotten child star From the tender age of 3 months old, in 1941, until his move to the United States in 1959, Bruce Lee was featured in over 20 films in Hong Kong. Bruce's father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was a well know Cantonese opera singer and film actor. Titles included "Thunderstorm" (1957) and "The Orphan" (1959). Bruce is pictured here in a scene from "The Orphan".Lee’s father, Li Hoi-chuen, was a friend of Eng, who wanted a baby for certain scenes in her movie about an estranged family who eventually reconcile over the need to support China’s war effort against Japan.

Discovered

Bruce never had any intention of making a move into acting in the United States, and was focused on opening Martial Arts schools across the country. However, after his mesmerizing demonstration at Ed Parker's 1964 Long Beach Internationals Karate Tournament caught the attention of celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring, Bruce's path changed dramatically.Sebring told his client, and Hollywood producer, William Dozier (pictured here on Bruce's left), about Bruce. After then contacting Ed Parker, and watching footage of Bruce's electrifying performance, Dozier contacted Bruce.

Unlikely Superhero

"The Green Hornet" TV show lasted only one season, totaling 26 episodes, including 3 crossover episodes with the wildly successful "Batman" show (pictured). "Batman" was also a William Dozier production. Although short-lived, Bruce's performance in the show introduced him to American audiences, and was a driving force for his eventual popularity in Hong Kong. Audiences in Bruce's home town were quick to refer to the show as "The Kato Show" rather than it's actual title. Bruce was unaware of his growing popularity in Asia, but would soon find out.

Early Hollywood Roles

A combination of Bruce's performance as "Kato" as well as his growing list of celebrity students, were instrumental in his early film and television roles in Hollywood. Influential figures like Stirling Silliphant and James Coburn both played pivotal roles in Bruce's career. Silliphant wrote Bruce into the 1969 film version of "Marlowe" as a well-spoken, and equally as well-dressed, gangster "Winslow Wong" who is sent by his boss to intimidate detective Marlowe.This role, and others including "Lee" in "Longstreet", gave Bruce a platform to showcase not only his acting skills, but his explosive martial arts moves, and philosophy, to new audiences.

The Move

In the late 60's, Bruce found that opportunities in Hollywood for him were few and far between. As well as his work on "Marlowe" and "The Wrecking Crew", bit parts in "Blondie", "Here Come The Brides" and "Ironside", weren't enough to keep Bruce and his young family afloat. After returning to the US from his eye opening visit to Hong Kong, it was friend and student James Coburn (right) who encouraged Bruce to leave the struggles of Hollywood behind him and go to Hong Kong to make movies. Coburn also told Bruce this move could serve as a platform to show Hollywood producers what he could really do

Movies Of An Icon

The movies Bruce Lee made while in Hong Kong catapulted him to iconic status. First came "The Big Boss", then "Fist Of Fury", followed by "The Way Of The Dragon" and "Enter The Dragon". These movies shattered box office records, blew audiences away with their thrilling and realistic action sequences and set the bar high for all martial arts movies to come. Audiences connected with Bruce's charm, underdog status, chiseled physique and breathtaking never-before-seen martial arts moves that leapt through the screen In addition to taking on the lead role (the first ever for an Asian American actor in a Hollywood produced movie), and writing and production duties, on "Enter The Dragon", Bruce also carefully choreographed the fight sequences. Quality and realism were paramount

Unfinished

When the opportunity to film "Enter The Dragon" came up, filming on Bruce's current project at the time, "Game Of Death", was stopped. Sadly he would pass away before filming could continue. The film was eventually completed in 1978 with doubles standing in for Bruce's role and overdubs, but his ultimate vision for the film never came to fruition.Long-lost unseen footage of the celebrated “log fight” scene from the Bruce Lee film Game of Death is to be released in a new box set marking the 50th anniversary of the famed actor and martial artist’s death.

Writer, Director, Producer.

Bruce knew that quality, above everything else, was a crucial ingredient to the film making process, and gave himself to all parts of his projects. He was an established writer, producer and director, as well as an action movie hero on the verge of worldwide acclaim. In 1972, Bruce made his directorial debut on the film "The Way Of The Dragon". He also wrote, produced and starred in the film. In the following panels you will see a selection of Bruce's actual fight sequence notes from that movie. This epic battle is one of the most iconic martial arts fights of all time. Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris at the Coliseum.

