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1940 November 27
San Francisco- In the The Year of the Dragon
between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. (the hour of
the dragon), Lee Jun Fan (meaning return
again Lee), Bruce Lee is born at the Jackson
Street Hospital in San Francisco?s
Chinatown. Lee Hoi Chuen, Bruce's father,
was performing with the Cantonese Opera
Company in America.
At three months old, Bruce debuts in
"Golden Gate Girl" in San
Francisco.
He plays role of a female baby, carried by
his father.
1941 (Age 1)
Hong Kong - Bruce and his parents return to
Kowloon, their family home. They move into
an apartment at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon
district. The apartment is located on the
second floor of a building containing a
store on the first floor.
1946 (Age 6)
Hong Kong - Bruce makes his first major
childhood movie in The Beginning of a Boy.
He also performs in The Birth of Mankind,
and My Son, Ah Cheun. During the later years
of his childhood, Bruce appears in 20 more
films. At this time Lee also becomes
nearsighted and starts to wear glasses. (He
will later wear contacts, suggested to him
by a friend who is an optometrist.)
1952 (Age 12)
Hong Kong - Lee begins attending La Salle
College, a Catholic Boys school.
1953 (Age 13)
Attended St. Xavier College- a high school.
Hong Kong - After being beaten up in a
street gang altercation, Bruce begins to
take Gung-Fu lessons. He begins to train
under Yip Man, master of the Wing Chun
system of Gung-Fu.
1954 (Age 14)
Hong Kong - Bruce takes up cha-cha dancing.
1958 (Age 18)
Studied Wing Chun with Wong Shun Leung.
Hong Kong - Bruce wins the Crown Colony
Cha-Cha Championship. Bruce has a leading
role in the film The Orphan. This is the
last movie Bruce makes as a child actor.
This is the only movie where Bruce does not
fight. Hong Kong - Bruce enters the 1958
Boxing Championships and defeats the
reigning three year champion, Gary Elms.
1959 (Age 19)
Hong Kong - Bruce's street fighting was
becoming a problem. Bruce's father and
mother decide that Bruce should take a three
week voyage to the United States. San
Francisco California, Chinatown. Lee returns
to his birth-place to claim his American
Citizenship. San Francisco - Seattle - With
$15 from his father, and $100 from his
mother, Bruce arrives in the United States,
living with an old friend of his father. He
works odd jobs around the various Chinese
communities. Moved to Seattle to work for
Ruby Chow, another friend of his father. He
lives in a room above her restaurant while
working as a waiter downstairs. He
eventually enrolls in Edison Technical
School and earns his high school diploma.
Bruce begins to teach his Martial Arts.
1961 (Age 21)
Seattle- Bruce enrolls at the University of
Washington, studying Philosophy. He teaches
Gung-Fu to students at school.
1963 Summer (Age 23)
Hong Kong - Bruce proposes to Amy Sanbo but
is turned down. Bruce returns to Hong Kong
with friend Doug Palmer for the first time
since his arrival in the U.S. to visit
family. He then returns to Seattle at the
end of summer to continue his education.
1963 October 25 (Age 23)
Seattle - Bruce takes out Linda Emery (his
future wife) for their first date. They have
dinner at the Space Needle. Bruce gives
notice to Ruby Chow and leaves her
restaurant. He starts the first Jun Fan
Gung-Fu Institute.
1963 Fall (Age 23)
Seattle - Bruce moves his Jun Fan Gung-Fu
Institute into a building (4750 University
Way) near the university campus. Wrote the
book Chinese Gung Fu: The philosophical art
of self defense. Lee teaches anyone of any
race, (Asian Martial Arts schools would only
teach people of their own race) At Garfield
High School, Bruce demonstrates the
"One-Inch Punch". This is the
punch he would later make famous at the 64'
Long Beach Internationals.
1964(Age 24)
Bruce meets Jhoon Rhee at the International
Karate Championships. The two would remain
good friends and Lee would use the high
flashy kicks that Rhee taught him in the
Green Hornet series and in the rest of his
movies. While he believed that kicking a man
in the head was like punching him in the
foot, he knew the kicks looked good on film
even if they were impractical for real self
defense.
(Jhoon Rhee will invite Bruce to Washington,
D.C. to appear at tournaments.)
1964 June (Age 24)
Oakland - Bruce discusses with James Yimm
Lee plans to open a second Jun Fan Gung-Fu
Institute in Oakland, CA.
