The File

The Rumours - the unconfirmed information

Bruce Lee's death was the greatest single shock ever experienced by Hong Kong film industry. It's hard to describe the reaction on the 21st of July 1973, when everyone woke up to find that Lee had died. Almost immediately, wild rumours and speculation began to circulate concerning the circumstances of his death. The following is information I have yet or be unable to confirm.

* The most popular story printed in the Hong Kong scandal sheets after Lee's death had it that he had been killed by the American Mafia. Apparently, after The Green Hornet, the Mafia wanted to sign him to a contract to become the first Oriental star in Hollywood. Bruce refused, and that was why he had to go back to Hong Kong. Why did he die? Because he tried to move back from Hong Kong to Hollywood. Later, the rumours tied Brandon's death in with the same story. Brandon came back to Hong Kong a few times after filming Legacy Of Rage to investigate his father's death. He found out the truth, and that was why he had to die. These stories formed the basis of a number of the Bruce Lee exploitation films, including Game Of Death. However, they had been reported as "fact" by Hong Kong newspapers.

* A recurring aspect of the stories concerning Bruce's death is that he did not die in Betty Ting Pei's apartment, that he was killed elsewhere and his body moved there after his demise. Ting Pei was set up, in other words. The "Mafia story" believers say he was held at gunpoint, beaten to death and then had his body taken to Ting Pei's apartment. His face had to be heavily made up for the funeral because of the injuries he had suffered.

* Another popular story has it that Lee was having an affair with the wife of a powerful gangster boss. Bruce had been training hard, took a powerful new aphrodisiac, and then, "lost control" while they were making love. This woman didn't know how to handle it. This was in the same building as Ting Pei's apartment. After he died, as result of taking this "love potion", he was moved to Betty Ting Pei's apartment. Again, we have the idea of Ting Pei being part of a cover up.

* Raymond Chow was very smart to tell the press that Bruce died at home. It's also alleged that he paid some cash to the Hong Kong press, which is a common occurrence to this day, to suppress elements of the story. After one week, the truth came out, thanks to a very small Chinese paper, and it was a big new story: "Lee found at Ting Pei's apartment". No one ever considered that Bruce might have died elsewhere and been moved there. It might have been a secret to project another secret. No one ever checked it out.

* A lot of people in the industry place Kung Fu actor Chan Wai Man with Bruce Lee on the day of his death. They alleged that he alone knows all the facts surrounding Bruce's death, but refuses to reveal the truth. They say it was he who went to the Japanese restaurant, Gum Tin Jung, in the Miramar Hotel, on Nathan Road, where Raymond Chow and George Lazenby were waiting for Bruce, to tell them that Lee had died. The first question Raymond is said to have asked him was "How many other people are dead?" He imagined Bruce must have died in a fight, and killed some of his attackers!

* If there was a cover up, it would have been very easy to execute. In those days, before the creation of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, you could buy any medical report, any newspaper story you wanted.

* There was one persistent rumour circulating Hong Kong while Bruce was alive. It said that he had been attacked in an airport lounge by Japanese Karate men. The fight was said to have been witnessed by one of his American movie star students, maybe James Coburn. Lee is said to have slipped, because he was wearing leather shoes, and sustained a heavy kick to the back. After that, he never liked to wear leather shoes, just sports shoes. Again, I should stress that this was just a rumour.

* There haven't been any Bruce Lee ghosts stories in Hong Kong. No one has seen him in Kowloon Tong or at Golden Harvest Studios! One newspaper reporter told a story about how Bruce Lee came to him in a dream and revealed the identity of his murderer. The newspaper actually printed the name of the alleged mastermind behind Lee's death, but given that the man concerned is still alive and very influential, I don't think I'd better give his name here! Naturally, I don't attach much weight to this. At that time, if you wanted to sell your newspaper or magazine in Hong Kong, you had to come up with some special angle.

* After Bruce's death, a lot of local people congregated outside his house in Kowloon Tong. There were reporters, of course, and some old men went there for the whole day to say prayers for Bruce Lee's spirit. Some Kung Fu people, including the actor Leung Siu Lung, used to practice martial arts outside the house, to attract attention to themselves. Many people called the hospital asking them not to perform an autopsy on Bruce. They believed he was practicing some special kind of Kung Fu meditation and would wake up within seven days!

* En Route to America, Bruce Lee's coffin began to leak liquids, and had to be replaced. The Chinese press made jokes, saying that Lee had kicked the lid off!

* The press discovered that Lee's house and his Mercedes Benz were not registered in his name, but in the name of his company Concord. This was probably for tax reasons.

* After Bruce died, Golden Harvest delayed the release of Enter The Dragon. Instead they made a documentary called Bruce Lee: The Man And The Legend, and released that. It made HK$ 2.000.000, and was very cheap to make. In fact Enter The Dragon only made HK$ 4.000.000 something. The Way Of The Dragon had been much more successful.

* Documentaries, books and magazines have purported to tell the "true" story of Bruce Lee's death. As far as the people of Hong Kong are concerned, the full facts surrounding Lee's passing have never been revealed.

* Initial reports in the press and from eye witnesses claim that Lee was beaten up by several people!

* The head police officer in charge of the case into Lee's death, was paid off and suddenly left Hong Kong!

* Betty ting pei's brother was rumour to be there at the flat the night lee died.

* Chieh yuan - co star in game of death, died after he gave the details for Game of Death to a Japanese reporter, who published the article in the papers. It was the FIRST time the GAME storyline was leaked to the public, as a result he too died in VERY similar ways to Lee, swelling of the brain.

* Linda Lee relationship with Adrian Marshall began , even when Bruce was ALIVE!

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