Jeet Kune
The Success of Bruce Lee
The legend of Bruce Lee is one of the more unique tales of Hollywood success. What makes Bruce Lee’s achievements so successful is the proven fact that he really did overcome all types of adversities and hurdles to achieve mega stardom that was seemingly elusive to him. As a fighting skills instructor to the stars, one of Lee’s most famed clients was Steve McQueen. McQueen was a major global star coming off the achievement of ‘Bullitt ‘ and in a training session with Bruce Lee, Lee asked McQueen if he would help open a door in Hollywood. McQueen arrogantly said no and did so in a dismissive manner. Essentially, McQueen claimed “Why should I let you ride my coattails?”
Most people would have been broken down and dejected over the obvious dismissive betrayal but Lee allow it to be known he would not be disheartened. He discussed to others he would be a much bigger star than McQueen ever was.
Today, both men have passed on and the legend of Bruce Lee has far surpassed the moderately 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 month – an amazing sum in 1973. The film made Lee a massive worldwide star and, with Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery, he was thought to be one of the founding fathers of the modern action film genre.
Unfortunately , this success was short-lived. Lee had passed just prior to the release of ‘Enter The Dragon’. Films that 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 giant ticket office draw because there simply was no one else in the movie industry quite like him. He used to be a superhero come to life which helped ‘Enter the Dragon ‘ draw in large audiences of children on matinee showings. This was ironic considering the film carried an R Rating at the time.
Thru the lens of history, plenty will have a hard time believing that Bruce Lee ever had a tough time in becoming such a star considering all his talents. The truth of the matter is Hollywood was leery of putting an Asian actor in a lead role. This is why he was turned down for the David Carradine role in the television series ‘Kung Fu’. Warner Brothers. Television didn’t think an Asian star would be accepted in a lead role in American TV.
Bruce Lee proved his critics wrong and did so ever since his youth.
Lee was a notoriously hyperactive boy who was considered “incorrigibly bad” and susceptible to fighting. His pop felt that enrolling him in self-defense skills lessons would be good for him. Lee submerged himself in the study of Wing Chun southern kung fu at Yip Man’s kwoon (academy) in Hong Kong. Reputedly this calmed him down moderately that he was trained enough to work as a kid actor in HK films. Actually, here is where the seeds of being a movie star bloomed.
Highly inquisitive , Bruce Lee studied as much as he could about diverse forms of Chinese fighting skills until coming to America in 1959.
Lee moved to Seattle where he began to teach kung fu to non-Chinese students…something that didn’t sit well with many gurus. At last, 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 much time and he was too winded in the result. This led straight to him developing a new martial-arts approach dubbed Jeet Kune Do, The Way of the Intercepting Fist. This new method eschewed the traditional concept of learning a selfdefense skills style and, instead , combined kung fu, boxing, and fencing to sanction a more organic and liquid type of personal combat. Such a liquid nature not only made for a quality self-protection system; it also helped form the base for a uniquely appealing melodramatic style that was developed for demonstrations and films.
Bruce Lee eventually 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 ultimately led to a film deal overseas which ultimately led straight to the green light for Enter the Dragon in America.
Unfortunately , Bruce Lee would die at the age of 33 after a serious 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 because of his wonderful fulfillment in life.
Today, the legend of Bruce Lee is still as forceful as ever as he has risen to worldwide fame as a selfdefense skills icon and all time great action film star.
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!
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