The boy is a nurse in the hospital where he was born. IN preschool age the family did not use this name, although the name Bruce Lee was listed on the birth certificate issued at the Chinese hospital in San Francisco.
When the boy grew up, he was given the name Lee Yen Kam (“never sits still”), after the first filming the name Lee Sui Lung (“little dragon”) appeared.
In the early 1940s, the family returned to Hong Kong.
Bruce Lee made his film debut at the age of three months in the American film Golden Gate Girl (1941).
In Hong Kong, the boy starred in 20 films, including “The Birth of Mankind” (1946), “Baby” (Xi lu xiang, 1950), “Tears of a Mother” (Ci mu lei, 1953).
At the age of 12, he began attending La Salle College in Hong Kong.
Encounters with street thugs prompted Bruce to take up martial arts under the tutelage of master Ip Man, who taught him kung fu for five years.
At the same time, he was engaged in dancing, and in 1958 he won the cha-cha-cha dancing championship in Hong Kong.
In 1959, he sent two of the three offenders to the hospital, who, as it turned out, were members of the ancient Asian criminal community, the Triads. The parents, not unreasonably worried about their son’s life, collected and sent him to the USA to their friends almost in one day. Bruce's American citizenship played an important role.
In April 1959, Bruce Lee went first to San Francisco, then to Seattle. He studied art, graduated Technical school Edison, entered the University of Washington, where he studied for three years, specializing in the study of philosophy.
While attending university in Seattle, he opened his own school to study the martial art of kung fu, which was unknown in America at the time. He taught his own style of kung fu - "Jeet Kune Do" ("Way of the Leading Fist"), which he developed and improved throughout his life. His students were: famous people, like actors Steve McQueen, James Coburn, James Garner, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant.
In the USA, Bruce began acting in small roles in the television series Batman (Batman, 1966-1967), Green Hornet (1968), Ironside (1967-1975), Blondie, 1968), "Marlowe" (Marlowe, 1969), "Longstreet" (Longstree, 1971).
Bruce dreamed of starring in films; he offered several of his film scripts to American producers, but the projects were rejected.
In 1970, Bruce Lee took a trip to Hong Kong with his five-year-old son Brandon. He was warmly received and invited to several television talk shows.
In 1971, having received another rejection of his project in America, Bruce Lee contacted the director of the new film company Golden Harvest from Hong Kong, Raymond Chow, and offered him two scripts with action scenes. The film "The Big Boss" starring Bruce Lee, released in the same year, was an unprecedented success.
Bruce Lee's second film, "Fist of Fury" (Jing wu men), released in 1972, also received a huge response from viewers. For this film, the actor was awarded a special jury prize at the Asian equivalent of the Oscars - the Chinese Golden Horse Film Festival.
In 1972, Bruce Lee and Raymond Chow created their own film studio, Concord Film. In the same year, Lee began filming the film Return of the Dragon, inviting US karate champion Chuck Norris to play one of the roles. The film has become a classic of world cinema, just like the fight scene between the heroes of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris - a classic of martial art on screen.
In October 1972, Lee began work on the film Game of Death. During the same period, the Warner Brothers television company offered him a lucrative contract - staging fight scenes in the film Enter the Dragon. Bruce Lee accepted the offer, interrupting work on Game of Death.
Enter the Dragon (1973) was Bruce Lee's last film, released a few weeks after his death.
The film "Game of Death" (1978) was released five years after the death of Bruce Lee, it was completed with the help of stunt doubles and caused a new wave of interest in kung fu and oriental martial arts.
On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died suddenly in Hong Kong. The official cause of Bruce Lee's death was cerebral edema caused by a reaction to the drug.
The actor was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle, Washington, USA.
Bruce Lee became a martial arts legend and a model for countless imitators in film and television. About 30 films have been made around the world about the life and work of the master.
In 1964, Bruce Lee married Linda Emery, who took kung fu lessons from him and studied with him at university. The couple had two children - son Brandon (1965-1993) and daughter Shannon (1969).
In 1993, the actor’s “star” was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1999, Time magazine included Bruce Lee in its list of the world's 100 most influential movie stars and celebrities of the 20th century. Bruce Lee was the only Asian representative on this list.
During the annual Hong Kong Film Festival, Bruce Lee was awarded the honorary title of "Star of the Century." The actor received the award for his daughter Shannon Lee.
In the same year, the first monument to Bruce Lee was unveiled in Bosnia in the city of Mostar.
In Hong Kong (Hong Kong), a two-meter bronze monument to Bruce Lee was erected on the Avenue of Stars.
In 2013, a bronze statue of the actor was installed in Los Angeles Chinatown in the United States. In this city, he starred as Kato in the television series The Green Hornet.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Content
In July 1973, the idol of millions unexpectedly passed away, gaining more and more new fans even half a century after he was buried. What are the reasons for the death of Bruce Lee and why do they still raise so many questions?
Childhood
November 27, 1940 in San Francisco in the Year of the Dragon and the Hour of the Dragon (in Chinese traditional system time calculation) Bruce Lee was born. At birth, according to Chinese tradition, the boy was given the child name Li Xiaolong, which literally means “Little Dragon” (in adulthood he was given the adult name Li Zhengfan).
