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Bruce Lee

This article is about the martial artist. For other uses, see Bruce Lee (disambiguation).

In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Lee.

Bruce Lee
李小龍
Lee in 1967
Born
Lee Jun-fan (李振藩)

(1940-11-27)November 27, 1940
Chinatown, San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 20, 1973(1973-07-20) (aged 32)
Kowloon, British Hong Kong
Resting placeLake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Nationality
  • Hong Kong
  • American (from 1959)[1][a]
Other names
  • Lee Siu-lung
  • Lee Yuen-cham
  • Lee Yuen-kam
Occupations
Years active1941–1973
WorksFilmography
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[2]
Spouse
​
(m. 1964)​
Children
Parents
Relatives
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese李小龍
Simplified Chinese李小龙
Jyutpinglei5 siu2 lung4
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Xiǎolóng
Bopomofoㄌㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄌㄨㄥˊ
Wade–GilesLi3 Hsiao3-lung2
Tongyong PinyinLǐ Siǎo-lóng
IPA[lì ɕjàʊ.lʊ̌ŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinglei5 siu2 lung4
IPA[lej˩˧ siw˧˥ lʊŋ˩]
Lee Jun-fan
Chinese李振藩
Jyutpinglei5 zan3 faan4
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Zhènfān
Bopomofoㄌㄧˇ ㄓㄣˋ ㄈㄢ
Wade–GilesLi3 Chen4-fan1
Tongyong PinyinLǐ Jhèn-fan
IPA[lì ʈʂə̂n.fán]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinglei5 zan3 faan4
IPA[lej˩˧ tsɐn fan˩]
WebsiteBruce Lee Foundation
Signature

Bruce Lee[b] (born Lee Jun-fan;[c] November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines. Credited with helping popularize martial arts films in the 1970s,[3] Lee is considered by some commentators and martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.[4]

Born in San Francisco and raised in British Hong Kong, Lee was introduced to the Hong Kong film industry as a child actor by his father.[5] His early martial arts experience included Wing Chun (trained under Ip Man), tai chi, boxing (winning a Hong Kong boxing tournament), and frequent street fighting (neighborhood and rooftop fights). In 1959, Lee moved to Seattle, where he enrolled at the University of Washington in 1961.[6] It was during this time in the United States that he began considering making money by teaching martial arts, even though he aspired to have a career in acting. He opened his first martial arts school, operated out of his home in Seattle. After later adding a second school in Oakland, California, he once drew significant attention at the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships of California by making demonstrations and speaking. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to teach, where his students included Chuck Norris, Sharon Tate, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In the 1970s, his Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated Hong Kong martial arts films to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of Western interest in Chinese martial arts. The direction and tone of his films dramatically influenced and changed martial arts and martial arts films worldwide.[7]

With a career spanning Hong Kong and the United States,[8][9][10] he is known for his roles in five feature-length Hong Kong martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest's The Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; and Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse.[11] After Lee's death, his films gained a large cult following.[3] He became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, based upon his portrayal of Cantonese culture in his films,[12] and among Asian Americans for defying Asian stereotypes in the United States.[13]

Lee died in July 1973, aged 32. Since his death, Lee has continued to be a prominent influence on modern combat sports, including judo, karate, mixed martial arts, and boxing, as well as modern popular culture, including film, television, comics, animation, and video games. Time named Lee one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

  1. ^ Bowman, Paul (2017). Mythologies of Martial Arts. London New York: Rowman & Littlefield International. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-78660-192-6.
  2. ^ "The Last Days of Bruce Lee". theringer.com. The Ringer. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Bruce Lee | Biography, Martial Arts, Movies, Death, Son, & Facts | Britannica". July 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Stein, Joel (June 14, 1999). "Bruce Lee: With nothing but his hands, feet and a lot of attitude, he turned the little guy into a tough guy". The Time 100. New York. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  5. ^ Lee, Mary (February 8, 2024). "Proposal calls for Bruce Lee statue in San Francisco's Chinatown – CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Lee 1989, p. 41
  7. ^ "Bruce Lee inspired Dev for martial arts". The Times of India. July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  8. ^ "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do". Bruce Lee Foundation. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "Bruce Lee takes on Chuck Norris, but he makes you wait for the fight". The A.V. Club. March 25, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Director Ang Lee will direct his son, playing Bruce Lee in biopic". NBC News. November 30, 2022. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "How Bruce Lee changed the world-Series". The Hindu. India. May 29, 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  12. ^ Dennis 1974
  13. ^ McDermon, Daniel (January 25, 2017). "How Bruce Lee Exploded a Stereotype With a One-Inch Punch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.


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