Lee: The memories still live 30 years after his death

• Hawai'i fans say fighter influenced their lives
• Truths behind the myths

By Davis Miller
Special to The Advertiser

Photo Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser Bruce Lee's notable films

'Fists of Fury' (1971) A martial-arts expert working at a Thai ice-packing factory takes justice into his own hands after discovering the plant is a front for a drug-smuggling operation.

'The Chinese Connection' (1972) A young man exacts revenge upon Japanese gangsters who murdered his kung-fu instructor.

'Return of the Dragon' (1973) A country boy sent to help out at a family friend's Chinese restaurant in Rome fends off Italian gangsters attempting a takeover. Also featured: a young Chuck Norris.

'Enter the Dragon' (1973) A kung-fu fighter spies on a crime boss while participating in a martial-arts tournament hosted on his premises. Jackie Chan appears as an uncredited extra. It was Lee's Hollywood debut, and his last completed work. He died a month before the film's U.S. release.

'Game of Death' (1978): A movie star fakes his death to track down criminals trying to murder him. Features a fight with 7-foot-2 basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Film was finished and released posthumously with the limited footage available. — Associated Press

My hands shook; I quivered electrically from head to toe as if I'd swallowed a bellyful of lightning. Then Lee launched the first real kick I'd ever seen. My jaw fell open like the business end of a dump truck. This man could fly. Not like Superman — better. His hands and feet flew whistling through sky.

Lee was so quick that the paths of his hand strikes were invisible. You could see punches begin and end — nothing in the middle. And he moved in such a marvelously precise fashion that when he was facing the camera, his blows seemed to slice the screen into sections.

"Enter the Dragon" premiered 30 years ago, on Aug. 10. It was the movie designed to introduce him to American audiences.

A large part of Bruce Lee's appeal for me was that he was about my size. (Lee was 5-feet-7, 135 pounds. I was 5-feet-6 and weighed 90 pounds. Guys had nicknamed me "Fetus.") Though Lee seemed invulnerable, he was almost puny; there was an eggshell fragility about him. If this little guy could whup bad guys and do so with power and ratifying beauty, I could, too.

In the lobby after the movie, I found a copy of a pulp magazine with Lee on the cover. I read the obituary on Page 1 — at 32, Lee had died on July 20, three weeks before the movie's release.

Inspired by what I'd witnessed on the screen, I went into training to become the Second-greatest Martial Artist of All Time. Of course, I never made that goal. Along the way, however, I became some sort of Bruce Lee scholar.

A few things I learned may surprise you. Lee was a childhood movie star in Hong Kong; by the time he moved to the United States in 1958, he was a teen idol. Lee's own childhood idols were Elvis, James Dean and Jerry Lewis. He was so taken with Lewis that the comedian's facial expressions and body habits can be seen in the martial-arts films Lee made as an adult.

Although Lee is usually regarded as a martial-arts ascetic, the truth is different. In 1971, when he moved back to Hong Kong, he bought a floor-length mink coat, Elvis-style sunglasses and several pairs of platform shoes.

He drank sake and caroused. Hong Kong fans not only praised his kicking ability, but gossiped about his sexual prowess.

In death, Lee became not only the first genuinely international film

luminary, but the most famous Asian person of the 20th century. A theater in Iran played "Enter the Dragon" from 1973 until 1979, when Shah Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini in the Islamic revolution. By 1977, "Enter the Dragon" was one of the 20 most-profitable movies in the history of cinema. Over the years, millions of people came to regard Lee's fight scenes as virtual religious artifacts.

"We are not the sick men of Asia," Lee's screen character proclaimed in his second movie, "Fist of Fury." With this declaration, several thousand punches and kicks, and an avenging-tomcat-from-hell battle scream, Lee came to be regarded as something of a little man's messiah, not only throughout Asia, but eventually by hundreds of millions of underdogs around the world.

Among other societal movements in which Lee had a role: The post-World War II ideal of the superior Christian, Anglo-Saxon, mannerly tough guy (a la John Wayne and Rocky Marciano) was replaced in the public consciousness by the slight Lee. As millions of skinny, picked-upon folks such as myself — whether we were yellow, black, brown or white — first saw Lee on big, enveloping movie screens, we no longer felt so little, so powerless.

Today, Lee's name is recognizable everywhere on the planet. In the 1960s there were fewer than 500 martial-arts schools in the world; by the turn of the millennium, owing in large part to Lee's influence, there were more than 10 million martial-arts students in the U.S. alone.

In September 1973, I saw Bruce Lee's image on a movie screen and woke up. When I glided from that rundown movie house into the great big world, everything was different — brilliant, interesting, vivid. And it stayed that way. This wakefulness is quite a fine thing to have been given by my childhood idol.

Davis Miller is the author of "The Tao of Bruce Lee" (Vintage paperback, 2000).

Hawai'i fans say fighter influenced their lives

Before Jackie Chan and Jet Li, there was Bruce Lee.

Though he died 30 years ago, Lee remains the measuring stick for martial-arts enthusiasts. His influence spilled from the silver screen to playgrounds around the world.

"We used to make homemade 8mm movies, me and my friends," said Dale Wong, 46, of Pearl City. "We tried nunchakus — we made our own with table legs and some rope and black tape.

"I think he's the only known (martial artist) except for Jackie Chan. Jet Li might be, too, but Bruce Lee, he kind of set the trend. He was in his own class. We used to watch his movies at the old Liberty Theater."