1964 Summer (Age 24)
Oakland - Plans are finalized, and Bruce
leaves Seattle to start a second Jun Fan
Gung-Fu school in Oakland.
James Yimm Lee is Co Instructor, the only
person who ever received equal with Bruce
Lee teaching status.
1964 August 2 (Age 24)
Long Beach, CA - Ed Parker, known as the
Father of American Kenpo and also Elvis
Presley?s body-guard and karate teacher,
invites Bruce to give a demonstration. Bruce
shows off his "one-inch punch,"
and his two-finger push-ups. At his first
International Karate Championships, Jay
Sebring, the hair stylist for Batman,
William Dozier, a producer, who is looking
to cast a part in a TV series he was
developing. Sebring then gives a film of
Bruce's demo to Dozier who is impressed with
Bruce?s abilities. Bruce flies down to Los
Angeles for a screen test.
1964 August 4 (Age 24)
Oakland - Bruce leaves for Seattle. He will
propose to Linda.
1964 August 17 (Age 24)
Bruce returns to Seattle to marry Linda.
They soon move to Oakland, living with his
good friend and Co Instructor at the Oakland
school James Lee.
1965 (Age 24)
Oakland - Several months after he begins
teaching, he is challenged by, Wong Jack
Man, a Gung-Fu practitioner in the Chinatown
Community. They agree: If Bruce looses, he
will, either close his school, or stop
teaching non Asians or white ghosts; and if
Jack looses, he will stop teaching all
together. Jack Man thinking Lee is a blow
hard, feels he will back down and delays the
match. Bruce becomes angered and insists
that they not wait. Wong then tries to put
limitations on techniques. Bruce refuses
"rules" and the two go no holds
barred. Bruce begins to pound his opponent
in only a couple of seconds. As Bruce pounds
him, Wong attempts to run, but is caught by
Bruce.
Bruce begins to beat him on the ground.
Students of the other teacher attempted to
step in and help their teacher, James Lee,
Bruce's good friend and body builder
prevents this. Later he is bothered on why
the fight took so long and begins to
re-evaluate his style. He is determined to
fix the problems with gung fu. Jeet Kune Do
(JKD), "The art of the intercepting
fist" is born. JKD is an art including
techniques from American Boxing, Wing Chun,
and French Fencing. Bruce is signed to a
one-year option for The Green Hornet. He is
paid an $1800 retainer.
1965 February 1 (Age 25)
Oakland, CA - Brandon Bruce Lee is born.
1965 February 8 (Age 25)
Hong Kong - Bruce's father passes away in
Hong Kong. Bruce returns to Hong Kong for
his father?s funeral. As tradition dictates,
in order to obtain forgiveness for not being
present when his father died, Bruce crawls
on his knees across the floor of the funeral
home towards the casket wailing loudly and
crying.
1965 May (Age 25)
Bruce uses the retainer money from the Green
Hornet and flies himself, Linda, and Brandon
back to Hong Kong in order to settle his
father's estate affairs. While in Hong Kong,
Bruce takes Brandon to see Yip Man to
persuade him to perform on tape. Bruce wants
to take the footage back to Seattle and show
his students what the man looks like in
action. Yip man declines the offer.
1965 September (Age 25)
Seattle - Bruce, Linda, Brandon return to
Seattle.
1966 (Age 26)
Los Angeles - Bruce and family move to Los
Angeles to an apartment on Wilshire and
Gayley in Westwood.
This is where he begins working on a new TV
series called The Green Hornet as Kato. The
Green Hornet series starts filming and Bruce
is Paid $400 per episode, where Lee perfects
his famous flashy kicks taught to him by
Jhoon Rhee. Bruce buys a 1966 blue Chevy
Nova.
He later opens third branch of the Jun Fan
Gung-Fu Institute in Los Angeles' Chinatown.
1966 September 9 (Age 26)
Los Angeles - The Green Hornet series
premiers. 1967-1971 (Age 27-31) Hollywood -
During this time, Bruce lands bit parts in
various films and T.V. series. He also gives
private lessons for up to $250 an hour to
personalities Steve McQueen, James Coburn,
James Garner, Lee Marvin, Roman Polanski,
and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Bruce meets Chuck
Norris in New York at the All American
Karate Championships in Washington D.C.
Chuck fights Joe Lewis and wins.
1967 (Age 27)
Washington, D.C. - Bruce meets Joe Lewis at
The Mayflower Hotel while both were guests
at the 67' National Karate Championships.
