Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

In reality, Lee's rumored mistress Betty Ting Pei claims that on July 20, 1973, Bruce lay down on her couch to take a nap after she gave him a prescription analgesic (painkiller) for a headache. When Bruce failed to show up for a dinner meeting, producer Raymond Chow, who had been at Betty's apartment earlier, came back and tried to wake Lee up. Chow was not successful and a doctor was then summoned who spent close to ten minutes trying to revive Lee. When he could not be revived, Bruce Lee was then taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was dead before the ambulance arrived.

An autopsy revealed that Bruce Lee most likely died from an adverse reaction to an ingredient in the prescription Equagesic tablet given to him by Betty Ting Pei. The presence of cannabis (marijuana leaves) was also found in his stomach, but not in an amount that could kill him (it is believed that he chewed it). Yet, it may have been this combination of cannabis with one or more of the ingredients in the Equagesic tablet that caused his brain to swell from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (13%), leading to a cerebral edema, a condition that is defined as an excess accumulation of water in the intra- and/or extra-cellular spaces of the brain. The condition can be brought on by an allergic reaction, such as in Bruce's case.

Although it is uncommon, it is possible that Bruce was allergic to cannabis (marijuana). This allergic reaction could have been heightened by the Equagesic tablet that he ingested. Doctors officially declared Bruce Lee's passing as "death by misadventure," but the doctors who had treated Bruce for a similar prior incident (see below) believe that Bruce died from the marijuana he ingested. The type of marijuana he was taking (Nepal hashish) was one of the most near-lethal strains of unrefined hashish.

(The analgesic known as Equagesic is a painkiller that combines Aspirin and the muscle relaxant meprobamate. Some forms may contain the opioid ethoheptazine. The drug can be taken to relieve tension headaches, however it was banned from use in the UK in 2002, as less toxic alternatives became available.)

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Had Bruce Lee been previously taken to the hospital for the same condition that led to his death?

Yes. On May 10, 1973, a little over two months before his death, Bruce passed out at Golden Harvest Studios in Hong Kong while dubbing his voice for Enter the Dragon. The air conditioners at the studio had been turned off, because the noise they made interfered with the dubbing process. The extreme heat was a likely factor in Bruce's collapse. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated by his family doctor, Dr. "Don" Langford and neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Wu. Both physicians believe that the cause of Bruce Lee's death approximately two months later was the result of his use of cannabis (marijuana leaves), particularly through his preferred method of consuming the substance, not by smoking it, but instead by chewing it or eating hash brownies and cookies.

-Fighting Words

Could foul play have been the reason for Bruce Lee's death?

There is no evidence to support foul play as the reason for Bruce's death. However, Bruce's younger brother Robert Lee believes that some sort of foul play was involved in his brother's death. Robert believes that his brother's eroding physical condition and emotional symptoms were evidence of poisoning. Others have raised the idea that competing professional interests and dealings with Raymond Chow may have led to Bruce being murdered. Still, evidence has yet to surface to provide support for these theories. -Fighting Words

Was Bruce Lee's death the result of a family curse, as implied in the movie?

The movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story implies that a family curse was after Bruce for much of his life, and that he was given the American name Bruce to help evade the evil spirits. In reality, at the time of Bruce's birth a physician by the name of Dr. Mary Glover baby Bruce Lee small phoenixthought of the name Bruce, and she suggested it to his mother Grace Lee. His father was away performing in New York at the time. His mother liked the sound of the name and it stuck.

Shortly after his birth, Bruce's parents gave him the additional feminine name L�i Saifung Pinyin: Li X�f�ng, which literally meant "small phoenix". It was Chinese custom to give such names to children in order to hide them from evil spirits. The name was used throughout Bruce's early childhood. The filmmakers embraced the notion of this Chinese custom and exaggerated it for the story. Many people who saw the 1993 film left the theater believing that a family curse took the life of Bruce Lee. It didn't help, of course, that the film failed to investigate or focus on any other possible causes for his death.

Was Bruce Lee on steroids?

