Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco in the year of the Dragon and at the hour of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar (between 6 and 8 am) during the American tour of his parents. His parents were: Lee Hoi Chen and his wife, Grace Lee actors-comedian of Chinese opera. Mother Grace Lee had Eurasian roots (was half German), his father was Chinese. He began acting in the movies since childhood: 3 months of age, Bruce Lee appeared in his first film - "Golden Gate Girl" (the role of the little girl-baby), at the age of 6 he appeared in his second film - "The Birth of mankind." In childhood and adolescence, Bruce Lee was quite frail, so in the movies he was filmed mostly in the roles of the "difficult" child or cocky street orphans. Like many young people, Bruce interested interest in martial arts, but he wasn’t seriously engaged.
In 1954, Bruce Lee began taking dance lessons cha-cha-cha, and 4 years later won the championship for the dance cha-cha-cha in Hong Kong. In 1958, he played the main role in the film "Orphan" and participated in inter-school competitions in boxing and even became the champion. Then he decided to start learning kung fu. Bruce was very talented, he in 3 days of lessons mastered the art of Taijiquan movements, which basic training usually takes a week. Since then, Bruce had not permanently leave the kung fu lessons and constantly trained. His main style in kung fu became Wing Chun style, which he studied in Hong Kong since 1956 with great master Yip Man. Bruce Lee has made a great contribution to the popularization of this style, and participated in several films about it, for example, "Fist of Fury". This style focuses on the fight without weapons, although Lee was good and with weapons. Especially good he could appeal with nunchaku. Later he also studied judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. After, when he learned all this martial arts, Lee developed his own style of kung fu called "Jeet Kune Do." In 19 years, to confirm his citizenship of U.S., Bruce Lee went to the United States. First he went to San Francisco and then to Seattle to Ruby Chow, (who was friend of his father, which contained a restaurant), which took him to work as a waiter. There he studied art and graduated from Edison Technical High School. After that he entered the University of Washington in the philosophy department, where he met his future wife -Linda Lee Cadwell, who was 17 years old. Linda bore him two children: son Brandon and daughter Shannon .
Bruce began acting in television series in the United States, performing martial arts. He became popular, he began to teach students, among whom were many famous people, such as the famous basketball player, NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar (later Jabbar and Bruce put an impressive fight scene in the movie "Game of Death"). Bruce opened his own martial arts school, where he began to teach "Jeet Kune Do" - his own style of kung fu that Bruce Lee developed and perfected until his death. Bruce Lee's private lessons cost about $ 275 per hour, which was very expensive, so it could ensure Lee’s financial independence in the years ahead. However, he didn’t get main roles in the movies and that fact upset him terribly. In 1971, disappointment Bruce Lee decided to leave the United States and return with family to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong opened a new studio «Golden Harvest», which later became very famous. Bruce Lee persuaded director of this studio Reymond Chow to give him a starring role in "Big Boss" and allow him to stage action scenes. Risk paid off - the film had unprecedented success. Bruce Lee has turned the idea of martial arts in cinema. His quick movements, naturalistic fight scenes and bloody endings Asian audience liked. After success in China this wave spread on viewers around the world. Chow entrusted Lee to shoot two more films ("Fist of Fury" and "Return of the Dragon"), this time with a solid budget. Movies have even greater success and made Lee a superstar.
Bruce Lee trained all his life. He continually raised his skills in kung fu, developed his style of Jeet Kune Do, and tried to bring something new to the existing fighting techniques. He has also developed its own nutrition system, and paid great attention to workout in a gym. He developed his great body and published his training methods and exercises that have become very famous. Also, Lee exposed himself to enormous loads for experimental purposes, even an electric shock. At the same time, Bruce Lee paid great attention to details in his movies, trying to bring his every movement on the screen to perfection. Lee was very ambitious and demanding to himself man. However, despite of his movie image, he was very polite and very respectful of others.
