Bruce Lee ‘never before seen’ footage to be unveiled by Hong Kong actor and lifelong fan Stephen Au, on 50th anniversary of martial artist’s death
- Hong Kong actor Stephen Au will show the ‘only copy’ of some lost Lee scenes, among other memorabilia, in Vancouver, to mark 50 years since the star died
- Au, who is a karate black belt, explains how ‘Superman’ Lee inspired him to get into martial arts, and why Enter the Dragon is his favourite Bruce Lee film
Actor Stephen Au Kam-tong vividly remembers the morning of July 21, 1973.
“I was still sleeping and I was woken up by my eldest sister,” the 60-year-old actor recalls in a video call in Vancouver, Canada.
“She said, ‘Sai lo, sai lo [little brother] look! Bruce Lee is dead!’ I can still remember her voice was shivering. She couldn’t believe that. Nobody could believe that.”
His sister then showed him the newspaper and the headline read: “The sudden death of Bruce Lee”.
“These five Chinese characters [that made up the headline] just shocked me into silence for minutes,” Au says. “I couldn’t believe that. To me, he was not merely a hero, but a Superman in real life. Who could believe he passed away so suddenly.”
But Lee continues to be a source of inspiration and fascination, and Au has grown to appreciate his childhood hero even more.
Over the years, he has avidly collected memorabilia of the late star acquired from places like Japan and what was Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and eBay, and has written books about Lee. He is currently writing another one.
When pressed for more details about the footage, Au divulges only that he had film stills from the movie, and in the early 2000s, through his connections in the film industry, he managed to get the unseen footage, which was transferred onto DVD.
“I guess the one and only copy is in my hands,” he says proudly.
But at the time kung fu schools were associated with triad organised crime societies and his mother disapproved.
When he reflects from the moment his 10-year-old self found out Lee had died to the present day, the actor can’t believe how 50 years have passed so quickly.
“The name Bruce Lee has become an international icon of Hong Kong and Chinese [people]. He will always be remembered, respected and popular in various cultures.”