Father, Lee Hoi Chen, is a Chinese Cantonese opera artist (comedian). Her mother, Grace Lee, is half-German and raised by Hong Kong tycoon Robert Hothun. Li Xiaolong was born during the American tour.
The boy began his film career early, playing little hooligans in films, which was not difficult, given his character. He first appeared on camera at the age of three months, playing a newborn girl in the film “The Golden Gate Girl.”
Career
Oddly enough, the first successes of young Bruce Lee were not in martial arts, but in dancing. The guy began taking cha-cha-cha lessons, which were fashionable at that time, back in 1954, and after four years he was already winning competitions in Hong Kong. Then, after winning an interschool boxing competition, he set out to study kung fu for the first time.
Ip Man, who taught Bruce, recalled how he proposed an exchange of knowledge: the teacher teaches him kung fu, and in return receives cha-cha-cha dance lessons. The guy turned out to be an incredibly talented and diligent student, who spent three days instead of weeks or months on mastering the Tajiquan technique. Wing Chun became the main fighting style. Later, the fighter successfully mastered jiu-jitsu, judo and boxing. Having received extensive technical base, the young martial artist developed his own style - Jeet Kune Do. 
At the age of nineteen, Bruce Lee goes to San Francisco, where he confirms his American citizenship and goes to Seattle, where he works as a waiter in a restaurant owned by his relatives. In America, he graduated from Addison Technical School and then entered the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Washington. In parallel with his studies, he opens his own martial arts school. Private lessons also brought considerable profit, but they did not give leading roles in films, and the future legendary actor in 1971 he returned to his homeland with his family.
Real success came to him in the same 1971: the director of the new Golden Harvest film studio, Raymod Chow, agreed to entrust Bruce Lee with main role in the film “Big Boss”, which subsequently had a resounding success. Since then, martial arts films have gained immense popularity. This was the first time that kung fu had received such attention. The actor himself trained and improved tirelessly, paying attention not only to honing his technique, but also to his nutrition. All training was recorded in his diary.
Over the course of his entire film career, 36 films were released with his participation.
How did Bruce Lee die?
On July 20, 1973, the martial arts legend, actor, director, screenwriter, fight choreographer and philosopher died suddenly in Hong Kong while filming the film Game of Death. Numerous fans are still arguing about how Bruce Lee died. An autopsy found the cause of death to be cerebral edema, with no indication as to what caused it. A version has been repeatedly put forward that such brain damage was caused by a headache pill that the actor took shortly before he was found dead. This assumption has a right to exist. Moreover, after diagnosis additional tests were not done. There were persistent rumors that a murder had taken place. 
Bruce met his wife, Linda Emery, while studying at the University of Washington. At the time we met, the girl was only 17 years old. Subsequently, the couple had two children:
- Son Brandon (1965), like his father, became an actor and repeated his fate: in 1993 he died on the set of the film “The Raven”;
- Daughter Shannon (1969).
When Bruce Lee died, Linda returned from Hong Kong to Seattle and later published a book in memory of her husband.
The day of the funeral of a national hero in Hong Kong became a day of mourning for the entire city. Thousands of people came to say goodbye to the legend. Now in this city there is a monument to Bruce Lee, to which fans and tourists still come to this day to pay tribute.
The actor's body was transported and buried in Seattle. Twenty years later, the grave of his son appeared next to his grave.
Despite how many years have passed since his death, his memory is alive in the hearts of people around the world, and his example inspires thousands of people to join martial arts and tirelessly work on themselves, improving in all possible directions.
The circumstances of the death of the legendary Bruce Lee are still controversial because they contain a lot of unknowns.
When Bruce Lee woke up on the morning of July 20, 1973, he was an active, healthy 32-year-old man. He and his wife spent the day
in negotiations with producers about a new film, and in the evening Bruce Lee was dead.
A few months before his death, Bruce Lee was diagnosed with cerebral edema. He fell unconscious while dubbing his film
"Kill the Dragon" and was taken to the hospital with a severe headache and seizures.
After a short stay in hospital, Lee resumed his usual fitness and diet regimen - a strict combination of vegetables, rice, fish and milk, avoiding all baked foods, refined flour and most refined sugars.
Until July 20, he seemed to be doing very well and, apart from complaining of occasional headache, gave no reason for anyone to worry.
On the day of his death, Bruce Lee worked hard. He and his wife were visiting Hong Kong, where many of Lee's films were filmed, and spent much of the day meeting with producer Raymond Chow, discussing his upcoming film. After the meeting, Bruce went to his girlfriend's house.
At about 7:30 p.m., Lee complained of a headache. A friend, Taiwanese actress Betty Ting Pei, gave Lee a painkiller containing aspirin and a tranquilizer known as meprobamate. After that, he decided to lie down.
A few hours later, when Li didn't come down for dinner, Ting went to check on him and found him unconscious. An ambulance took Bruce Lee, and he died on the way to the hospital.
Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee.
Because there was no external physical trauma, an autopsy was performed which showed brain swelling of approximately 13 percent. It was initially assumed that death was caused by allergic reaction to the painkiller Lee took. But the official autopsy report indicated a different cause of death - an accident.
