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Bruce Lee remains the greatest icon of martial arts cinema and a key figure of modern popular media. Had it not been for Bruce Lee and his movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced mainstream North American and European cinema and audiences the way it has over the past four decades. The influence of East Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation... and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee.

Lee was born Lee Jun Fan November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately one year later, the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of five, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu gui fu yun (1948). 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. The talented and athletic Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing and, at age 18, won a major dance championship in Hong Kong.

However, his temper and quick fists got him in trouble with the Hong Kong police on numerous occasions. His parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a close relative's restaurant. He eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington, where he enrolled at university to study philosophy and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. In 1963, Lee met Linda Lee Cadwell (aka Linda Emery) (later his wife) and also opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way. During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts figures in the United States, including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon Rhee. He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach Nationals. Through one of these tournaments Bruce met Hollywood hair-stylist Jay Sebring who introduced him to television producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of Batman (1966), Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character the Green Hornet to television and was on the lookout for an East Asian actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, Kato. Around this time Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood.

Bruce's screen test was successful, and The Green Hornet (1966) starring Van Williams aired in 1966-1967 with mixed success. His fight scenes were sometimes obscured by unrevealing camera angles, but his dedication was such that he insisted his character behave like a perfect bodyguard, keeping his eyes on whoever might be a threat to his employer except when the script made this impossible. The show was canceled after only one season (twenty-six episodes), but by this time Lee was receiving more fan mail than the series' nominal star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles and began providing personalized martial arts training to celebrities including film stars Steve McQueen and James Coburn as well as screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. In addition he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun and incorporated aspects of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and Okinawan karate. He also developed his own unique style Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity then came his way as he landed the small role of a stand over man named Winslow Wong who intimidates private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Wong pays a visit to Garner and proceeds to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a spectacular high kick that shatters the light fixture. With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the television series Longstreet (1971).

With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pocket, Bruce returned for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Man-Wai Chow who had recently started Golden Harvest productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in The Big Boss (1971). In it, Lee plays a distant cousin coming to join relatives working at an ice house, where murder, corruption, and drug-running lead to his character's adventures and display of Kung-Fu expertise. The film was directed by Wei Lo, shot in Thailand on a very low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However, when it opened in Hong Kong the film was an enormous hit. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee and quickly assembled another script entitled Fist of Fury (1972). The second film (with a slightly bigger budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find that his beloved master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school. Once again he uncovers the evildoers and sets about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher and intimidating his school. The film features several superb fight sequences and, at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to surrender to the Japanese police and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets.

Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed with thousands of fervent Chinese movie fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company, Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing and acting in his next film, The Way of the Dragon (1972). A bigger budget meant better locations and opponents, with the new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert In-shik Hwang, karate legend Robert Wall and seven-time U.S. karate champion Chuck Norris. Bruce plays a seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome and finds his cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection.

By now, Lee's remarkable success in East Asia had come to the attention of Hollywood film executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon starring alongside Lee to give the film wider appeal. The film culminates with another show-stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the subsequent weeks Bruce was involved in completing overdubs and looping for the final cut. Various reports from friends and co-workers cite that he was not feeling well during this period and on July 20, 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after taking a headache medicine called Equagesic and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called and Lee was taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding was death due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet Equagesic.

Fans worldwide were shattered that their virile idol had passed at such a young age, and nearly thirty thousand fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong. A second, much smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan Inosanto. Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was a huge hit with audiences there, which then prompted National General films to actively distribute his three prior movies to U.S. theatres... each was a box office smash.

Fans throughout the world were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films and thus remaining footage (completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a lookalike and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee in numerous scenes. The film is a poor addition to the line-up and is only saved by the final twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower. Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Game of Death II (1980), with a lookalike and more stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of footage of the real Bruce Lee.

Tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a freak accident on the set of The Crow (1994). Bruce Lee was not only an amazing athlete and martial artist but he possessed genuine superstar charisma and through a handful of films he left behind an indelible impression on the tapestry of modern cinema.

