Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong-American martial artist, actor and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines. Credited with helping popularize martial arts films in the 1970s, Lee is considered by some commentators and martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.
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 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.
The Green Hornet TV show lasted only one season, totaling 26 episodes, including 3 crossover episodes with the wildly successful Batman. 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.
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 (James Garner). 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. Other celebrity students included Steve McQueen, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate and Kareem Adbul Jabaar.
In the late 1960s, 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 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.
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.
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.
Great photos loved bruce lee
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