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| Brandon Lee |
The tragic story of Bruce Lee does not end in him alone. Though he died a legend at an early age, his son Brandon Lee lost his life when he was on the cusp of stardom. Many would say that there was a curse within the Lee family. A curse that befell the men. And Brandon was to be it's last victim. It was my deep interest for Bruce Lee which led me to follow his son's career. I was actually silently rooting for Brandon to achieve the same status as what his father have achieved, but he was taken away from this world at such a ripe age of 28 years old, just when his career was starting to get an upward trajectory. His movie career started when he played bit roles in various T.V. shows and B-Movies. Most notable of them all was the T.V. Movie Kung Fu, which ironically was the T.V. show that his father helped conceptualize and was supposed to play the lead star before he was replaced by a westerner (David Carradine). That same T.V. show was what led Bruce to leave America and go to Hong Kong where he would eventually start his legendary career.
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| "Is that you my son?" |
And just like his father, Brandon would go to Hong Kong to shoot for his first major film role in the movie Legacy of Rage in which he played the lead star. This movie would also have Brandon nominated to a Hong Kong Film Award. This though would also be his only movie in Hong Kong, as he would return to America to star in an unsuccessful pilot for a new Kung Fu T.V. series. This setback would lead Brandon to do a small budget B-Movie titled Laser Mission which was cheaply shot in South Africa and released in the European Market. He would also play a villainous role in the T.V. Series Ohara (which was Pat Morita's of Karate Kid fame T.V. series).
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| The Jeet Kune Do training that never was |
Brandon's comeback to U.S. would open the door to his first big budget Hollywood film and his first major american film, the movie Showdown in Little Tokyo. He would play sidekick to 90's action star Dolph Lundgren in this movie. But unfortunately the film's studio outfit wasn't too pleased with the movie. They decided to just have the movie made straight to video in other countries and gave it a limited theatrical run in the U.S. But despite this setback, Brandon would be offered a multi picture deal with a rival studio and had his first starring role in a major american film production. That movie would be Rapid Fire.
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| "I have come home my Father." |
Rapid Fire would become Brandon's personal showcase of his father's created Martial Arts Form Jeet Kune Do. With his father's early death, Brandon would get his Jet Kune Do training from a couple of his father's closest friends. Though Brandon had stated in interviews that he has no plans to diligently follow his father's footsteps, in the movie, Brandon showed that he had a lot of promise in terms of trying to replicate the success of his father's Martial Arts Movie career. Brandon though had to endure and carry the load of being Bruce Lee's son as long as he would star in Martial Arts movies. The comparisons were inescapable.
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| Bruce and Brandon in their fight against the curse |
Brandon's quest to make a name for himself would begin in the movie The Crow (More about this Character in my next entry). A movie that he would play the lead star but unfortunately would not be able to finish. Much like his father's the Game of Death movie, Brandon would film important parts of the movie but would not be able to finish it because of a freak accident. Brandon died while filming a scene involving a gun shooting. He was gunned down but in this case, real live bullets were not removed from the gun. It hit Brandon instantly and felled him. He never woke up. This was supposed to be Brandon's kick off movie. But alas, the curse has caught him. And just like that, a once promising career of a young man was lost. For both Father and Son (Bruce died at a tender age of 32 yrs. old, while Brandon died at 28).
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| Father and Son together again |
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