Leslie Cheung was the youngest of 10 children. His father was tailor to the late William Holden. Leslie's parents divorced when he was young, and he claims this is one reason for his disinterest in marriage. Following graduation from secondary school, he studied at Leeds University in Great Britain. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he entered the 1976 ATV Asian Music Contest, where he took second prize. He went on to perform on stage, television and in teeny-bopper movies. It wasn't until he was cast in the role of "Kit" in John Woo's A Better Tomorrow (1986) that his acting career took off; he has since performed in some of the best-known Hong Kong movies of the last decade, working under the direction of such directors as Kaige Chen, Kar-Wai Wong, Hark Tsui and, of course, Woo. Leslie emigrated to Canada in 1992, but soon returned to Hong Kong, demonstrating his intention to remain past the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China through his purchase of real estate and opening of a coffee shop in the colony.

Leslie jumped from the landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel in the central business district early in the evening on 1st April 2003, leaving a suicide note that was found on the body.

Lily Li was born on 14 June 1950 in Hong Kong. She was an actress. She died on 27 September 2024 in Hong Kong.

With a career that began in her early childhood, Anita Mui is the queen of Hong Kong's pop-music industry. After she won a singing contest in 1982, her life in the limelight began. In the early stages of her career her image was a little bit tomboy-ish and sexy (which was the reason she was called the "Madonna of Hong Kong"), and some of her songs were considered too risqué, with one of them, "Bad Girl", actually being banned from airplay due to its suggestive content. She started her acting career at about the same time, often starring with Anthony Chan, including Huai nu hai (1986) and One Husband Too Many (1988). Other acting partners included Jackie Chan and Leslie Cheung. Both her singing and acting careers were a success. She won an enormous number of "Best Female Singer" and "Most Popular Female Singer" awards in the 1980s, and her acting career's climax was winning "Best Actress" awards (Golden Horse Award and the inaugural Golden Dragon Awards in Taiwan, Hong Kong Film Award, and the Pan-Asia Pacific Film Festival) in 1987 for Stanley Kwan's "Rouge" Rouge (1987). In the early 1990s she announced her "half" retirement from the singing industry. However, by popular demand, she continued to record albums and to act in movies, and by 1994, she engineered a full comeback to great critical and popular acclaim.

She passed away from cervical cancer on December 30th, 2003. Many of her friends were with her in her last hours.

Howard Culver's first radio shows were for CBS when he was in High School; worked most Hollywood-based radio shows, and many in San Francisco, including starring role as "Straight Arrow", and co-star with Mercedes McCambridge in "Defense Attorney". TV credits are many, including the entire 20 years of "Gunsmoke", a part of Jack Webb's stable, and one of Irwin Allen's regulars. He died in 1984 in Hong Kong after a vacation in China.

Already a veteran of the Peking Opera, he starred in countless black and white costume dramas before son Woo-Ping Yuen cast him in _Snake in Eagle's Shadow_ , the film which launched Jackie Chan's career. He then went on to feature alongside Chan and Jeong-lee Hwang(_Snake in Eagle's Shadow_'s main villain and the villain again in this film) in the sequel _Drunken Master_. These two films saw his stock rising and on the production of one film, he had to change hotels every night to avoid producers with dubious connections. He died during the filming of the Sammo Hung picture _The Magnificent Butcher_, meaning his scenes had to be re-filmed. This film was also directed by his son, who directed his last completed film _The Buddhist Fist_.

Corey Yuen was born on 15 February 1951 in Hong Kong. He was an actor and director, known for Righting Wrongs (1986), Red Cliff (2008) and The Transporter (2002). He died in 2022 in Hong Kong.

A native of Fujian province, Ng Man Tat was a graduate of the class of 1974's TVB Television training program where he quickly showed his chops thereafter acting in the Hong Kong television variety show 'Enjoy Yourself Tonight' and onto long running serials in 'Chor Lau Heung' and 'Police Cadet 84'. It wasn't until 1990 that he elevated his stature on the big screen pairing his complementary comedic timing as sidekick to Stephen Chow in the Cantonese dialect HK blockbuster 'All for the Winner'.

