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American Stories



Instructions: After you finish reading the story, press to run a self-marked test of this exercise.




The fighting skills Bruce Lee displayed in his 1970s Kung Fu action movies elevated him to the level of a cultural icon in the U.S., China, and around the world. To this day, no martial artist acting in films has been able to surpass Lee's status. Bruce Lee remains a legend.

Bruce Lee was born Lee Jun Fan on November 27, 1940, in San Francisco, California. His father was in the United States while on tour with the Cantonese Opera Company of Hong Kong. The family returned to Hong Kong three months later. As a child, Bruce developed an interest in acting. Through his father's connections, he got his start in show business and he went on to star in over twenty movies produced in Hong Kong.

As a teenager, Bruce became involved with street gangs even though he was a popular actor. Towards the end of high school, a movie company asked Bruce to sign a long-term contract. Bruce wanted to jump at the offer and quit school, but his mother decided to send him back to the United States - away from the movies, streets and fighting - to finish his studies.

Once he was removed from the street fighting environment of Hong Kong, not only did Bruce finish high school, but he also went on to graduate from the University of Washington where he majored in philosophy. Moreover, he met his future wife, Linda Emery, and started earning money teaching martial arts to other students.

The only thing missing was acting. Even though Bruce had had a successful career in Hong Kong, no offers were coming his way from Hollywood. But eventually he got his foot in the door by teaching private Kung Fu lessons to famous actors like Steve McQueen and James Coburn. This led to Brucešs signing on to play Kato in "The Green Hornet" television series in 1966.

As Kato, Bruce often stole the show with his lightning fast kicks and high-energy performances. This led to guest appearances on several other TV series. Brucešs high visibility on television engendered much interest in the martial arts in America. But despite his television success, Hollywood never took notice. So Bruce packed up his family and moved back to Hong Kong to become a movie star.

In 1971, Bruce starred in the "Fists of Fury" and followed that with The Chinese Connection. Both were tremendous hits in the Orient, breaking box office records. Lee then wrote, directed and starred in "Way of the Dragon" and he became an Asian sensation. When his popularity spilled over into America, Hollywood finally paid attention.

The hunger for martial arts films was growing in the United States, and Bruce was prepared to feed it. Warner Bros. signed Lee to star in "Enter the Dragon", the first American-made "Kung Fu" action movie. Unfortunately, Lee would never see the finished product. He died suddenly on July 20, 1973, about one month before the film made its debut. The official verdict was that Bruce died because of a bad reaction to some headache tablets. The film generated huge box office receipts in the U.S. and around the world.

Now, more than twenty years since his death, and despite the fact that his career was cut short, the image of Bruce Lee seems to remain larger than life. Thanks to the magic of the silver screen, he has achieved immortality as an incredible martial artist.


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