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Unus Alladin

Bruce Lee’s philosophy and his incredible martial arts are well documented, but what was Hong Kong’s most famous son like as a person?
We all know Bruce Lee had a larger-than-life personality and his dynamic charisma complemented his unbelievable athleticism and breathtaking martial arts skills.
But how about his character to those closest to him?
Daughter Shannon Lee only knew her father for four years before his untimely death on July 20, 1973 but the executive producer of the HBO TV series, Warrior, had a few anecdotes about the late kung fu superstar that might surprise some of his most ardent fans.


Shannon heard stories about her father from his most loyal students; people who were closest among his innermost circle of friends and they portrayed Bruce Lee as a kind and caring man who helped his friends out whenever they were in need.
In Bruce Lee’s footsteps: how Hong Kong’s forgotten fight club helped change the game
Speaking to reporters by teleconference recently, the 50-year-old Shannon Lee talked about her father’s philosophy, charisma and legacy that made him the most fascinating of all martial artists while giving a rare insight on what the man was really like.




“I was studying jeet kune do with my father’s friend, Ted Wong. He was one of my siu fus and I remember asking him about my father that some people might not know. He said, ‘Your father really cared about people and he really always wanted to help out people and really genuinely connect with people’.

“He said, ‘Your dad one time he was asking me why I didn’t have a girlfriend, and I was saying, oh I was shy and I don’t look so good and all that. He [Bruce] said come on, he bought me some clothes and got me a haircut and he helped me work out and get in shape’.
“He was interested in people and wanted to help them be the best they could.”

Shannon Lee said her father always remembered his friends and was there for them until the end.
“He was generous. Like my father’s good friend and assistant in Oakland, James [Yimm] Lee. When he was diagnosed with cancer my father finished his book project [Wing Chun Kung Fu] and got it published so that he could have the proceeds from that for his medical bills and things.”
James Lee died from lung cancer caused by welding fumes – he was a welder by profession – only seven months before Bruce Lee’s death.

“Even though my father didn’t always have a lot of resources himself, especially earlier in life, he genuinely cared about the people around him and he wanted to help them. I think that’s something a lot of people don’t know,” Shannon said.
Rare Bruce Lee interview footage unearthed from before martial arts legend became famous
“I also think a lot of people didn’t realise how hard he worked. He worked really, really hard. When you go into the archives [California] you can see all of his writings and all the books he read and all the appointments, workouts and things he was doing, he didn’t waste time.
“He lived life to the fullest and it looked like an output of a man who was like 80 years old but only lived to be 32 and that’s because he was so alive and so engaged in creating the life he wanted to live.”

Shannon is working on Warrior, alongside The Fast & Furious director Justin Lin, who is also the creator of Warrior. The action-packed drama is set against the backdrop of the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century and centres around Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) a Chinese immigrant martial arts prodigy, who is looking for his sister.
The series is one of the many ways to honour her father’s legacy, Shannon said. A second season of the hit series, which is based on the writings of Bruce Lee, has been confirmed by Cinemax.
Warrior is now available on HBO Go. New episodes of season one premiere every Saturday at 10am on HBO Go and Cinemax


A beginner’s guide to watching Hong Kong martial arts movies, and why realism doesn’t matter

How Stephen Chow and Donnie Yen reinvented Bruce Lee’s classic Chen Zhen in their own ways

Thrilling Bruce Lee dance show explores Hong Kong star’s life and career

Bruce Lee celebrations can spur efforts to preserve his cultural legacy

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee ‘genuinely cared’ about people around him and was generous too, says daughter Shannon Lee

Executive producers Justin Lin, Shannon Lee and Jonathan Tropper promote Warrior. Photo: Shutterstock Andrew Walker

Andrew Koji as “Ah Sahm” Credit: HBO/ David Bloomer [FEATUES 2018]

Sharon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee

Justin Lin, Shannon Lee and Jonathan Trooper

This handout image shows Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (1973) [FEATURES 06FEBRUARY2017] Golden Harvest

Bruce Lee’s fitness regime and diet made him a pioneer among athletes and martial artists alike

Bruce Lee in 1971 film The Big Boss. Photo: Handout

This handout image Shows Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury 1972. [FEATURES 06FEBRUARY2017] Golden Harvest

Rare Bruce Lee interview footage unearthed from before martial arts legend became famous

Bruce Lee being interviewed by Harry Martin circa 1966.

Image of a Bruce Lee Exhibition (to mark the 45th anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee)held at Prince Edward. 19JUL18 SCMP / Winson Wong

Van Williams portrays "The Green Hornet," and the young Bruce Lee as "Kato," his Oriental sidekick houseboy-chauffer in the TV action adventure series of the late 1960s. (AP Photo/HO)

Martial arts superstar Bruce Lee’s watch sells for huge price at auction in Hong Kong

Bruce Lee’s watch and his photo circa 1972 accompanying the timepiece. Photo: phillips.com

Herb Jackson with Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son.

How Bruce Lee and street fighting in Hong Kong helped create MMA (long before it emerged as UFC)

What we now know as MMA began with organised street fights in Hong Kong. Illustration: Adolfo Arranz

In Bruce Lee’s footsteps: how Hong Kong’s forgotten fight club helped change the game

The Full Contact Boxing Association founders (left to right): James Elms, Kee Shun-wai and Kong Fu-tak. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Scot who’s taught Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do fighting style all his life on the actor’s legacy

Picture for Features, Sunday Review. Film Festivals. Way of the Dragon or "Return of the Dragon" (1972) Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced, directed by and starring Bruce Lee.

This handout image received on July 22, 2013 shows Bruce Lee, his wife Linda Lee Cadwell and children Brandon (lower L) and daughter Shannon in the 1970s, courtesy of the Bruce Lee Foundation on show at the Bruce Lee: Kung Fu . Art . Life exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Hong Kong (SCMP 01AUG13 48hrs)

Lee was known to teach multiple celebrity clients martial arts for roles in films. Above he is seen working with actress Sharon Tate and Nancy Kwan Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

Brad Pitt Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Tommy Carruthers, Jeet Kun Do practitioner, in promotional images. [23MAY2019 FEATURES]

EX04XC Sharon Tate, Actress and Model, aged 22 years old, pictured at her apartment in Belgravia, London, Friday 15th October 1965.

Scotsman Tommy Carruthers (right) has dedicated his life to keeping Lee’s jeet kune do – the original mixed martial art style – alive. Photo: Cheok Gwan Kai

Sport

Martial Arts

Kung Fu


Martial arts legend paid for one friend’s medical expenses when he was dying of cancer, and bought clothes for another pal to help him get a girlfriend
The 50-year-old executive producer of HBO TV series Warrior is proud of her father’s work and legacy



Martial arts legend paid for his friend James Lee’s medical expenses when he was dying of lung cancer, and bought clothes for Ted Wong when he was trying to find a date


Martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts in Hong Kong

Celebrity children