Posters: Bruce Lee

About Bruce Lee

During his brief lifetime, Bruce Lee provided a rare and fine example of a modern-day Renaissance man. His greatest fame came through his advanced martial arts skills, but Lee was also an actor, philosopher, film director and producer, screenwriter, and the founder of the Jeet Kune Do concept.

His work in martial arts has inspired the generations that followed him in ways that are profound and resulted in his elevation to cultural icon and household name.

He was born in San Francisco, California to parents of Chinese/Hong Kong heritage. His father was Chinese, and his mother was the daughter of a German father and a Chinese mother. He was the fourth of five children. His birth name was Lee Jun Fan, and though he was born in the United States, his parents returned to Hong Kong to raise their child.

When he turned eighteen, Lee returned to the United States to claim his citizenship there. He also came to the United States to pursue higher education. He began to teach martial arts to support his studies, and due to living near the American capital of the film and entertainment industries, he was offered roles on television and film.

Soon he began to direct his own martial-arts centered films, which quickly became popular, due to the Western interest in the orient and particularly, Chinese martial arts. Within a few years, his films began to take on a more Chinese nationalistic tone. Part of his philosophy included a focus on what he called Jeet Kune Do, or, The Way of the Intercepting Fist. He often starred in his own films.

Five of his films became particularly popular, including The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, and The Game of Death. Through these and other films, Lee developed a type of cult following and attained icon status.

Lee was much interested in nutrition, and followed a diet that was high in protein, wheat germ, and vegetable juices. Naturally he was also keen on physical fitness, and could perform one-hand pushups using only his thumb and index finger.

He was well-read and maintained a significant library. Perhaps one of his most memorable philosophical points was "Be formless...shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend..."

Lee was thirty-two years old when he collapsed while performing dubbing work on a film. He began to suffer seizures and severe headaches. Doctors diagnosed cerebral edema, which they were able to reduce and he returned to normal life.

However, just two months later he complained of severe headache again. His doctor provided an analgesic painkiller, and Lee retired for a nap. He never regained consciousness and was dead by the time he arrived at the hospital later that evening. His cause of death was determined to be acute cerebral edema due to a reaction from the analgesic.

Despite the autopsy results, some Lee fans were convinced he was murdered by an Asian Triad group, similar to an organized crime group. Lee left behind a widow, Linda, and a small son, Brandon Lee, who grew up to become an actor and martial arts expert. The younger Lee died in 1993, in an accident that took place on a movie set.