Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee in his first martial arts feature, the Hong Kong actioner, "The Big Boss" (1971).
"People have always appreciated the degree to which Bruce Lee, in his movies, was the underdog," said playwright David Henry Hwang. "And I think when those early Hong Kong movies were first starting to be shown in the U.S., you had a huge population of African Americans and Latino Americans who really embraced those martial arts movies, and felt Bruce Lee was them."
They identified with Lee -- and audiences still do, four decades after his untimely death. "The key to immortality," Bruce Lee once said, "is first living a life worth remembering."
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan
Family Photo
But after Lee got involved with street gangs in Hong Kong, his father shipped him off to America, where he would settle in Seattle.
Linda Lee Cadwell was Linda Emery in 1963 when she met Lee at the University of Washington. She described him to correspondent Anthony Mason as "a cute Chinese guy. He was dynamic. From the very first moment I met him, I thought, 'This guy is something else.'"
They would marry and have two children.
"The Green Hornet"
Bruce Lee taught martial arts classes, first in Seattle and later in Los Angeles, where his students included Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Those martial arts skills landed Lee the role of Kato on "The Green Hornet" in 1966 (left, with Van Williams).
"That was huge," said Hwang, the Tony Award-winning playwright ("M. Butterfly"). Before then, Hwang told Mason, American audiences were usually fed stereotypical Asian characters, like Charlie Chan (who was actually played by a white actor).
"Marlowe"
Writings
Bruce Lee developed a form of martial
arts called Jeet Kune Do, whose purpose, he said, was "to simplify."
He wrote, "Art is the expression of the self. The more complicated and restricted the method, the less the opportunity for expression of one's original sense of freedom. Though they play an important role in the early stage, the techniques should not be too mechanical, complex or restrictive. If we cling blindly to them, we shall eventually become bound by their limitations ...
"The highest technique is to have no technique. My technique is a result of your technique; my movement is a result of your movement."
Family
"The Big Boss"
Passed over by ABC to star in the pilot of the series, "Kung Fu" (which would star David Carradine), Bruce Lee took an offer to make a film in Hong Kong. He returned to Asia to star in "The Big Boss" (1971).
"The Big Boss"
Linda Lee Cadwell still remembers opening night in Hong Kong:
"The film was over and it was perfectly quiet for at least a minute. Perfect quiet. Bruce is like, 'Oh no. What's gonna happen?' All of a sudden, there was an uproar, cheering, clapping, raising him up on their arms, carrying him out of the theatre. They loved it. They loved him."
"Fist of Fury"
"Way of the Dragon"
"Enter the Dragon"
After his success in Hong Kong films, Warner Brothers came courting for "Enter the Dragon."
"Enter the Dragon"
"Enter the Dragon"
"Enter the Dragon"
"Enter the Dragon"
"Enter the Dragon"
Bruce Lee defeats Shih Kien (a drug trafficker and pimp with a metal hand) in "Enter the Dragon."
"Game of Death"
"Game of Death"
"Game of Death"
Gravesite
Lee's son, Brandon Lee, died in 1993 as the result of an accident on the set of the film, "The Crow."
Memorial
Mural
Flash Mob
Mural
"Kung Fu"
A new play by David Henry Hwang, "Kung Fu," about the life of Bruce Lee, recently opened at New York's Signature Theatre.
"Everybody knows him as the star and the martial arts guy with the yell," Hwang said. "But no one knows how he got there."
"Kung Fu"
Mason asked the playwright, "What part of Bruce Lee surprised you the most?"
"I began approaching Bruce Lee with the idea of him being a symbol almost, 'cause I thought, well, he is sort of the symbol of the rise of the new China," Hwang said. "And the more I got into the story, what surprised me was the degree to which he had to struggle."
"Kung Fu"
Cole Horibe plays Bruce Lee in "Kung Fu."
"It's very intimidating," Horibe told Mason. "I try not to think about the fact that I was playing this huge icon."
Horibe told Mason he grew up with motivation similar to Bruce Lee's: "His whole thing was, he wanted to show that an Oriental man can be strong and not stereotyped as comedy relief or what-not. That's a passion I share with Bruce."
The Master
For more info:
"Kung Fu" by David Henry Hwang, at the Signature Theatre, New York
All Bruce Lee images and footage courtesy of Bruce Lee, LLC. All
Rights Reserved.
BRUCE LEE is a registered trademark of Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC. The
Bruce Lee name, image, likeness and all related indicia are intellectual
property of Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan