Bruce Lee Biography / Pictures
Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 - July 20, 1973) is widely considered to be the greatest martial arts actor of the 20th century.
Biography
Bruce's films, especially the last
one, Enter the Dragon, elevated the by-then traditional Hong Kong martial arts
film to a new level, and artists like Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris have been
able to work from this platform. His son, Brandon Lee, was also a martial artist
and an actor.
Born in San Francisco, California, United States, Lee was raised in Hong Kong.
Bruce Lee's parents were film actors, hence he had the opportunity to appear in several
Chinese movies as a child. He also studied the Wing Chun style of Kung Fu.
In 1959, Bruce went to Seattle to complete his high school education. He received
his diploma from Edison Technical School and went on to enroll in the University
of Washington as a philosophy major. It was at the UW that he would meet his
wife, Linda.
After leaving University, Bruce went on to star as Kato in the television series
The Green Hornet. On his return to Hong Kong, he starred in the movies that
would cement his fame.
After studying and becoming dissatisfied with existing schools of martial arts,
Lee created two of his own: Jun Fan, a Kung Fu style; and Jeet Kune Do, which
incorporated elements from martial arts outside of Kung Fu intending to create a
more streamlined and practical martial art, as well as a comprehensive system of
fitness training. He frequently gave demonstrations of his two-finger pushups
and his famous "one inch punch". He was a very well-rounded man; well educated
both academically and in the field of martial arts. His studies of (Kung-fu),
sparked his enthusiasm and understanding of martial arts. Later he studied
Karate, Judo, Jiu jitsu, Wing Chun and other styles of Wushu. His 'made up'
styles are still taught to this day.
On July 20th 1973, Lee was due to have lunch with former James Bond actor George
Lazenby, with whom he intended to make a film. However, Lee never turned up for
the lunch, and when Lazenby and Lee's agent went to his hotel room, they found
him dead. He was interred in Seattle's Lake View Cemetery. Although there have
been a several rumors in concerning the cause of death, the official cause of
death was recorded as the result an allergic reaction to an analgesic he took.
Although he made only a handful of films and television appearances in his
adulthood, Bruce Lee has become an iconic figure in movies as a personification
of a small man who became the epitome of physical perfection and invincibility
in personal combat. His fame also sparked the first major surge of interest in
Chinese martial arts in the West.
This Bruce Lee Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Chuck Ayoub