The forensic pathologist believed that the painkiller caused the second swelling of the brain.
This formulation was not enough for the public; death came very suddenly.
Lee's friend Chuck Norris claimed that Bruce Lee used stimulants and herbal supplements throughout his life, and it was they, in combination with painkiller pills, that contributed to brain swelling.
Some of Li's fans suspected that Betty Ting Pei poisoned him on purpose. It’s just not clear why she did this?
Bruce and Brandon Lee's graves.
Other people blamed the death on the mafia (Italian, Chinese and American).
The version about the curse of the Lee family had many supporters, this was especially remembered 20 years later, when Bruce Lee’s son, Brence Brandon, died.
When he was 28 years old, twenty years after his father's death, Brence Brandon died in an accident. While working as an actor in the film The Crow, Lee was shot and killed with a weapon that was not supposed to be loaded. The shot in the stomach was fatal.
The investigation showed that it was an accident, but the version that the curse of the Li family worked is still popular among fans.
The question of whether Bruce Lee's death was accidental still does not have a clear answer.
Famous film figure, martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32. His death is shrouded in some mystery and illogicality. Lee fans for a long time They couldn’t believe that their idol, who constantly improved his body, could die, and even at such a young age. How did Bruce Lee die?
Death of Bruce Lee
There are many versions regarding the causes of death of this legendary figure. According to one of them, Bruce Lee, while working on the film Game of Death, took a pill for a headache. It contained aspirin and meprobamate. These elements led to cerebral edema, which was confirmed by an autopsy. This version is the official cause of Bruce Lee's death, which, however, was criticized by the artist's fans. Considering his excellent physical condition and young age, they could not believe that their well-rounded idol died from a banal pill. Plus, after Bruce Lee’s death, no tests were taken, which raised all sorts of doubts and assumptions.
Unofficial versions
After his death, rumors began to spread that Lee had died in the arms of his mistress during sexual intercourse with her. In addition, the version of murder became widespread. In particular, some sources reported that the death of Bruce Lee was the work of another martial artist. There was also a version claiming that Bruce Lee was poisoned with an unknown Chinese poison due to disagreements with the Triad mafia group.
Burial place
Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong. However, after all the farewell events, his body was sent to Seattle (USA), where Lee himself, his friends and relatives lived. The grave of the artist and martial artist is still located in this American city. Even though Bruce Lee has died, he still has many fans, even among the younger generation. The remains of this man, who left a huge mark on world cinema, are visited by thousands of people.
Interestingly, Bruce Lee's last film was completed thanks to the use of stunt doubles. This film was released five years after his death. “The Game of Death” caused a new wave of interest in oriental martial arts in society.
The official cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Read more in the material of sports commentator Dmitry Kalugin. "Little Dragon"
The death of the legendary Bruce Lee, even after almost half a century, continues to acquire legends. New theory the death of a legendary man was put forward by its author new biography American Matthew Polley. The answer lies in Bruce's latest films.
If you notice, Bruce Lee doesn't have a drop of sweat on him. Matthew Polley claims the artist removed sweat glands from his armpits for better shots. And such self-sacrifice ultimately cost Bruce his life. His body began to tolerate stress worse, and he eventually died of heatstroke.
Although this is just another version among a dozen others. There is also an official expert opinion - Bruce Lee died of a cerebral hemorrhage. But fans of the great master do not believe this.
Theories are the most varied: from the banal - murder and drugs to the mystical. There is a version that Bruce was killed by a certain master of the art of delayed death. 30 thousand people came to the farewell ceremony in Hong Kong. Some lost consciousness due to the crush. Above Bruce's coffin hung a banner: "A Star Sank into the Sea of Art." And next to the body sat his American wife Linda Lee, who was almost insane from grief.
The name of Bruce Lee is generally surrounded by a huge number of legends. But there are also completely irrefutable facts.
The great master had incredible speed: in just a second he could deliver up to nine blows. At the same time, the force of the blow did not suffer from speed; it was phenomenal - 1800 kilograms, more than that of many heavyweights. Lee developed it through constant training. He could do one and a half thousand push-ups on the floor, and on his thumbs alone his result was about a hundred.
All these achievements still inspire thousands of people. Bruce Lee created his own style of martial arts - Jeet Kune Do. He perfected it until his death. And now this style is being studied all over the world.
“This is a style that suits, in principle, anyone. Because if your legs don’t work, you can try with your hands. If you don’t have enough strength, you can use... This is like one of the components. Well, secondly, we must not forget who Bruce Lee was. He was a purposeful person, and, most importantly, he had a unique physical talent. In fact, no one has surpassed his speed,” said Jeet Kune Do coach Sergei Ryzhov.
This is not Bruce Lee at all, but his exact copy. Abbas Ali-zadeh from Afghanistan is already a world celebrity. He studied the techniques and techniques of his idol from films, and now he is going to try his luck in the film industry.
Today, on a memorable day, an exhibition dedicated to Bruce Lee opened in Hong Kong. It features more than a hundred comics from around the world about the great martial arts master.