On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong, while working on the film "Game of Death": he (according to one version) took the pill for a headache, which contained aspirin and meprobamate this has led to swelling of the brain. No tests were taken, which casts doubt on the fact that he died of a pill. After his death, began to circulate rumors that he was killed by another master, but they haven’t been confirmed. Bruce Lee's funeral turned into a citywide mourning. Friends and thousands of fans came to pay their last respects. Then the body of Bruce Lee was forwarded to Seattle, where he was buried. To the grave of Bruce Lee still go to worship martial arts fans. His last film was shoot 5 years later with the help of stunt doubles and it caused the new wave of interest in kung fu and oriental martial arts.
Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee was born on 1 February, 1965 in Oakland, California. He was the son of the famous actor Bruce Lee and Linda Emery. When Brandon was three months old, the family moved to Los Angeles. At this time, no one offered to his father role in the movie, so in 1971 they were forced to return to Hong Kong. He spent his childhood in Hong Kong, where he learned Cantonese and mastered the technique of Jeet Kun Do. In five years, he was already able to walk on his hands and took out a jump to his father's chin. After moving of family from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, Brandon started going to school, where had previously trained his father. As the popularity of Bruce began to grow, Brandon began to face with problems in college, which were caused, by status as the son of the star.
When his father died, Brandon was 8 years old. Mother Linda Emery, took him and his sister in the United States, where they lived first in Seattle and then in California. While studying in school, he has performed at small theaters. After school, he studied at the Emerson College in Boston. Then Brandon also started taking acting lessons in New York's Lee Strasberg Institute. Brandon was fond of music: he played the guitar and composed music.
Debuting in the theater on the outskirts of New York City, Brandon, in 1985 went looking for luck in Hollywood. In the beginning he was accepted in Hollywood as the son of a great actor and not as an independent person. So after failed attempts in the film "Crime Killer" (1985), "Kung Fu: The Movie" (1986) Brandon goes to China. There he received his first starring role in the film "The Legacy of Wrath" (1986). But the picture, despite the success, released only in some cities of China. After that, Brandon again goes to Hollywood where he received a role in the series “CBS Summer Playhouse” (1987-1989), in which he played only one series called “Kung Fu: The Next Generation” (1987), which was a parody of the film "Kung Fu: The Next Generation."
After failing in Hollywood Brandon became depressed. BJ Davis helps to cope with it, offering Brandon play a major role in his new film entitled “Laser Mission”(1990). The film did not become popular, but Brandon drew attention. Breakthrough in a big movie was his role in the action movie "Showdown in Little Tokyo" in which he starred with Dolph Lundgren. After the success Brandon in his next film "Rapid fire" (1992) creates scenes all fight scenes. In 1990, Brandon Lee met Eliza Hutton. They met at one of the offices studio Twentieth Century Fox. In early 1991, started to live together, and in October 1992, announced their engagement.
Finally the star status of Brandon Lee had to fix "The Raven" - film with gloomy, "gothic" atmosphere adaptation of the comic book on the themes of honor and retribution. Initially the role of Eric Draven planned River Phoenix or Christian Slater. Filming began on February 1, 1993 in Wilmington, and on the same day Brandon was 28 years old. On 31 March, at 12:30 a.m., during the shooting one of the final scenes where the protagonist shoot a pistol, Brandon was shot in the stomach. The accident was caused by the special film device-squib, which stuck in the barrel. Brandon died 12 hours later in a hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina. Brandon died eighteen days before his wedding. He and Eliza Hutton were already engaged and were to be married immediately after the shooting - April 17, 1993 in Mexico City. Brandon Lee was buried beside his father in Seattle.
Works Cited
http://www.bruceleefoundation.com/index.cfm/page/About-Bruce-Lee/pid/10378. n.d. 21 6 2014.
Welkos, Robert W. "Bruce Lee's Son, Brandon, Killed in Movie Accident." 1 4 1993.