SOME ICONIC MOVIES OF LEE

FIST OF FURY(1972)

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ENTER THE DRAGON (1973)

GAME OF DEATH(1978)

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Interesting fact of Bruce Lee

Bad Student

Academics didn't interest Bruce in the least. After primary school, Bruce entered La Salle College, an English-speaking boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, where he often got into trouble. Bruce was expelled from La Salle for disruptive behavior.Even after his parents moved him to a different school, Bruce kept on getting into street fights.

Never Lost a Fight

Well, actually he lost a fight only once in his life: when he was 13 years old. This loss actually prompted Bruce to learn martial arts from a Wing Chun master named Yip Man. After other students learned that Bruce wasn't pure Chinese, they refused to let him train in their class. Yip Man had to train him privately.

Excellent Dancer and Boxer

Actually, Bruce studied dancing as hard as he studied martial arts: he was an excellent dancer who, at 18 years of age, won the 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship! Bruce was also a great boxer: he won the 1958 Boxing Championship - by knockout, of course.

Philosophy Major

Bruce wasn't just all muscle and no brain. He attended the University of Washington, where he majored in philosophy with focus on the philosophical principles of martial art techniques. As you might imagine, Bruce supported himself in college by teaching martial arts. Later, Bruce dropped out of college to open his martial arts school.

Lee was Strong

In 1964, Bruce was invited to a karate championship in Long Beach, California. There he performed his famous "One Inch Punch," where he would deliver a devastating blow from only an inch away, sending his opponent flying back! Bob Baker of Stockton, whom Bruce hit, said "I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again. When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable."

Lee was Fast

Most martial art films are sped up to make fighting scenes appear fast, but not Bruce Lee's. His moves were too fast to be captured on the regular 24 frames per second film - so they had to film him at 32 fps, and run the film slower so you can see his moves.

A good hair day

Bruce Lee got his big break in Hollywood in 1964 when he was discovered by celebrity hair stylist, Jay Sebring, at the Long Beach Karate Championships. Sebring told one of his celebrity clients, the producer and actor William Dozier, about the young, talented martial artist, and Dozier immediately contacted Lee.

Bruce Lee: the… designer?

Bruce Lee was an innovator. To enhance his training regime, he designed equipment that was less-rigid, and more unpredictable, much like how a human would be in a real combat situation.

Humble beginnings

Bruce Lee never intended to become an actor, and dreamed instead of opening up martial arts schools across the US. The first location of what could loosely be called Bruce's "school", The Jun Fan Gung-Fu Institute, was actually located in a parking garage in Seattle's First Hill area. From there it moved to a basement in Chinatown. But from these humble beginnings came a new philosophy of martial arts, Jeet Kune Do, and Lee’s school still operates in Seattle today

A boundary-breaking love

In the summer of 1963, a young woman by the name of Linda Emery began taking Gung Fu lessons from Lee in Seattle. After a class one day, Bruce asked Linda out on a date. Adorably, he took her to the Seattle Space Needle. A year later, Bruce and Linda were married, even though they knew their parents, and society at large, would not approve of their interracial marriage.

A man of many talents

After completing his GED at the Edison Technical School in Seattle in 1961, Bruce Lee enrolled at the University of Washington, majoring in philosophy. Lee was also a superb artist and even enjoyed writing poetry. Not only a scholar and a diligent student, Lee used his studies in everyday life. In developing his art of Jeet Kune Do, Lee studied not only martial arts, but also biomechanics, boxing, fencing, nutrition, self-help books and philosophy. Lee was a man of many talents.

Trainer to the stars

Bruce ran private martial arts lessons, even charging exorbitant fees to deter people from thinking that martial arts was quick or easy. Some of Bruce's celebrity students included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Stirling Silliphant, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In fact, Steve McQueen and James Coburn were pallbearers at Bruce Lee’s funeral.

Going head-to-head with the pope and Gandhi

In 2005, a statue of Bruce Lee was unveiled in the small town of Mostar, in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bruce was chosen over other nominees, including the pope and Gandhi, after a residents poll revealed that Bruce Lee was the only name respected by both sides as a 'symbol of soldarity' .