Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Death by "misadventure"

Death by "misadventure"


On July 20, 1973

Lee was in Hong Kong, due to have dinner with former James Bond star George Lazenby, with whom he intended to make a film. According to Lee's wife Linda, Lee met producer Raymond Chow at 2 p.m. at home to discuss the making of the movie Game of Death. They worked until 4 p.m. and then drove together to the home of Lee's colleague Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress who was to have a leading role in the film. The three went over the script at her home, and then Chow left to attend a dinner meeting.

A short time later, Lee complained of a headache, and Ting Pei gave him an analgesic. At around 7:30 p.m., he laid down for a nap. After Lee did not turn up for dinner, Chow came to the apartment but could not wake Lee up. A doctor was summoned, who spent ten minutes attempting to revive him before sending him by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. However, Lee was dead by the time he reached the hospital. There was no visible external injury; however, his brain had swollen considerably, from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (a 13% increase). Lee was thirty-two years old. On October 15, 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee was allergic to Equagesic. When the doctors announced Bruce Lee's death officially, it was coined as "Death by Misadventure."

Another theory is that he died from an allergic reaction to marijuana, which he was consuming at the time in hashish form.This is controversial, but it is confirmed that the coroner did find traces of the substance during his autopsy.

However, the exact details of Lee's death are controversial. Bruce Lee's iconic status and unusual death at a young age led many people to develop many theories about his death. Such theories about his death included murder involving the triads, a curse on Lee and his family, etc. The theory of the curse carried over to Lee's son Brandon Lee, also an actor, who died 20 years after his father in a bizarre accident while filming The Crow.

The grave site of Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon

The grave site of Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon

Upon his death his wife, Linda, returned to her home town of Seattle and had Bruce buried at lot 276 of Lakeview Cemetery. His son Brandon is buried beside him. Pallbearers at his funeral on July 31, 1973 included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Dan Inosanto, Taky Kimura, Peter Chin, and his brother, Robert Lee. To this day, over 30 years after his death, fresh flowers are found on his gravestone every day.

Tom Bleeker, ex-husband of Linda Lee Cadwell (Bruce's widow) wrote a Book entitled "Unsettled Matters" which claimed that Bruce had used steroids in his lifetime. Bleeker offered a $25,000 reward for anyone who could confirm his findings in his book. To this day, no one has challenged the claim or collected the cash reward.

Books authored

Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense (Bruce Lee's first book)
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do (Published posthumously)

Books about Bruce Lee and/or JKD



Bruce Lee documentaries



Filmography

Two of Lee's films (Enter the Dragon and Game of Death) premiered after his death.

Released Chinese (Cantonese) and English title of original release U.S. title Note
1941 Golden Gate Girl
Plays an infant
1946 The Birth of Mankind

1948 Fu gui fu yun, aka Wealth is Like a Dream

1949 Meng li xi shi, aka Sai See in the Dream
Plays "Yam Lee"
1950 Xi lu xiang, aka The Kid My Son, Ah Chung Plays "Lee Siu Lung"
1951 Ren zhi cue aka Infancy
Plays "Ngau".
1953 Qian wan ren jia

1953 Fu zhi guo aka Blame it on Father Father's Fault
1953 Ku hai ming deng aka The Guiding Light

1953 Ci mu lei aka A Mother's Tears

1953 Wei lou chun xiao aka In the Face of Demolition

1955 Gu xing xue lei

1955 Gu er xing

1955 Ai aka Love

1955 Ai xia ji aka Love Part 2

1955 Er nu zhai aka We Owe It to Our Children

1956 Zhia dian na fu

1957 Lei yu aka The Thunderstorm

1960 Ren hai gu hong aka The Orphan
Plays "Ah San".
1969 Marlowe same Plays "Winslow Wong".
1971 The Big Boss Fists of Fury Plays "Cheng Chao-an". Fights against a drug lord in Thailand.
1972 Fist of Fury The Chinese Connection Plays "Chen Zhen" 陳真. Fights against Japanese tyrants to avenge his master in Shanghai.
1972 The Unicorn Palm
Fight Choreographer and unintended cameo appearance
1973 Way of the Dragon Return of the Dragon Plays "Tang Long". Fights crime in Rome, Italy. Released after 'Enter the Dragon' in the U.S.; hence the title.
1973 Enter the Dragon same Plays martial arts master "Mr. Lee". Sent as a spy into a tournament, hosted by a rogue-monk-turned-drug-lord.
1978 Game of Death same Plays "Billy Lo" in the US edited version and "Hai Tien" in the actual version Lee imagined. Lee acts only in the last third of the movie, due to it being pieced together after his death.