Ringo Lam was born on 8 December 1955 in Hong Kong. He was a director and writer, known for Full Alert (1997), City on Fire (1987) and Wild City (2015). He died on 29 December 2018 in Hong Kong, China.

Kenneth Tsang was born on 5 October 1934 in Shanghai, China. He was an actor and director, known for The Replacement Killers (1998), The Killer (1989) and Die Another Day (2002). He was married to Chiao Chiao, Barbara Tang and Lan Di. He died on 27 April 2022 in Hong Kong.

Kien Shih was born on 1 January 1913 in Shígang Village, Panyu, Guangdong, China. He was an actor and production manager, known for Enter the Dragon (1973), Rivals of Kung Fu (1974) and Na Zha nao dong hai (1957). He died on 3 June 2009 in Hong Kong, China.

Wei Lo was born in 1918 in Jiangsu Province, China. He was an actor and director, known for Fist of Fury (1972), The Big Boss (1971) and Yellow-Faced Tiger (1974). He was married to Liang Hua Liu. He died on 20 January 1996 in Hong Kong.

Chang Cheh was the leading Martial Arts director in Hong Kong in the 1970s, now with close to 100 films to his name. His has influenced other directors such as John Woo and Liu Chiau Liang, and made famous such Hong Kong stars as Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Fu Sheng and Lung Ti. Chang has declared that he will stop working after he has made his 101st film. During the 1970s, Chang was the most prolific of the directors for the now legendary Shaw Brothers Studios, and most revered works include Dynasty of Blood (1973) (aka Blood Brothers) and the awesome film which is Five Deadly Venoms (1978) (aka Five Venoms).

Chia-Liang Liu was born on 1 August 1936 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. He was an actor and director, known for Drunken Master II (1994), My Young Auntie (1981) and Legendary Weapons of China (1982). He was married to Jing-Jing Yung and Hsiu-Hsia Ho. He died on 25 June 2013 in Hong Kong, China.

Richard Ng was born on 17 December 1939 in Guangdong, China. He was an actor and writer, known for Winners & Sinners (1983), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) and Pom Pom (1984). He was married to Susan Ng. He died on 9 April 2023 in Hong Kong.

She was born in Shanghai, China, to Beijing opera performing parents. Thanks to a long and popular movie career and youthful looks, she is nicknamed 'The Evergreen Tree' of Chinese cinema. She began acting in movies in 1940 and acted in over 120 movies before she retired in 1973. her breakthrough was in a leading role in 'Xiao Feng Xian', a role by which she is still known first and foremost. Li li hua emigrated to the US after her retirement with her then husband, Yan Chun, who has since passed away.

