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Bruce's Biography
Chinese Name: Li Zhenfan
Born: November 27, 1940
Birth Place: San Francisco, USA.
Died: July 20, 1973
Education: Philosophy Major at the University of Washington
1940 (November 27) San Francisco: In The Year of the Dragon, Lee Jun Fan is born in Jackson Street Hospital in the Chinatown area of San Francisco. Later his name would be angelised to Bruce Lee. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen was a performer with the Cantonese Opera Company, and was touring in America at the time.
1941 (Hong Kong): The lee family return to Kowloon, their family home.
1946 (Hong Kong): Bruce starts his professional screen debut in The Beginning of a Boy. During his later years of his childhood, Bruce appears in 20 films in Southeast Asia. His penulitmate child film being The Orphan. Bruce was 18.
1953 (Hong Kong): After he was involved in numerous steet fights, Bruce begins his training under Sifu Yip Man, a master of the Wing Chun system of Kung Fu.
1958: Bruce won the Crown Colony Cha-Cha Championship.
1959: After more fierce street fighting which ended in police involvement, Bruce's parents decide that he should exercise his American citizenship and return to San Francisco.
1959 (Seattle): Bruce arrives in America. and stays with Arnold, a friend of his father's. He works numerous jobs around the various Chinese communities. He Later moves to Seattle to work for Ruby Chow, another his father's freinds. He lives in a room above her restaurant while working as a waiter downstairs. Eventually Bruce enrolls at Edison Technical School and gains his high school diploma. Bruce then decides to start teaching Gung Fu in the citys backyards and parks.
1961: In the University of Washington, Bruce Lee studied and taught Kungfu to students at school.
1963 (Summer) Hong Kong: Bruce arrives at Hong Kong for the first time since his departure. He later returns to Seattle at the end of summer to continue school.
1963 (October 25) Seattle: Bruce takes out Linda Emery (His wife to be) for their first date. Dinner at the Space Needle.
1963 (Fall) Seattle: Bruce relocates the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute into a building (4750 University Way) which is near the university campus.
1964 (Summer) Oakland: Bruce decides to leave Seattle and starts a second school in Oakland. His good friend, Taky Kimura, takes over as head instructor.
1964 (August 17) Seattle: Bruce returns to Seattle to marry Linda Emery. Returning later to Oakland.
1964 (Oakland): Several months after he begins teaching, Bruce is challenged by a leading Gung Fu practitioner in the Chinatown community. If Bruce loses the challenge, he will have to close his school or decide stop teaching Caucasians. During this period, the Chinese people were reluctant to teach Caucasians their martial arts. Bruce accepts the challenge and dispatches his opponent in only a couple of minutes. Bruce is later bothered on why the fight took so long to complete and begins to reevaluate his style. This inovation led to the early concepts of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee's own style is born.
1964 (August 2) Long Beach, Ca: Ed Parker, known as the Father of American Karate (Kenpo), invites Bruce to give a demonstration at his first International Karate Championships. Attending this demonstration is Jay Sabring, the hair stylist for Batman producer William Dozier who is looking to cast a part in a TV series he was developing. Sabring then shows a film of Bruce's demo to Dozier who is impressed at what he sees. Bruce later flys down to Los Angeles for a screen test.
1964 (1 Febuary): Bruce Lee married Linda Emery.
1965 (February 8) Hong Kong: Bruce's father dies.
1965: Brandon Lee is born.
1966 (Los Angeles): Bruce and his family move to Los Angeles where he begins working on a new TV series called The Green Hornet as Kato. Bruce later opens a third branch of The Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Los Angele's Chinatown district.
1967 to 1971 (Hollywood): During this time, Bruce lands small parts in various films and TV series (Marlowe, Longstreet). He also gives private lessons (approx. $250 an hour) to the likes of Steve McQueen, James Coburn, James Garner, Lee Marvin, Roman Polanski, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
1969 April 19: Daughter Shannon Lee was born.
1970 (Los Angeles): Bruce injures his back while training. During his 'period' of inactivity he starts to document his training methods and his philosophy of Jeet Kune Do.
1971 (Hong Kong): Takes a short trip back to Hong Kong to arrange for his mother to live in the America. Unknown to Bruce, he had become a superstar in Hong Kong for his role in The Green Hornet, which was one of the most popular TV shows in Hong Kong. Bruce is later is approached by Raymond Chow, owner of a new production company, and offered the lead role in a new film called The Big Boss. Bruce accepts.
1971 (Thailand) July: Filming of The Big Boss starts (released as Fists Of Fury in America). It Opens in Hong Kong to great reviews and mobs of fans. Proceeds gross more than $3.5 million in little than three weeks.
1972 (Hong Kong): Fist of Fury (called The Chinese Connection in America) is released. Grosses more than The Big Boss and further establishes Bruce as a Hong Kong superstar.
1972 (Rome, Italy): Location shots are made for Bruce's third film The Way Of The Dragon (later called The Return of the Dragon), which he writes, directs and stars in. Chuck Norris is Bruce's adversary in the final fight scene. Again, this film surpasses all records set by his previous two films.
1972 (Hong Kong): Bruce begins work on Game of Death and films several fight scenes including Danny Inosanto and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1973: Bruce Lee began the film of "Enter the Dragon" with cooperation of the American film industries. This film was completed the same year. Game of Death was never completed.
1973 (Hong Kong) April: Filming of Enter the Dragon is completed.
July 20, 1973: Bruce Lee dies in Hong Kong of an apparent Cerebral Edema (swelling of the brain). Enter the Dragon premieres a month later to much success.
July 30, 1973: In Seattle, Bruce Lee was buried at Lake View Cemetery. The Dragon Rest On A Nocturnal Moon With His Fire Burning Forever.
Later: The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do, which was written during Bruces inactivity, is published by his wife. Bruce Lee's Legend Begin.
