The name of Bruce Lee is known all over the world, and even those viewers who do not consider themselves among his fans undoubtedly heard about him. This talented Hong Kong guy was famous not only as a martial artist, but also as an actor, director and screenwriter. How did he manage to become a true legend of cinema and sports in his short life? Of course, even a brief biography of Bruce Lee will demonstrate to any reader how rich his career was, but from this article you will learn many interesting details about the life of this talented master of his craft.
A family
The future actor was born in San Francisco (USA) in the family of Grace Lee and Lee Hoy Chen. Bruce Lee's birthday is November 27, 1940. The head of the family was an actor in Chinese drama and often toured. When Grace realized that due to close birth she could not continue to travel with her husband and his theater to the cities, she stayed in San Francisco, where regular tours were taking place in those days. A nurse caring for a young mother invited her to name her son with the American name Bruce. Grace did so, but subsequently for many years the family hardly remembered this. When Bruce Lee was born, according to the eastern calendar, there was a year of the Dragon, so parents and others called him by the name, which translates as Little Dragon.
Childhood
According to the beliefs of China, children should have several names - this allows them to protect themselves from evil spirits. Nevertheless, the actor was known to the general public exactly as Bruce, even though he was Li Xiaolong at home for his family and friends, and later his mother gave him another name - Li Zhenfan, which means "come back."
The future actor grew up in Hong Kong, and in childhood was not very active. In primary school, he attended a martial arts school, but was not seriously interested in them. However, it was impossible to say that he was immersed in his studies - in this field he also did not shine with particular successes. When young Li was 12 years old, his parents enrolled him in La Salle comprehensive development college. After a couple of years, he became interested in dancing, and at the age of eighteen he managed to take first place at the cha-cha-cha championship in Hong Kong.
Relocation to America
In 1959, confirming citizenship obtained by birthright, the guy moved to the United States. In the period when Bruce Lee was born, and for a short time after that, his mother was far from his homeland - in San Francisco. It was there that he went first thing, but for a long time in this city did not stay.
The young man moved to Seattle, where he was accepted as a waiter in one of the local restaurants. In parallel, Lee studied at the Edison Technical School, after which he became a student at the Department of Philosophy at Washington University.
Sportsmanship
As a teenager, Lee decided to do kung fu. Parents approved the desire of the son, and soon after that, master Yip Man began to teach him the art of Wing Chun. Passion for dancing helped the young man to master a new skill - he had a wonderful coordination of movements. Bruce quickly adopted the basics of taijiquan technique and has not left training since then. The style that the athlete began to study in his school years implies fighting without weapons, although he subsequently mastered it too - Lee was especially skilled with nunchaku.
The types of martial arts that Bruce Lee did
Over time, Lee began to master boxing, jujitsu and judo, and even made his own contribution to the world of sports by developing jitkundo, a new kung fu style that he taught at his martial arts school, which he opened two years after arriving in the United States. Education in this institution cost a lot - $ 275 per hour, and that was the explanation. Even before the time when Bruce Lee was born, and many years after that, martial artists preferred to transfer their skills exclusively to Asians, but his school had a significant difference from the likes of her - everyone was trained there, not paying attention to their nationality.
Even as a teacher, Bruce did not stop improving his skills in kung fu, devoting much time to training.
Training
Having developed his training system, Bruce Lee became a role model for many of his followers who tried to adopt his skills. The athlete put a lot of emphasis on the abdominal muscles, believing that they directly affect the speed of the battle. One of the exercises, which occupied a significant place in his studies, was “Dragon Flag”, which viewers could later see in many films, including “Rocky” with Sylvester Stallone. Lee also paid attention to training with his own weight, averaging 59 kg with a height of 171 cm.
Over time, he learned to pull himself up, using only the little finger to grasp the crossbar, and also push up on two fingers of one hand! The athlete filled out the diary in detail, from which it became known that, for example, in January 1968, Bruce had 19 workouts for the muscles of the legs, 15 workouts for stretching and practicing blows, 12 workouts for speed development, 10 hours of running. The plans for the month did not end there, from which we can conclude that the famous martial artist really devoted a lot of time to his improvement.
Cinema in the USA
This charismatic guy from Hong Kong is known to many viewers not only as a martial artist, but also as a talented actor. Bruce Lee first appeared in the frame at the age of three months - it was a picture of the Golden Gate Girl. Lee's father was directly related to the world of theater and cinema, so the boy was often offered to participate in the filming. At the age of six, the future celebrity made a full-fledged debut in the film "Born by Man." Until the age of 16, the young actor managed to star in two dozen projects, and despite the fact that they did not bring the guy popularity and big money, he managed to gain considerable experience. After moving to the United States, he began acting in American films and TV shows. In 1966, the young artist played the role of Kato in the serial episode "The Green Hornet", and in 1968 appeared in several scenes in "Marlow".
