Birth Name: Lee Yeun Kam
Birthdate: November 27, 1940
Birthplace: San Francisco, California
Date of Death: July 20, 1973
Occupations: Actor, Director
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Claim to Fame: Martial arts dynamo made popular in many Hong
Kong-produced action films
Significant Other(s):
Wife: Linda Lee Caldwell, from Seattle; had Lee buried there.
Family:
Father: Hoi-Cheun Lee, actor; appeared with Chinese opera and in films; died in
1965
Mother: Grace Lee, German and Chinese ancestry; suffered from Alzheimer's
disease
Brother: Peter Lee, older
Sister: Phoebe Lee, older; born 1938
Sister: Agnes Lee
Brother: Robert Lee, younger; musician, businessman
Son: Brandon Lee, actor; born February 1, 1965; died March 31, 1993; signed a
three-picture deal with 20th Century Fox in 1991
Daughter: Shannon Lee, actress; born April 19, 1969
Biography
Handsome, diminutive (5' 7") martial arts dynamo whose flying fists and feet
battled their way through a number of internationally successful, Hong
Kong-produced action films. Lee had attempted to make his way to stardom in
Hollywood, but apart from the one-season TV series "The Green Hornet" (1966-67)
and a supporting role in "Marlowe" (1969) he made his most important connections
as a martial arts teacher, schooling a number of celebrities and many other
students in his highly individual, pragmatic synthesis of fighting and
self-defense styles. He conquered the film world from Hong Kong, where films
like "The Chinese Connection" (1972) and "Return of the Dragon" (1973) showed a
touch of good humor amid the convincing and riveting fight scenes. His
best-remembered film, though, was his real breakthrough as an American star, "Enter
the Dragon" (1973; released several weeks after Lee's death), which
unfortunately proved to be his last. The mysterious circumstances surrounding
Lee's premature death transformed him into a James Dean-style cult figure among
millions of martial arts enthusiasts. "Game of Death" (1979), an uncompleted
project from around 1972, was released after Lee's death by using footage from
earlier films as well as the services of a Lee look-alike, Kim Tai Jong. Years
later, it was revealed that the cause of Lee's death seemed to be a cerebral
edema triggered by an allergic reaction to a routine painkiller (which, as it
turns out, had earlier caused a sudden collapse from which Lee quickly recovered).
The 1993 film, "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" proved to be one of the best and
most popular of the several films which purported to tell Lee's life story;
though none of the fictionalized cinematic renditions were 100 percent accurate.
Father of burgeoning action star Brandon Lee, who also died suddenly at a very
young age.
Filmography
Pierre Berton Show: Bruce Lee Interviewed (1999)
Deadliest Art: The Best of the Martial Arts Films (1990)
Bruce Lee: The Legend (1984)
Circle of Iron (1978)
The Game of Death (1978)
Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1977)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Return of the Dragon (1973)
The Chinese Connection (1972)
Fists of Fury (1972)
Marlowe (1969)
Le Tresor De Bruce Lee (1969)
The Wrecking Crew (1968)
The Green Hornet (TV Series) (1966)
Education:
University of Washington (majored in philosophy)
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