Linda Lee's second husband, Tom Bleeker, believes that it was Bruce's abuse of anabolic steroids that damaged him both physically and emotionally. Tom Bleeker makes these claims in his book Unsettled Matters, which he wrote after his divorce with Linda. Bleeker believes that Bruce's steroid abuse may have begun in the late sixties. He is the only one to ever make such claims, and in his book he attempts to defend his accusations, "The issue of Lee's steroid use is complex," says Bleeker. "But the main thing that I wanted to get across was that steroids damaged Bruce physically and emotionally. Like so many other athletes who have used them Bruce paid a heavy price. I know that there will be those who will scream and yell that never in a million years would Bruce use steroids." Steroids however, may be one explanation for Lee's often erratic behavior and violent outbursts (roid rage) during the final years of his life. Tom Bleeker concludes that in the end, he believes that Bruce was either poisoned or suffered a massive adrenal failure from steroid or drug abuse.

Where is Bruce Lee buried?

Bruce is buried next to his son Brandon Lee in Seattle's Lake View Cemetery. The pallbearers at Bruce's funeral included his younger brother Robert Lee, and actors James Coburn and Steve McQueen. At the Hong Kong funeral ceremony over 25,000 mourners gathered in the streets. Bruce's four-foot red marble headstone reads "Your inspiration continues to guide us toward our personal liberation." Engraved on his son Brandon Lee's tombstone is a passage from Paul Bowles' book The Sheltering Sky. It is a fitting excerpt for Bruce as well (Brandon had originally intended it to be on his wedding invitations):

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..."

Questioning the Story (Bruce Lee's Life):

Did a childhood nightmare really prompt Bruce to begin his martial arts training?

No. Unlike what we see in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce actually began his martial arts training at the age of thirteen after being beaten up by a street gang. He took Kung-Fu lessons and began to train under Sifu Yip Man, a master of the Wing Chun system of Kung-Fu.

When did Bruce Lee's acting career really begin?

Young Bruce Lee in ThunderstormIn the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, a producer discovers Bruce after witnessing his martial arts abilities. In real life, Bruce had acted sporadically since his early childhood. He first appeared in The Golden Gate Girl (1941) when he was only 3 months old, showing up in a scene where he is carried by his real life father, Lee Hoi-Chuen. Bruce's family connections to the world of show business originated through his father, who was a native Hong Kong actor and a singer with the Cantonese Opera Company. This is the reason why Bruce was born in San Francisco and not in Hong Kong, because his father was on a one-year U.S. tour with the Opera Company.

When Bruce was six-years-old the director of one of his father's films offered Bruce a part, telling Bruce's father that there was something very special about his young son. This marked the true beginning of Bruce's career as an actor, which led to roles in over twenty films, including the 1957 Hong Kong movie The Thunderstorm (Lei yu), in which Lee is pictured above.

Did Bruce Lee really have a passion for dancing?

Yes. When Bruce was fourteen he discovered dancing and he immediately fell in love with the art. His natural agility and grace made it easy for him to learn all of the popular dances of the day. He preferred the Cha Cha, and he eventually became the Hong Kong Cha Cha champion. He would later reveal that dancing helped him with his movement and his footwork when he was developing his fighting style.

Why and when did Bruce Lee come to America?

As a teenager, Bruce continually found himself in street fights. In high school, he was picked up by the police for fighting. His mother Grace could not take anymore of her son's unruly behavior, and in 1959 she shipped him off to America to live with friends of the family. It was in America that Bruce finished high school and continued to nurture his love for the martial arts.

Did Bruce Lee really work as a dishwasher when he came to America?

This part of the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is somewhat true. After finishing high school in the United States, Bruce attended the University of Washington, and it was then that he worked nights as a busboy and waiter at Ruby Chow's, a Seattle restaurant (in the film he worked at the fictional Gussier Yang's restaurant in San Francisco). In real life, Bruce lived in the restaurant's attic and worked there as a way to pay rent. Although, it wasn't long before he quit the job to start teaching Kung-Fu for a living.