Brandon Lee spent most of his life fighting to get out from under his father's shadow.
However, following the mysterious death of martial-arts superstar Bruce Lee, Brandon
was bombarded with dark tabloids, linking his father's death to drugs, voodoo, and even
the Chinese mafia.
For Brandon, it seemed as though there was no escaping the eerie looming shadow of grief
that hung over his head.
Sadly, just like his father, Brandon's life was taken too soon.
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On October 21, while rehearsing a scene for the independent movie "Rust," Alec Baldwin
was handed a gun, which he fired, fatally wounding director of photography Halyna Hutchins
and injuring the director Joel Souza.
By the following day, it was confirmed that the gun Baldwin was handed had a live round
in it.
More information continues to be released following the investigation of the shocking
incident, along with allegations of negligence.
42-year-old Hutchins was a rising star in her profession, having shot movies like "Archenemy"
and "Blindfire."
In 2019, she was also selected as one of American Cinematographer's Rising Stars.
People couldn't help but notice that the death of Halyna drew parallels with the tragic death
of Brandon Lee 29 years ago on the set of the comic book film 'The Crow.'
His name began trending on Twitter after members of the online community noted the similarities
in the circumstances surrounding his death and that of Hutchins.
In a post on Lee's official Twitter page, his relatives expressed their condolences
to Hutchins' family and insisted that such tragedies should never happen.
When Brandon died, he was still trying desperately to free himself from the action genre that
had so defined his father.
He wanted to be more than just "Bruce Lee's son"; he wanted to make a legacy for himself.
Both Bruce Lee and his son were so close to achieving the American dream, only to have
death take them right at the moment their careers would have boomed into success.
The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon had mirrored his father by training
in martial arts, while he also studied acting and was a fight choreographer.
Although his acting career was tragically cut short, the Oakland native had already
starred in the hit movie 'Legacy of Rage,' where he played the role of a Detective alongside
award-winning star Dolph Lundgren.
However, when he was cast in the main role in the anticipated movie 'The Crow' as Eric
Driven, Hollywood could not have been more excited.
Brandon finally felt like things were starting to look up for him in all aspects of his life.
He had just gotten engaged to the love of his life, Eliza Hutton . He had swept her
off to Italy for a romantic holiday, and there in the midst of champagne and flowers, he
bent on one knee and asked her to marry him after more than two years of dating.
Their happiness was made more exciting with the news that Brandon had won the lead role
in The Crow.
He had been a struggling actor for so long, and he was now getting the chance to finally
prove that he was more than just an extension of his famous father.
The Crow, which now has a large cult following, sees the plot centered around a murdered musician,
played by Lee, who is resurrected to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancée.
The film grossed $94 million at the box office, despite the fact that Paramount Pictures decided
to opt out of distributing the film following the death of the star.
The movie was meant to be Brandon's breakthrough role in Hollywood and solidify a legacy of
his own that he so desperately wanted.
Tragically, while the film propelled him into fame, it was a legacy that he would never
live to see for himself.
28-year-old Lee was working on filming a scene where his character, Eric Driven, is shot
at by gang members who have forced him to witness the murder of his fiancée.
Ironically, the actor was filming his death scene when the fatal accident occurred.
In the scene, actor Michael Massee fired a .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 629 revolver
at Lee as he walked into the room.
In a previous scene, the exact same prop gun had been used and was fitted with dummy cartridges,
which are said to look more realistic on film.
However, the prop crew made the catastrophic mistake of making their own dummy cartridges.
While it's not known why the prop crew had chosen to make their own dummy cartridges,
they had just unknowingly made a decision that would cost Brandon Lee his life.
Tragically, the prop crew either failed to notice or perhaps didn't recognize that there
was a bullet still sitting in the barrel of the gun that had not been properly discharged.
In the scene, the revolver was fired at Lee, and the bullet which had been trapped in the
barrel was fired with virtually the same force as a gun that had been loaded with a live
round.
The shot hit Brandon Lee in the stomach and forced the actor to fall forwards, as opposed
to backward, which was in the script.
While the onset crew originally believed he was still acting, they soon realized that
Brandon was terribly injured, and after they called emergency services, he was airlifted
to the nearest hospital.
He underwent hours of surgery but was sadly confirmed dead on March 31, 1993.
Lee's death was ruled an accident due to negligence, while Massee, haunted by the incident, moved
away from acting for an entire year, said he would never watch The Crow, which was released
in 1994 the following year.
Massee admitted that he had been left traumatized by the tragedy and was never able to move
on from the accident.
He was left shaken by the death of his co-star for the rest of his life.
"What happened to Brandon was a tragic accident.
It's something I'm going to live with ... It took me the time it took to be able to not
so much put it in perspective but to be able to move on with my life," he confessed.
Brandon and Eliza had planned to be married in just two weeks, before his untimely death,
and there had also been reports that the pair were actively trying to have children.
For the wedding, the pair planned to take a busload of friends and family over the border
into Mexico, where they would say their vows during sunset on the walkway to the beach.
Sadly, they never got the chance.
When Hutton learned of the accident, she flew to the hospital and was at Lee's side when
he died.
There's no way anyone could have understood how she felt, having a love of her life stripped
away from her without warning under such shocking circumstances.
Following an investigation into the accident, it was announced that no criminal charges
would be filed over Lee's death, saying that while negligence was a factor, there was no
evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
However, Lee's mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, felt that the studio should have been held
accountable for the loss of her son.
She filed a civil suit against the studio for negligence, which was eventually settled
out of court.
Since his death, Eliza had remained silent, choosing to stray away from Hollywood to process
her loss; however, following the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, she chose to speak out
to 'People.'
"Twenty eight years ago, I was shattered by the shock and grief of losing the love of
my life, Brandon Lee, so senselessly.
My heart aches again now for Halyna Hutchins' husband and son, and for all those left in
the wake of this avoidable tragedy.
I urge those in positions to make change to consider alternatives to real guns on sets."
What happened to Brandon and Halyna is completely shocking and totally heartbreaking.
What makes it even more difficult to process is that they were both mistakes that could
have been avoided.
We send our most sincere condolences to the Hutchins family, and we hope that a tragedy
like this never happens again.