Bruce Lee, the Legend Page #6

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yin and yang symbol ofjeet Kune Do.

Among the many who came to pay their

respects were friends and coworkers...

like Dan Inosanto,

Jim Kelly,

Robert Clouse

and other actors and producers.

Former students james Coburn

and Steve McQueen...

silently recalled

their memories of their master.

Bruce's mother

said her last good-byes.

And finally,

Linda and the children,

Brandon and Shannon.

Coburn, McQueen

and the other pallbearers...

throw their white gloves

on the flower-decked casket.

And at last, it was over.

Or was it?

In Hong Kong,

the inquest started.

Once again, the public

began speculating wildly...

on Betty Ting Pei's role

in Bruce's untimely death.

At that time, there was a lot of talk--

scandalous rumors about us.

I was under a lot of pressure,

but I told myself

silence is the best answer.

I treasured

Bruce's friendship very much.

That's why I've put up

with the gossip...

without saying

anything to anyone.

The experts argued

over the autopsy's results...

until the court was satisfied.

Bruce Lee had died of cerebral oedema--

swelling of the brain...

caused by hypersensitivity

to an ingredient of Equagesic,

the tablet he took

to relieve his headache.

The verdict,

death by misadventure.

Bruce has left us.

For movies,

it was the fall of a star.

For his fans, they have lost

their most-respected idol.

But most important,

his family lost the dearest one.

But for myself,

I have lost a very dear friend.

The coroner's verdict took some

of the pressure off Betty Ting Pei.

She resumed her film career.

But her subsequent evasive statements

about Bruce Lee's death...

did nothing to quell persistent

and popular rumors...

that Bruce died

while they were making love.

She became a devout Buddhist

and took to long periods of fasting.

It wasn't until 1 0 years

after the event...

that Betty Ting Pei went on Hong Kong

television and for the first time...

denied that she and Bruce

had sexual relations the day he died.

All she had done she said

was to let Bruce rest in her bed...

and gave him the painkiller

for his headache.

Letters continued to arrive

from Bruce's fans long after his death.

And there were others who saw it

as a great opportunity to be exploited.

Imitators on the screen

appeared by the score.

But there was one last

real Bruce Lee film.

He'd shot thousands of feet

of film for Game Of Death.

After his death,

a worldwide search was done...

to find someone who could double

for Bruce in the missing scenes.

Many candidates were flown

to Hong Kong for screen tests.

From the film footage

of these screen tests,

two look-alikes were finally selected

to enact the missing scenes.

To complete the film, Raymond Chow

brought back Robert Clouse,

the director who had worked with Bruce

on Enter The Dragon.

On the first day

of the recommencement of filming,

the cast and crew took part

in a simple ceremony...

offering food, wine,

and burning incense...

to the spirit of Bruce Lee.

How would you compare Enter The Dragon

with Game Of Death?

Enter The Dragon was done

about six or seven years ago...

and was...

the last picture

that Bruce made.

And then of course

now Game Of Death.

It's a very large film.

The production is large.

Most of the leading actors

are from the United States--

Hugh O'Brian,

Gig Young, Dean jagger,

Colleen Camp and so on.

They did really

very well in the film.

It's interesting because...

the film was about 1 /3 done

before Bruce died.

There's a good question

as to whether Bruce did die.

I've always been a fan of Bruce Lee's,

as millions of people have

throughout the world,

so I was very thrilled

to be in something...

which I consider

in many ways, not historical,

but to capture the footage...

that Bruce Lee had already shot

when he unfortunately died.

A traditional Chinese lion dance...

has always been a powerful means

of bringing in good fortune...

and dispelling evil spirits.

It's not so surprising

that the reworked plot...

of the prophetically titled

Game Of Death...

found room for a chase scene

through just such a spell.

Not all the action

would be Gung Fu.

Top Hollywood stunt men were brought to

Hong Kong for these exciting scenes.

- You all right, Billy?

- Yeah.

All right. Love it.

Is Billy okay? Nice one.

Many thought

it could never be done,

but in 1 97 8,

Game Of Death was completed,

and fans all over the world

could see at last...

the final work of Bruce Lee.

How do you like that?

Today his popularity

has hardly diminished.

He's still a popular feature of movie

and martial arts magazines...

of many countries.

Bruce Lee imitators

have faded into obscurity,

but perhaps a new young star

likejackie Chan...

can rise to the same heights.

A different kind of star

with his own unique style.

Hold it. Get down.

What's going on? Look out!

But even a star

like Jackie Chan...

doesn't claim

to be the new Bruce Lee.

There will never be

a new Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee is gone,

but his spirit lives on.

This is Bruce Lee - The Legend.

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