Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Jun-fan, Chinese: 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong American martial artist, Hong Kong action film actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do.

Early life
Lee was born on November 27, 1940 in Chinatown, San Francisco, the fourth child of Grace Ho and Lee Hoi Chuen, a Cantonese Opera. Approximately one year later the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong. At the age of 12 Bruce commenced attending La Salle College. Bruce was later beaten up by a street gang, which inspired him to take up martial arts training under the tutelage of "Sifu Yip Man" who schooled Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years. This was the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee. He also took up cha-cha dancing and at the age of 18 won a major dance championship in Hong Kong.

Acting career
Lee appeared in films starting at a young age, having several films as a child. Lee first appeared in a role as infant in the film Golden Gate Girl. He then went on to star in other films as a child such as The Birth of Mankind and The Kid, along with his father. Lee appeared in other roles such as The Thunderstorm, The Orphan, Marlowe, The Wrecking Crew and A Walk in the Spring Rain. He then began to have his first major role in the 1971 film The Big Boss, which was written for James Tien but overshadowed Tien by his strong performance, which made Lee famous across Asia. After, Lee had his major roles in his best known films such as Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon and also Game of Death, which was unfinished because of his death.

Death
On July 20, 1973, Bruce had a minor headache. He was offered a prescription painkiller called Equagesic. After taking the pill, he went to lie down and lapsed into a coma. He was unable to be revived. Extensive forensic pathology was done to determine the cause of his death, which was not immediately apparent. A nine-day coroner’s inquest was held with testimony given by renowned pathologists flown in from around the world. The determination was that Bruce had a hypersensitive reaction to an ingredient in the pain medication that caused a swelling of the fluid on the brain, resulting in a coma and death.

The world lost a brilliant star and an evolved human being that day. His spirit remains an inspiration to untold numbers of people around the world.