Note: The title The Chinese Connection (a play on the then-recently-released The French Connection) was originally intended for The Big Boss due to the drugs theme of the story.

Yuen Lo, known later as Jackie Chan, was a stunt double for the villain Mr. Suzuki in Lee's Fist of Fury. In the film Enter the Dragon, Chan was one of the henchmen disposed of in the underground lair.

Yuen Wah, also a member of the Seven Little Fortunes, and later to become a well known actor in his own right (notably starring in 2005's Kung Fu Hustle), was Lee's stunt double in Lee's last few films.


Television appearances

See also
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References


  1. ^ a b "Bruce Lee King of Kung-Fu", Dennis, Felix & Atyeo, Don, Straight Arrow Books, U.S. (1974) First Printing, ISBN 0-87932-088-5
  2. ^ Chinese Hospital [1] - Radiology 845 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.
  3. ^ Vaughn, Jack; Mike Lee (1986). The Legendary Bruce Lee. Black Belt Communications, 14. ISBN0897501063.
  4. ^ Prashad, Vijay (2001). Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections to the Post-Racial World. Beacon Press, 127. ISBN0807050113.
  5. ^ Lee, Bruce; John R. Little (1997). Words of the Dragon: Interviews 1958-1973. Tuttle Publishing, 73. ISBN0804831335.
  6. ^ Yang, Jeff, et all. Eastern Standard Time: A Guide to Asian Influence on American Culture. Boston/New York: Meridian/Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
  7. ^ http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3999
  8. ^ a b "The Bruce Lee Story", Lee, Linda & Bleecker, Tom, OHRA PUBLICATIONS INC., U.S. (1989) First Printing, ISBN
  9. ^ "Bruce Lee The Untold Story", Lee, Grace & Unique Pub. Editors, CFW Enterprise UNIQUE PUBLICATIONS, U.S. (1980) First Printing, ISBN
  10. ^ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation Calculator
  11. ^ Bruce Lee.Time 100.
  12. ^ FunTrivia.com. Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
  13. ^ Long Beach International Karate Championship
  14. ^ Bruce Lee Two Finger Pushups (includes a short video of his feats)
  15. ^ Sanchez, Leonel. http://www.hybridmartialart.com/Martial%20Art%20Overview/Martial_%20Arts_%20Overview.html Martial Arts Overview]. www.hybridmartialart.com. URL last accessed January 16, 2007.
  16. ^ Lee, Linda. 1989. The Bruce Lee Story Ohara Publications, California. (p.70)
  17. ^ Hatfield, Fredrick C., Ph. D. 1993. Fitness: The Complete Guide. International Sport Sciences Association, California. (p.119)
  18. ^ http://www.andykimura.com/krishnamurti.htm]
  19. ^ http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2629
  20. ^ Wickert, Marc. 2004. Dana White and the future of UFC. kucklepit.com. See Wikiquotes for the text.
  21. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3620752.stm
  22. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4711947.stm
  23. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3fLaqlpeUc
  24. ^ http://dir.yahoo.com/thespark/4375/the-greatest-martial-artist-of-all-time
  25. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/10/arts/AS-A-E-China-Bruce-Lee.php
  26. ^ http://www.bruceleedivinewind.com/death.html
  27. ^ http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/lee03.html
  28. ^ http://www.cheungswingchun.com/g/1473/the-gladiator---bruce-lee.html

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External links

Bruce Lee at the Internet Movie Database
Bruce Lee Foundation

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