Joe is competing in the tournament and Bruce
is making special appearances as Kato.
1967 February (Age 27)
Los Angeles - Bruce opens a 3rd school at
628 College Street, Los Angeles, CA. Dan
Inosanto serves as assistant instructor.
1967 July 14 (Age 27)
Los Angeles - The last episode of The Green
Hornet Series airs.
1969 April 19 (Age 29)
Santa Monica, CA Shannon Lee is born.
1969 (Age 29)
A scriptwriter is hired and paid $12K by
Stirling Silliphant and James Coburn to
write a script for the Silent Flute. (Later
to be played by David Caradine) The script
produced is unacceptable, and no other
scriptwriter could seen to do the job. They
then decide to write it themselves. 1970
(Age 30) Los Angeles - Bruce injures his
sacral nerve lifting weights and experiences
severe muscle spasms in his back.. Doctors
told him that he would never kick again.
They were wrong, but Lee suffered pain
almost constantly. During the months of
recovery he starts to document his training
methods and his philosophy of Jeet Kune Do.
Later published as The Tao of Jeet Kune Do.
1970 (Age 30)
Hong Kong - Bruce and Brandon fly to Hong
Kong and are welcomed by fans of The Green
Hornet Show.
Bruce sends Unicorn to talk to Run Run Shaw
on his behalf and inform Shaw that he would
be willing to do a movie for him for $10K.
Shaw makes counter-offer of a seven year
contract and $2K per film which Bruce
declines.
1971 February (Age 31)
India - Bruce, James Coburn, Stirling
Silliphant fly to India to scout locations
for The Silent Flute. They spend one month
searching but are forced to call off the
search as Coburn backs out of the project.
This trip gives Bruce the idea for Game of
Death, where a fighter, mastering in several
techniques, will go from one level to the
next in a temple: the first level (the level
of weaponry), the second level (the level of
the nine degree black belt), and the third
level ( "The level of the
unknown.")
1971 (Age 31)
Hong Kong. - Bruce takes a short trip back
to Hong Kong to arrange for his mother to
live in the U.S. Unknowingly to him, he had
become a superstar for The Green Hornet was
one of the most popular TV shows in Hong
Kong. Later, he 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. Bruce is
supplied with small apartment at 2 Man Wan
Road - Kowloon, HK. Brandon attends La Salle
College. The same school Bruce attended only
15 years before. Bruce is interviewed by
Canadian talk show host Pierre Berton for a
TV program being filmed in Hong Kong.
1971 July (Age 31) Thailand -
Filming begins for The Big Boss (released in
the U.S. as Fists of Fury). The Big Boss
opens in Hong Kong to great reviews and mobs
of fans. Proceeds to gross more than $3.5
million in little than three weeks.
1971 December 7 (Age 31)
Hong Kong - Bruce receives telegram,
notifying him that he had not been chosen
for the part in the upcoming series, The
Warrior. This series was later released as
Kung-Fu, staring David Caradine, as the
studios felt that the American public would
not accept an Asian in a leading role on
television. Kung Fu aired as ABC-TVs Movie
of the Week on February 21, 1972.
1972 (Age 32)
Hong Kong - Fist of Fury (released in the
U.S. as The Chinese Connection) is released.
It grosses more than The Big Boss and
further establishes Bruce as a Hong Kong
superstar. Bruce gets a larger budget, a
larger salary, and more power of directing
in this film. Bruce begins work on Game of
Death and films several fight scenes
including Dan Inosanto and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar. Bruce appears on Hong Kong's
TVB channel for a hurricane disaster relief
benefit. In a demo Bruce performs, he breaks
4 out of 5 boards, one of which is hanging
in the air with a line of string. Brandon
even performs and breaks a board with a
sidekick!
1972 (Age 32)
Rome, Italy - Location shots are made for
Bruce's third film The Way of the Dragon
(released in the U.S. as The Return of the
Dragon). This time Bruce gets almost
complete control the movie, which he writes,
directs, and stars. Chuck Norris is Bruce's
adversary in the final fight scene. Again,
this film surpasses all records set by his
previous two films.
1972 December 30 (Age 32)
Oakland ? James Yimm Lee, dies of Black Lung
disease from his years of welding.