To his disappointment, Bruce Lee did not receive the leading parties in the mentioned films, and this fact contributed to his return to Hong Kong, where he relied on cooperation with the recently opened Golden Harvest studio.
Relocation to Hong Kong
The ambitious actor managed to agree with the director of the company about the key role in the film, as well as about the possibility of independently putting all the fighting scenes in it. In 1971, the action movie "Big Boss" was presented on the screens of Hong Kong, turning the whole idea of the oriental martial arts in the world of cinema. Over the next two years, two more projects were presented, in which the main roles were played by Bruce Lee. Films with an extraordinary actor quickly became famous, and the young kung fu teacher himself gained great popularity in China and far beyond.
In 1972, he began filming the action movie “Dragon's Exit,” but his premiere took place only a week after the death of a celebrity, becoming the last completed painting with Lee. He also managed to star in some scenes of The Death Game, but the release of this film took place in 1978 with the participation of Bruce understudies.
Personal life
The year 1964 was marked for the actor by marriage with Linda Emery. He met his future wife in his own classes - the girl was fond of kung fu. During the marriage, two children were born in the family. Bruce Lee first became a father in 1965 when his son Brandon was born. Four years later, Linda gave birth to a daughter, Shannon. The children of Bruce Lee subsequently followed in his footsteps and connected his life with cinema.
Brandon became not only an actor, but also a master of martial arts, but, unfortunately, like his father, he died at a young age under tragic circumstances. Shannon became an actress and producer, as well as the head of the Bruce Lee Foundation.
Shortly before death
When Bruce Lee was born, what kind of sport he did, how much time he devoted to training, how his personal life turned out - all this arouses interest in the audience. And yet, perhaps, most often, fans of the famous martial artist are interested in the reasons why his life was cut short so early. The athlete's first obvious health problems began on May 10, 1973, when he took up the long process of scoring the film almost immediately after working on the set. Lee felt a sharp headache, after which he lost consciousness and was hospitalized at the Hong Kong Baptist Hospital. Doctors diagnosed celebrity cerebral edema, but the situation soon returned to normal. July 20, 1973, on the day of Bruce Lee's death, the story repeated. That evening, the actor had to have a business meeting with George Lazanby, but a few hours before he decided to work on the project “The Game of Death”, after which he, along with producer Raymond Chow, went to actress Betty Tin Pei. In a colleague’s house, Lee felt unwell, and she suggested that he take a pill for the Ecuagestic headache. With the permission of the mistress of the house, the actor went into the next room to rest, but when Raymond Chow went there a short time later, Bruce was already unconscious.
Death
According to doctors, the medicine taken by the actor is really quite effective as a quick, but short-term way to eliminate a headache, but it is not suitable for everyone. Finding Lee without signs of consciousness, his colleagues immediately called a doctor who had lost some more time, trying to reanimate a celebrity. After that, the star of Hong Kong was taken to Queen Elizabeth's hospital, but there the doctors had only to state death. After the autopsy, it became known that the doctors were not able to detect any injuries. In their conclusion, experts noted that the actor died in an accident. The authoritative pathologist Donald Tyr subsequently stated that the famous martial artist died because of the individual intolerance of the components of the Ecuagestic preparation.
The funeral
Bruce Lee was the idol of millions of people, and his death was a real shock for them. The tragic event was discussed not only in Hong Kong, but throughout the world. Viewers for a long time refused to believe in the version of the doctors, suggesting that Bruce died of them for some other reason. The media put forward various versions related to mysticism, crime, secret love affairs, but not one of them found confirmation. On July 25, 1973, a symbolic celebrity funeral was held in Hong Kong, attended by over 25 thousand people - this mournful event was the day of city mourning. Subsequently, the body of the popular actor and athlete was sent to Seattle, where he was interred on July 31 at Lake View Cemetery. Among the close people who carried the coffin were actors Chuck Norris and Steve McQueen. After the death of the actor, his wife and children moved back to the United States.
Despite the fact that the actor died at a fairly young age, in the history of Bruce Lee will probably remain as a popularizer of oriental martial arts in the second half of the 20th century in Western countries, which still has many imitators.
Interesting Facts
Bruce Lee's son died on the set of Raven and was buried next to his father.
In the action movie "The Game of Death", shots from the real funeral of Bruce Lee were used.
In his childhood, Lee was a member of the Tigers from Junction Street.
Bruce Lee's favorite flowers were chrysanthemums.
The actor’s movements during the battle were so fast that sometimes they couldn’t be captured by the usual 24 frames per second technology in those years, so some episodes with him were shot in a 32-frame way.
20 years after the death of Bruce Lee on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, his name star appeared.
George Lazenby was one of Bruce Lee's students.
Shortly before his death, Bruce Lee was invited to Hollywood.