Lee was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Before Bruce Lee would pave the way for asian action stars like Jackie Chan and would dominate
Hollywood Television and Films appearing in The Green Hornet, Fists of Fury, Enter The
Dragon.
Before Bruce Lee's character would be revived and reimagined for Quentin Tarantino's latest
pic Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Before Bruce Lee would die under mysterious consequences at the age of just 32 which would
spawn decades of conspiracy theories.
There is a reason, nearly 50 years after his passing people are still talking about the
late and great Bruce Lee.
The man was known for making Martial Arts mainstream and bridging the gap between East
and West Cinema.
Without Bruce Lee there would likely be no Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven
Seagal or Jackie Chan.
Even your favourite UFC fighters of today have grown up studying his methods and teachings.
By the time he was 18 he had appeared in twenty films becoming a child star in Asian cinema
but his mixed ethnicity got him into a lot of street fights and when the cops and gangs
were starting to pay him one two many visits Bruce was sent to America.
There he was just this crazy mixed martial artist dude doing two finger push ups and
one inch punches but soon Hollywood would have to take notice of his unique abilities
and global appeal.
What's going on guys?
It's your boy Michael McCrudden coming at you with another Before They Were Gone video,
this one on Bruce Lee.
This video has been requested for me to make on this channel for nearly 5 years now.
I just saw Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and thought it a good enough reason as any to
get this done.
We have in the past made video on the likes of Charles Manson but we could talk about
Sharon Tate or other celebrities from the swinging 60's.
Of course this channel works off requests so hit me off in the comments down below or
via instagram.
Aright, let's get into this video.
Bruce Lee was born Lee Jun Fan on November 27, 1940, in the Chinatown district of San
Francisco, California.
He just so happened to be born on both the hour and year of the Dragon.
Which according to tradition is an extremely good omen.
Many historians have attempted to lock down Bruce Lee's full family tree and although
most reports have led them with mixed results, the general consensus is that he is a at least
a qurter European and perhaps a small part Jewish.
No wonder he made it into show business... that's a joke!
The fourth of five children he was given the name Bruce from a nurse at his birthing hospital
but his family never used the name during his preschool years.
They wouldn't need too because at 3 months old his family would return to live in Downtown
Hong Kong at the address 218 Nathan Road in Kowloon.
Today, this is the city centre.
His father Lee Hoi Cheun was a famous Opera Singer who transitioned into film as an actor.
This opened the doors for the most charismatic and camera eager of his kids, young Bruce
to land a few roles himself starting as young as 3 years old.
At the age of 10, he co-starred alongside his father in the film The Kid:
Much like the character he played in this film, young Bruce Lee was rolling with the
wrong crowd.
Although Bruce was from an affluent family living a privileged lifestyle the streets
were rough and tough and filled with refugees.
Young Bruce was involved in several street fights so his parents decided to sign him
up to be trained in martial arts at the age of 16.
That same year he was also dropped by his local school for poor grades, the kid needed
some new direction.
He was taught Wing Chun by teacher Yip Man but when his fellow classmates discovered
that Bruce was of mixed ancestry they refused to train with him.
This only led to him developing his skills faster as he got more one on one training
with his teachers.
On the side he also took up boxing and won a school tournament at St. Francis Xavier
College after knocking out he previous champion in the finals.He also trained in Wu Tai Chi
Chuan (also known as Ng-ga) and Jing Mo Tam Tui for the twelve sets.
Forgive me for butchering all of those.
Despite all the success at organized sports, Lee continued to get into street brawls and
there was another boy whose parents had ties to organized crime that he was constantly
getting into brawls with.
The police began showing up at his parents house on the regular so out of fear for their
sons future and safety they decided to send him to America.
He arrived in San Fransisco at the age of 18 and re located to Seattle before he turned.
He continued his high school education and also worked as a waiter, not a great situation
for a kid who was a movie star back home.
He also began teaching his own style of martial arts to that locals which he called Bruce
Lee's Kung Fu.
After graduating high school he went on to college enrolled at Washington State University
studying the dramatic arts, philosophy, psychology, amongst other subjects.
It was there he met his future wife Linda Emery and the couple soon after had two children.
Bruce began to immerse himself in many American health and lifestyle practices that today
have become common but in the 60's this was the stuff of the future!
He cut out all junk food and carbs only eating healthy foods, high-protein drinks, and vitamin
and mineral supplements.
He also got into body building and strength training but only so far as that it wouldn't
limit his speed or flexibility.
His extracurricular activities like running his own martial arts studio and getting involved
in the Long Beach International Karate Championships led him to dropping out of university and
opening a second studio in Oakland, California.
He developed more moves that made him a legend amongst the martial arts community like the
unstoppable punch...
His growing reputation opened the doors for opportunities in Hollywood.
He was cast in the role of Kato, alongside Van Willaims in the TV series titled The Green
Hornet and even did some cross over episodes appearing in Batman.
For the next few years he would land guest spots on show like Ironside, Here Comes The
Bride and Blondie.
There also landed the role of choreographer for scenes on The Wrecking Crew starring Dean
Martin, Sharron Tate and Chuck Norris.
When Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family, her husband, Roman Polanski initially
suspect Bruce Lee for the heinous crimes.
Show business can be a fickle business and soon Bruce was outta bookings.
He went back to his bread and butter which was his martial arts schools and began to
develop practices including Jeet Kune Do or the Way of the Intercepting Fist which were
less rigid and offered more practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency for street
fighting.
In the 70's Bruce returned to Hong Kong and to his surprise The Green Hornet had become
a massive success back home.
He was quickly signed on to make two feature films The Big Boss and Fists of Fury which
both broke box office records.
For his third film, War Of The Dragon he was given complete creative control as the writer,
director, star, and choreographer.
His final fight scene opposite Chuck Norris which took place at the Colesseum in Rome
is though to be his most legendary fight scene of all.
His next project was in collaboration with his Hong Kong movie studio, his own production
company and the big boys at Warner Bros titled Enter The Dragon.
Only a few months after the completion of Enter the Dragon, and six days before its
release Bruce Lee died.
He had been suffering from headaches and previously had a seizure.
He was also taking pain killers due to pain in his back.
He went to bed on July 20th, 1973 and never woke up.
Doctors believe he had an allergic reaction to the painkiller ingredient Equagesic and
his death was ruled by misadventure.
Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year's highest-grossing films and cement
Lee as a martial arts legend.
He was survived by his wife Linda Emery and his children Brandon and Shannon.
His son Brandon Lee died in 1993 on set while filming the film The Crow but that's another
story.
As for the rest of the story well the rest of the story lives on through his legacy his
teachings and the massive cultural impact he had on the world.
My name of course is Michael McCrudden, this was a Before They Were Gone video.
We put these on the back burner for a while.
Let me know what you guys think of this video and this series.
We look forward to reading your comments.
I'll see you guys in another video.