Bruce Lee, circa 1972.

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There are certain moments in life that you never forget. Oddly, I still remember the evening when as a kid I got a glimpse of Bruce Lee on the tube in Game of Death. It was the immortal scene where Lee, at all of 5′ 7″, squares-off against 7′ 2″ basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his unending Plastic Man-like reach. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the sinewy, screaming, leaping Bruce Lee– I’d never seen anything so crazy and exciting in all my short life. He seemed more full of life, energy and determination than anyone I’d ever seen– yet, I was watching a man onscreen who had already passed away. It seemed almost unbelievable that he was gone– I think that pretty much sums up the effect he had on a lot of people. He was so skilled, entertaining and charismatic that you couldn’t take your eyes off him, because if you did– you might quickly miss out on something that’s never been seen before. You were sure there was no one person in the world that could take Bruce Lee out. He seemed to be invincible onscreen– which makes his mysterious passing all the more ironic.

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Original caption from 1966– Bruce Lee, who plays Kato in ABC-TV’s Fridays, (7:30-8 P.M., EST) springs into three of the basic positions of Kung Fu, the ancient Oriental art of self-defense of which Bruce is a master.

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There’s an interesting bit about Bruce Lee’s relationship with another Hollywood icon he hung out with– Steve McQueen. Among the many stars that Bruce Lee counted as his pupils and friends (James Coburn, James Garner, etc.) none were bigger than McQueen. Obviously both were highly competitive guys, so when Bruce Lee’s star began to rise it caused notable tension between the two that almost destroyed their friendship.

Bruce Lee was quickly becoming a hot commodity and his movie deal to make the now iconic Enter the Dragon was said to be considerably more than what Steve McQueen was pulling down for his current project, Papilon. Apparently, this got McQueen’s nose out of joint. Adding fuel the fire, Bruce apparently began to brag around town that he was going to be a bigger star than McQueen– which prompted the King of cool to fire-off an autographed picture to his little buddy Lee signed– “To Bruce, my biggest fan.”

Another bit– Bruce Lee is often credited with having taught Steve McQueen Jeet Kune Do, but McQueen was actually trained in the Korean art of Tang Soo Do by 9th degree blackbelt Pat E. Johnson. Apparently McQueen was not one to be messed with– unless you wanted to be peeled like a banana. Though he refused to test for his belt (worried he might find himself at the wrong end of a lawsuit, he didn’t want his martial arts awesomeness officially documented in case he ever had to crack open a can of whoop-ass on someone), those who were around at the time say he’d easily rank at the 3rd degree black belt level. Steve McQueen’s son, Chad, took lessons from family friends Chuck Norris & Bruce Lee– an honor I’m sure he could not have fully fathomed at the time.

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Bruce Lee on the set of “The Way of The Dragon”, 1973.

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Bruce Lee and fellow martial arts legend Chuck Norris on left — Bruce Lee & actor James Coburn on right

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Steve McQueen, Bruce Lee, and Fumio Demura.

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Hollywood Actors James Coburn & Steve McQueen (in head to toe denim, topped with a Lee 101J) were pallbearers at Bruce Lee’s Seattle funeral.

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Steve McQueen straightens a plaque on the casket at Bruce Lee’s funeral, James Coburn is seen behind.

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At Bruce Lee’s funeral on Capitol Hill, Grace Lee, mother of Bruce Lee, reaches out to touch her son’s casket. At rear is an unidentified student of Lee’s, with actors Steve McQueen and James Coburn, both pallbearers at the funeral on July 31, 1973.