Born Chang Fu-Sheng to a wealthy family on October 20th, 1954, in Hong Kong. His English adopted name was Alexander. He was the ninth of 11 siblings. He was considered his father's favorite. Unlike the rest of his family, he showed little interest in academic and had no desire to try his hand in business. He left school after only 2 years of secondary education and had showed a keen interest in Kung Fu. At 16, he joined the Shaw-TVB training center. He was the among the 45 graduates who graduated as the 1st class of the Shaw-TVB training center on Sept 28, 1972. After his stint at training school, Fu Sheng got his start at Shaw Brothers at 17. He was discovered by legendary director, Chang Cheh and trained for 6 months under the martial tutelage of legendary director and Martial Arts Master, Lau Kar-Leung. Some of his early appearances in film were Man of Iron (1972), Young People (1972), The 14 Amazons (1972). He got his 1st big role with the 1973 film, Police Force. He next appeared in Chang Cheh's youth action drama, Friends in 1974 co-starring David Chiang and Lily Li. He won the 'Best Young Newcomer' award at the 20th Annual Asian Film Festival for his performance. He joined Chang Cheh in Taiwan and made true and classic kung fu films such as Men From The Monastery (1974), Heroes Two (1973), Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Avengers (both 1976). He teamed up with legend Chun-Kuan Chi in the 1st of many films starting with Shaolin Martial Arts (1974). In the films Men From The Monastery, Heroes Two, Shaolin Temple, Shaolin Avengers, Fu Sheng played a role that he would become universally synonymous with--that of famed Chinese folk hero, Fang Shi-Yu. Fu Sheng was a star, but he rose to true super and mega status with Disciples of Shaolin (1975). Disciples of Shaolin (1975) is arguably the finest and greatest acting performance of of his career. He met Jenny Tseng, who was a popular singer who toured around the world and lent her voice to Chinese movies and television programs, in 1975 on the set of Boxer Rebellion. They fell quickly in love and married on December 4th, 1976. Fu Sheng would continue to rise to mega-star status in Asia and gained international stardom with the popular and classic movie, Chinatown Kid (1977) (1977). With his star on rise, he suffered two significant setbacks, both in September, giving the title, "The Black Septembers". On September 17th, 1978, he complained about being dizzy while shooting on the set of Sun Chung's Deadly Breaking Sword (1979). He fell backwards 8 feet in height with his head crashing through an urn, almost breaking his neck. It caused a serious concussion in his skull with internal bleeding. He wore a neck brace for a couple of months. He suffered permanent dizziness, poor diction, slurred speech and vision problems. The second accident occurred in September 19th, 1979 during the filming of Heroes Shed No Tears, his right leg was shattered when the harness holding him up broke sending him crashing to the hard floor. He had to undergo another procedure as the bone didn't set properly while he was recuperating from the first operation and a special contraption was put in place to keep him still. He was out of work for the of six months. Due to his injuries happening in September, he proclaimed to no longer film in the month of September for the rest of his career. At the time, he moved into a house once owned by the late Bruce Lee and known for it's negative feng shui. He made his comeback in 1981 with the classic and funny The Treasure Hunters (1981), a film he made with his brother, Chang Chan-Peng. His career was back on track and he kept on rising. He left his longtime director Chang Cheh, who he made a total of 23 films with. He became a actual student of martial arts master, Lau Kar-Leung, who was becoming a superstar director in his own way. Fu Sheng was filming the all time classic from Lau Kar-Leung, The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, when tragedy struck. July 7, 1983 Fu Sheng was returning to his home after dinner out at Clearwater Bay Country Club around 10pm. He was a passenger in his Porsche 911 Targa that was driven by his older brother, Chang Zheng Sheng. His brother took one of the winding curves on Clearwater Bay Road too fast and hit a cement barrier around 10:30pm. Fu Sheng's older brother suffered injuries, but Fu Sheng himself suffered a collapsed chest and severe wounds in the abdomen with unstoppable bleeding. He was rushed to the hospital. The doctors tried revive him by trying to get blood back into his body through transfusion but that was unsuccessful because he kept on losing more blood. The horrible realization set in that surgery was going to be impossible because Fu Sheng also had a broken back. After 5 hours in agony, at 3:43am, Shaw's and Asia's brightest movie star had died. He was only 28 years old. His funeral took place on Thursday, July 14th, 1983. His death was celebrated with a state honors funeral. The day of his death, the Hong Kong television programming stopped and showed chain pictures of his life and career. Over 2,000 actors and 30,000 people attended. The amount of attenders and spectators rivaled that of Bruce Lee's funeral a decade earlier. His funeral was organized by the Shaw Brothers committee. His remains were cremated. Fu Sheng left a long lasting legacy in the kung fu film history. With his mischievous good looks, versatility, amazing acting ability and agility, he quickly became a favorite of martial arts fans and luminaries. Fu Sheng's film work is still revered in Hong Kong and he has strong cult following among kung fu fans around the world. Considered Hong Kong's best loved actors and one Shaw Studios best actors ever, Fu Sheng left a wealth of entertainment for all to enjoy. He will always be one of the cinema's most treasured personalities and bonafide legend in kung fu film history. His films and legacy lives on.

