November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973
In March we wrote about the untimely death of Brandon Lee on the 20th anniversary of his death. Well, today is the 40th anniversary of his father’s death, legendary martial artist and film star, Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco but was raised in Hong Kong. Given that his father was a famous Cantonese opera star, Lee grew up under the film industry and had a passion for dancing and acting. However, when Bruce Lee returned to the United States in the late 1950s he gave up all thoughts of an acting career and began teaching martial arts in the 1960s. Yet, he did ultimately act in a few films and television series from the mid-1960s until his death in 1973.
Lee had finished filming Enter the Dragon in 1973 but did not live to see the opening of the film. On July 20, 1973, Lee took a painkiller for a headache to which he had a severe allergic reaction. It was determined that his reaction to the medication “…caused a swelling of the fluid on the brain, resulting in a coma and death.”1 There have been a lot of misreports over the years about Lee’s death. In 1998, Lee’s wife, Linda, confronted a Los Angeles Times article that had apparently incorrectly reported various facts of Lee’s life and death. You can read her “counterpunch” here.
For the 40th anniversary of Lee’s death, there are various events and an exhibit organized in Hong Kong to celebrate Lee’s life. His daughter, Shannon, who was only four when her father passed away, helped organize the exhibit and has been working to preserve her father’s image and legacy over the years. You can read about Shannon’s work here and here.
1The Official Bruce Lee Site – Biography
