The legend of Bruce Lee is one of the more unique stories of Hollywood success. What makes Bruce Lee’s feats so successful is the incontrovertible fact that he actually did overcome all manner of adversities and difficulties to achieve super stardom that was seemingly slippery to him. As a self-defense skills instructor to the stars, one of Lee’s most famed clients was Steve McQueen. McQueen was a major world star coming off the success of ‘Bullitt ‘ and in a training session with Bruce Lee, Lee asked McQueen if he would help open a door in Hollywood. McQueen arrogantly claimed no and did so in a dismissive demeanour. Fundamentally, McQueen said “Why should I let you ride my coattails?”

Most people would have been broken down and dejected over the apparent dismissive betrayal but Lee allow it to be known he wouldn’t be deterred. He mentioned to others he would be a much larger star than McQueen ever was.

Today, both men have passed on and the legend of Bruce Lee has far eclipsed the somewhat forgotten career of Steve McQueen.

The life and career of Bruce Lee truly took off when the film ‘Enter The Dragon ‘ earned over $10 million in a single month – a staggering sum in 1973. The film made Lee a giant worldwide star and, with Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery, he was considered one of the Fathers of the modern action film genre.

Unexpectedly , this success was short-lived. Lee had passed just prior to the release of ‘Enter The Dragon’. Films he had made in HK in 1971 and 1972 would be released after the US premiere of ‘Enter The Dragon’. The double feature of ‘Fists Of Fury ‘ and ‘The Chinese Connection ‘ would earn over $50 million in North America and Europe.

Yes, Bruce Lee was a massive ticket office draw because there simply was not any one else in the film industry quite like him. He used to be a superhero come to life which helped ‘Enter the Dragon ‘ draw in large audiences of youngsters on matinee showings. This was ironic considering the film carried an R Rating at the time.

Through the lens of history, many will have a hard time believing that Bruce Lee ever had a complicated time in becoming such a star considering all his gifts. The truth of the case is Hollywood was leery of putting an Asian actor in a lead role. This is the reason why he was turned down for the David Carradine role in the TV series ‘Kung Fu’. Warner Bros. TV didn’t think an Asian star would be accepted in a lead role in American television.

Bruce Lee proved his critics wrong and did so ever since his youth.

Lee was a famously hyperactive boy who was considered “incorrigibly bad” and susceptible to fighting. His pop felt that enrolling him in selfdefense skills lessons would be good for him. Lee immersed himself in the study of Wing Chun southern kung fu at Yip Man’s kwoon (academy) in Hong Kong. Allegedly this calmed him down moderately that he was taught enough to work as a kid actor in HK films. Certainly, here's where the seeds of being a movie star flowered.

Highly ambitious Bruce Lee studied as much as he could about diverse kinds of Chinese martial arts till coming to America in 1959.

Lee moved to Seattle where he began to teach kung fu to non-Chinese students…something that did not sit well with most masters. Ultimately, Lee moved to Oakland where the legend of Bruce Lee took another turn. He was challenged by a fellow kung fu consultant due to Lee’s teaching non-Chinese kung fu. Lee won the fight but felt it took too long and that he was too winded in the aftermath. This led on to him developing a new self-defense skills approach dubbed Jeet Kune Do, The Way of the Intercepting Fist. This new strategy eschewed the conventional idea of learning a martial-arts style and, instead , mixed kung fu, boxing, and fencing to substantiate a much more organic and fluid form of private combat. Such a fluid nature not only made for a high quality self defense system; it also helped form the basis for a uniquely appealing theatrical style that was developed for demonstrations and films.

Bruce Lee finally got bit by the acting bug once again and that led straight to his landing the role of ‘Kato’ in the ‘Green Hornet’ series. The successfulness of the ‘Green Hornet’ in syndication in HK finally led straight to a film deal overseas which ultimately led on to the green light for Enter the Dragon in America.

Unfortunately , Bruce Lee would die at the age of 33 after a harsh allergic response to a prescription led to cerebral swelling. As he passed on from this world, he would enter the records of popular culture history thanks to his wonderful fulfillment in life.

Today, the legend of Bruce Lee is still as powerful as ever as he has risen to worldwide celebrity as a selfdefense skills icon and all-time great action superstar.

Today, the legend of Bruce Lee lives on. He is an inspiration to many worldwide through his
way of life, character, philosophy and his impact on martial arts and the film
industry. For more information, visit Bruce Lee Fan Club and LIKE us on Facebook!