1973 February (Age 33)
Hong Kong - Bruce gets his chance at
American stardom as filming of Enter the
Dragon begins while Game of Death is put on
hold. It is the first-ever production
between the U.S. and Hong Kong film
industries. On February 20, Bruce is guest
of honor at St. Francis Xavier's school for
Sports Day ceremonies.
1973(Age 33)
Bruce orders all three of his Jeet Kune Do
schools closed in six months. He did not
approve of some teaching methods in his
absence and he felt others were taking
advantage of him in some way. Hong Kong -
Filming of Enter the Dragon is completed.
Bruce is at Golden Harvest Studios in Hong
Kong dubbing his voice for "Enter The
Dragon". The air conditioners had been
turned off, so the microphones won't pick
them up. The temperature soared. Bruce takes
a break looping lines to go to the bathroom
and splash water on his face.
In he bathroom, he passes out on the
bathroom floor. He revives twenty minutes
later just as assistant sent to find out
what was keeping him walks in and discovers
him on the ground. He tries to conceal his
collapse by acting as though he has dropped
his glasses on the floor and is searching
for them and is helped up by the assistant.
As they are walking back to the dubbing
room, Bruce collapses again and is rushed to
a nearby hospital.
1973 July 10 (Age 33)
Hong Kong - Bruce Lee is walking through the
Golden Harvest Studios and overhears Lo Wei
in a nearby room bad mouthing him. He
confronts Lo Wei who retreats and summons
the local police. When the police arrive Lo
Wei falsely accuses Bruce of threatened him
with a knife concealed in his belt buckle.
He further insists that Bruce sign a
statement that he will not harm him. Bruce
signs the statement to get Lo Wei off his
back although Lo Wei lied to the police and
Bruce never had a knife nor threatened to
kill him. That same day, Bruce appears on
the Hong Kong TV show, Enjoy Yourself
Tonight with host Ho Sho Shin. Bruce alludes
to his problems with director Lo Wei, but
does not mention him by name. Bruce is asked
to display his physical prowess and
demonstrates his abilities. Bruce
demonstrates a technique and Shin is knocked
across the stage.
1973 July 16 (Age 33)
Hong Kong - Heavy rains fall caused by a
typhoon off the coast of Hong Kong. Bruce
makes a $200 phone call to speak to Unicorn
in his hotel room, who is filming a movie in
Manila. Bruce tells Unicorn that he is
worried about the many headaches he is
experiencing.
1973 July 20 (Age 33)
Hong Kong - Early that morning Bruce types a
letter to his attorney, Adrian Marshall,
detailing business ventures he wants to
discuss on his upcoming trip to Los Angeles.
Bruce had tickets already set to return to
the US for a publicity tour and was
scheduled to appear on the Johnny Carson
show. Raymond Chow goes by Bruce's house and
the two discuss plans for their upcoming
movie Game of Death. Linda kisses Bruce
good-bye and says she is going out to run
some errands and will see him later that
night. Raymond and Bruce visit Betty Ting
Pei at her apartment to discuss her role in
Game of Death. That evening plans had been
made for them all to meet George Lazenby
over dinner and enlist him for a part. Bruce
explains that he has a headache, takes a
prescription pain killer offered by Betty,
and lies down on her bed to rest prior to
dinner. Raymond Chow departs and says that
he will meet them later. Raymond Chow and
George Lazenby meet at a restaurant and
await Bruce and Betty's arrival, but the two
never show up. At 9:00 p.m. Chow receives a
call from Betty; she said that she has tried
to wake Bruce up but he won't come to. Betty
summons her personal physician who fails to
revive Bruce and who has Bruce taken to the
hospital. Bruce does not revive and is
pronounced dead. Bruce Lee dies in Hong Kong
of an apparent cerebral edema (swelling of
the brain). Doctors declared the death of
Bruce Lee as "death by
misadventure." The premier of Enter the
Dragon was pushed back by four days due to
the actors death.
1973 July 25(Age 33)
Hong Kong - A funeral ceremony is held for
in Hong Kong over 25,000 people were in
attendance.
Bruce is dressed in the Hifu he wore in
Enter the Dragon.
1973 July 30 (Age 32)
After a smaller second ceremony in Seattle,
Washington at Butterworth Funeral Home on
East Pine Street, Bruce Lee is buried at
Lake View Cemetery. His pallbearers included
Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Dan Inosanto,
Taky Kimura, Peter Chin, and Robert Lee his
brother.
1973 August 24
Hollywood California- Enter The Dragon
premiers at Graumann's Chinese Theater. |