Three decades after Lee's death, his popularity is still strong with many Hawai'i fans. We took to the streets of Chinatown, and went to Ward and Ala Moana shopping centers to find them. Here's what they had to say:

Erecson Jatico, 57, Wai'anae: "He was my favorite in my younger days. To me, he was for real. When I watched others, it wasn't the same. ... My daughters watch; we have the tapes in our house."

Pettra Stark, 54, Papakolea: "He's the real stuff. Once you watch real stuff, you can't watch the others. My kids were into it; they had nunchakus. He was Elvis ... and John Lennon. He just rates among them. How can people forget?"

Skimmer Kouch, 32, Ala Moana: "He's the king of kung fu. He started it, and nobody beat him. When I was a kid, I always pretended like I was Bruce Lee."

Jason Yee, 32, Makiki: "When you played army or whatever, you played Bruce Lee like you played any other cartoon characters. Maybe popularity-wise, Jet Li or Jackie Chan are same. (But) his movies, action and fighting back then were better than now. ... A lot of people went after his style, as far as him being Asian, coming to America, making movies, that sort of thing."

Nick Lemuell, 24, 'Ewa Beach: "You see him now on TBS. ... He was really entertaining.

"We made our own nunchakus with tree branches — wooden sticks from trees. And masking tape. ... It worked."

Joy Orion, Manoa, 26: "My brothers were really into it. They used to fight, they made the nunchakus, and (they would) move the mouth like that and say, 'You come here!' and everything."

Douglas Inouye, 43, Mililani: "I think he probably influenced us in more ways than we know.

"I heard supposedly he had to slow down his moves for the camera because he was just too fast. That's just part of the legends that made him an idol."

Yukio Shimamura, 43, Kaimuki: "We got the tapes; everyone wanted to dabble in it."

"(For nunchakus) we used broomsticks. Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, they all followed Bruce Lee's footsteps. I think Jackie Chan, oh no, wait, Jet Li is the closest. On screen, (Lee) was intense as far as his fighting. But he had a little comic edge ... like the sounds (he made)."

Joe Spatola, 51, Honolulu: "I did take some (martial arts) for a few months. Lately because of Jackie Chan, I've been thinking of taking it up again."

"Wasn't there something weird about his (Lee's) death? They think one of the masters came and did something that made his chest collapse. ...

"I don't think he (gets the recognition he deserves). I think that's what they try to show with all of these new TV specials. If it wasn't for him venturing out to America and teaching martial arts, we wouldn't know it. (What) Duke is to surfing, Bruce Lee is to martial arts."

Cindy Lau, 71, Honolulu: "He was good. My grandkids watch him on TV, but they don't know, too small. Nobody compares today. Even though he died, so many people know him."

Wayne Nyland, 42, Waikiki: "I made nunchakus. With broomsticks, a bicycle chain, and nails and black tape. I remember he died mysteriously. I think he messed with the wrong people."

Ronnie Quebral, 37, Honolulu: "He's the legend. One of the best. ... He started it all.

"I took up martial arts for two months (after seeing a Bruce Lee movie), then I stopped."

Chris Quintana, 70, Kalihi: "He wasn't a violent person, that's what he always impressed upon his students, but he could kill someone. He had a very good philosophy. ... Martial arts, you can learn it from anybody, but his philosophy of life ... it's very impressive."

Carlos Quintana, 12, Kalihi: "When he fights, he doesn't seem fake. He seems like he really knows what he's doing. Even though he's dead, he's like an inspiration (to people who do martial arts)."

Truths behind the myths

Myth: Meeting Bruce Lee, you couldn't help but be in awe of his skills.

Reality: Rick Thomas, a former mercenary in Africa, Asia and South America: "I'd known Bruce for a while. I was working in Hong Kong dubbing villains' voices in movies. I went to try out for a part (in 'Return of the Dragon'), the movie where he fought Chuck Norris. Bruce was showing me his stuff. ... I stuck my finger out and tapped him on the chest. 'Bruce, I could hit you right here,' I said, 'and both your arms would fall off.' Needless to say, I didn't get the part."

Myth: He was just an actor who made kung-fu movies.

Reality: Joe Lewis, first world heavyweight kickboxing champion: "In the late 1960s, he was light years ahead of everybody else. He had incredible attributes and he was a first-class athlete."

Myth: He was undefeated in competition.

Reality: Bruce Lee had less than a handful of real fights in his life. The most famous of these took place in Oakland, Calif., where he barely beat a skinny, inexperienced San Francisco kung-fu teacher named Wong Jack Man. (Lee chased Wong around a room, pounding the back of his head with his closed fists until they became swollen and Lee was out of breath. He then tackled Wong and sat on him until he surrendered.) That fight caused Lee to re-invent his fighting method.

Myth: He was an eager and consummate martial-arts instructor.

Reality: Jim DeMile, one of Lee's Seattle students: "He didn't like to teach. He didn't have the patience to teach. He used us to improve his own skills, which isn't the same as teaching. Some guys he kept around mostly to use as punching bags."

Myth: He was an attentive father and husband.

Reality: George Tan, documentary filmmaker and the world's premier Bruce Lee expert: "When Linda and the kids came to live with him in Hong Kong, he basically ignored them. ... He was living like a rock star, partying and having sex with whoever he wanted."