Coco Lee was born on 17 January 1975 in Hong Kong. She was an actress, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Runaway Bride (1999) and Mulan (2020). She was married to Bruce Rockowitz. She died on 5 July 2023 in Hong Kong, China.

Benny Chan Muk-Sing had worked for RTV and then for TVB as assistant director to Johnnie To Kay-Fung. He was later promoted to director. He served as the executive director for Raymond Wong Pak-Ming's "Goodbye Darling" in 1987 and then returned to ATV as producer and director. In 1990, he directed "A Moment of Romance". After fulfilling his contractual obligation with ATV, he concentrated in his film career. His most acclaimed film till now is "Big Bullet", which won him a nomination of Best Director in the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards.

When Yin-Chieh Han was 3 years old, he moved to Beijing and from 9 to 18 years old joined a Pekin Opera group. In 1946, he went to Shanghai and debuted in the film industry at 19 years old as stuntman that same year. Next year he left the movies temporarily to do martial arts and circus exhibitions in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. Later he returned to Hong Kong and joined Shaw Bros. Film Studio as stuntman and later martial arts choreographer. He also played bit parts in his movies. At that moment Han gained a large reputation and met director Wu Kam-Chuen, who asked for him in 1966 when he left Shaw Bros. to go to Taiwan. Han and Wu collaborated in several masterpieces of martial arts genre until 1970, when Han returned to Hong Kong, signing a contract with new film company Golden Harvest. Here he played his most famous evil role, Big Boss in the film with the same title of 1971, directed by Lo Wei, who also collaborated with Han in several famous films. Han worked with the most famous stars of his time and also directed a few films in the 70s. He died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 64.

A Shanghai native with roots from Hunan province, Shaw Brothers contract character actor Tien Ching is known by many for his less than flattering roles playing his signature cuckold, impotent, lecherous, slippery, smarmy, back-stabbing roles in countless martial arts, exploitation and adult-oriented comedic fare throughout Mandarin dialect dominated Hong Kong cinema during the 70s. Previous to his tenure at Shaws, Tien Ching's roles were much more auspicious while under contract with Cathay/MPG&I as a young actor in the 60s where he had been elevated to leading man status in many Cathay contemporary romance and period action titles.

Kit Ying Lam was born on 27 April 1963 in Hong Kong, British Crown Colony. She was an actress, known for A Chinese Odyssey: Part One - Pandora's Box (1995), A Chinese Odyssey: Part 2 - Cinderella (1995) and The Bride with White Hair (1993). She died on 3 November 2018 in Hong Kong, China.

Dean Shek was born on 17 June 1949 in Beijing, China. He was an actor and producer, known for A Better Tomorrow II (1987), Drunken Master (1978) and Chu jia ren (1975). He was married to Lau Chun-yue. He died on 31 October 2021 in Hong Kong.

His father was a famed Cantonese film actor. After studying in the Department of Chemistry in Zhongsha University for 3 years, Chor joined the movie industry as a writer in 1956. His film debut was "The Soul Stealer" directed by Ng Wui. Soon he began working as an assistant director and finally debuted as a director with Chin Chien in the film "Bloodshed in the Valley of Love" in 1957. "Grass by the Lake" (1959) was his first film in solitaire. In 1970, after more than 70 Cantonese films, Chor directed and wrote his first Mandarin "wuxia" film, "Cold Blade", which attracted the attention of the major Chinese film studio at that time, Shaw Bros., so in 1971 Chor finally joined that studio. In 1976 he began his long series of adaptations of Ku Lung's novels with "Killer Clans", which gave him an international reputation.

Phillip Ko was born on 18 June 1949 in Hong Kong, British Crown Colony. He was an actor and director, known for Dian zi ge men zhan shi (1998), Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) and Iyo ang Hong Kong, akin ang Manila! (1994). He was married to Yukari Ôshima and Madie. He died on 30 March 2017 in Hong Kong, China.