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Bruce Lee Biography - Biography.com - Featured Bio
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Bruce Lee

November 27, 1940 - July 20, 1973

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Bruce Lee Biography

Bruce Lee blazed across movie screens with charisma and lightning speed, introducing martial arts to mainstream America and changing the way Asian American men were portrayed in films. Using his background in dance, Ti Chi and Gung Fu (commonly called Kung Fu), he broke down the rigid structures of traditional martial arts and added philosophy, Western boxing, and fencing to craft Jeet Kune Do, a style that concentrated on "practicality, flexibility, speed and efficiency".

Speculation and controversy surrounded Lee's untimely death as it did for most of his career. He frequently faced opposition and criticism for his unconventional style of martial arts - often being challenged to duels and even rumored to being targeted by the Triad, a powerful Chinese gang.

Bruce Lee lives on as one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century and a Chinese American icon.

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Bruce Lee Quotes

  • “There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
  • “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
  • “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
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Born Lee Jun Fan in San Francisco's Chinatown on November 27th.
Returns to Hong Kong with family at 3 months old.
Returns to the United States at 18 years old.

Enrolls in Seattle's Edison Technical School.
Leaves University of Washington.

Opens Gung Fu training school in Oakland.

Marries Linda Emery.
Birth of son Brandon Lee on February 1st.
Lee stars in television's "The Green Hornet" as the sidekick Kato.
Lee's specialized fighting style is named Jeet Kune Do, translated from Chinese as "Way of the Intercepting Fist."
Birth of daughter Shannon Lee on April 19th.

Stars in his first major U.S. film, "Marlowe," as a karate chopping henchman.
Suffers a major back injury while training, taking months of bed rest and rehabilitation to heal.
Forms the production company "Concord."

Directs and stars in "The Way of the Dragon" which he also wrote.

Begins filming "Game of Death."
Films "Enter The Dragon" - the first co-production between a Chinese and American studio.

Dies in Hong Kong from a brain edema caused by a pain medication on July 20th.

"Enter The Dragon" is released in theaters, becoming a huge success and instant cult classic.

Bruce Lee's given name was Lee Jun Fan.

Trivia

  • Bruce Lee's martial art of choice was Wing Chun (beautiful spring), an ancient tradition developed during the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from the seventeenth to early twentieth centuries.
  • Bruce Lee began developing Jeet Kune Do after becoming frustrated with the limitations and formalities of traditional fighting techniques, which he believed made practitioners too rigid for "real" fighting.
  • The American name "Bruce" was added by member of the medical staff at the San Francisco hospital where he was born. (His parents later accepted it, thinking it would be helpful.)
  • Bruce Lee was exceptionally fit and capable of extreme physical feats, including one-handed, two-fingered push-ups and his famous "one-inch" knockout punch.
  • Although The Green Hornet was canceled after one season, it was exceptionally popular in Hong Kong, where it was referred to as "The Kato Show" (after Lee's sidekick character, Kato, whom they regarded as the star).
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Awards & Honors

  • Crowned Hong Kong's Cha-Cha Champion in 1958.
  • Honored with Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993.
  • Included in TIME Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the Century in 1999.
  • Bronze "Star of the Century: Bruce Lee" statue unveiled on Hong Kong's Avenue of the Stars in 2005.
  • China issues commemorative stamps depicting Bruce Lee to mark 100 years of Chinese cinema in 2005.

Filmography

  • Marlowe 1969
  • The Big Boss 1971
  • Fist of Fury 1972
  • Enter The Dragon 1973
  • Way of the Dragon 1973
  • The Game of Death 1978 (completed posthumously)

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Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon DVD

Bruce Lee fought his way from the mean streets of Hong Kong to international superstardom. This fascinating program examines the short, meteoric life of one of the most celebrated kung-fu masters of all time. Exclusive interviews with friends and family including his late son Brandon, and extensive footage from home movies, screen-tests and his legendary films.

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Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon DVD

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