Mr Bruce Lee
1940-1973
Actor
The legendary Bruce Lee, birth name Lee Jun Fan, was the son of Cantonese opera actor Lee Hoi Chuen. His first screen appearance can be traced to his infancy when he made a brief appearance in Golden Gate Girl (1941). He enjoyed early fame playing the titular role in The Kid (1950) aged eight. This was followed by 20-odd movies, including A Son Is Born (1953) and In the Face of Demolition (1953). In 1959, Lee landed the leading role in The Orphan (1960). After making this film, he went to the US to study drama and philosophy. During this time he also taught martial arts, created the Jeet Kune Do system of combat and tried his hand at TV drama. Lee returned to Hong Kong at the invitation of Golden Harvest to star in The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972). He also wrote, directed and acted in The Way of the Dragon (1972), and played the leading role in the Golden Harvest-Warner Brothers co-production Enter the Dragon (1973). Lee’s distinctive image and agile kung fu moves in these iconic works shot him to international superstardom. On July 20th 1973, Lee was found dead at home, leaving his last film, The Game of Death (1978), unfinished. He was posthumously named as the recipient of the Star of the Century Award at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards in celebration of 100 years of Chinese cinema.
