Editing Bruce Lee (section)

=== 1971–1973: Hong Kong films, stardom, and Hollywood breakthrough ===
[[File:Bruce Lee 1973.jpg|thumb|Lee in 1971]]
In 1971, Lee appeared in four episodes of the television series ''[[Longstreet (TV series)|Longstreet]]'', written by Silliphant. Lee played Li Tsung, the martial arts instructor of the title character Mike Longstreet, played by [[James Franciscus]], and important aspects of his martial arts philosophy were written into the script.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Riste |first=Tom |date=November 18, 1971 |title=Bruce Lee's Acting adds To 'Longstreet' |volume=130 |work=Arizona Daily Star}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Riste |first=Tom |date=September 18, 1971 |title='Longstreet' Shines As New Detective Hit |volume=130 |work=Arizona Daily Star}}</ref> According to statements made by Lee, and also by [[Linda Lee Cadwell]] after Lee's death, Lee pitched a television series of his own in 1971, tentatively titled [[Warrior (TV series)|''The Warrior'']], discussions of which were confirmed by [[Warner Bros.]] During a December 9, 1971, television interview on ''[[The Pierre Berton Show]]'', Lee stated that both [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] and Warner Bros. wanted him "to be in a modernized type of a thing and that they think the Western idea is out, whereas I want to do the Western".<ref>From {{YouTube|hN8PfMdBIjw|The Pierre Berton Show}} December 9, 1971 (comments at 7:10 of part 2)</ref>

According to Cadwell, Lee's concept was retooled and renamed ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]'', but [[Warner Bros.]] gave Lee no credit.<ref>{{harvnb|Lee|1975a|p=}}</ref> Warner Bros. states that they had for some time been developing an identical concept,<ref>Bleecker, Tom (1996). Unsettled Matters. The Life & Death of Bruce Lee. Gilderoy Publications</ref> created by two writers and producers, [[Ed Spielman]] and Howard Friedlander in 1969,<ref name="The Truth about the Creation of the Kung Fu TV Series">{{cite web |title=The Truth about the Creation of the Kung Fu TV Series |date=May 20, 2019 |url=https://www.martialjournal.com/the-truth-about-the-creation-of-the-kung-fu-tv-series/ |publisher=Martial Journal |access-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130134124/https://www.martialjournal.com/the-truth-about-the-creation-of-the-kung-fu-tv-series/ |archive-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref> as stated too by Lee's biographer [[Matthew Polly]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Bruce Lee: A Life |publisher=Simon & Schuster |author=Polly, Matthew E. |year=2018 |pages=277–280, 321–327, 573–574 |isbn=978-1-5011-8762-9}}</ref> According to these sources, the reason Lee was not cast was because he had a thick accent,<ref>{{YouTube|PlYdp1BVOlw|"From Grasshopper to Caine"}}</ref> but [[Fred Weintraub]] attributes that to his ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.scribd.com/book/131190162/Bruce-Lee-Woodstock-And-Me-From-The-Man-Behind-A-Half-Century-of-Music-Movies-and-Martial-Arts |title=Bruce Lee, Woodstock And Me|access-date= March 8, 2021 |publisher=scribd.com|archive-date= May 1, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210501155033/https://www.scribd.com/book/131190162/Bruce-Lee-Woodstock-And-Me-From-The-Man-Behind-A-Half-Century-of-Music-Movies-and-Martial-Arts|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Bruce Lee, Woodstock And Me: From The Man Behind A Half-Century of Music, Movies and Martial Arts |publisher=Brooktree Canyon Press |author=Weintraub, Fred |year=2012 |pages=chapter 1 |isbn=978-0-9847152-0-6}}</ref>

The role of the [[Shaolin Kung Fu|Shaolin]] monk in the [[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]] was eventually awarded to then-non-martial artist David Carradine. In an interview with ''The Pierre Berton Show'', Lee stated he understood Warner Bros.' attitudes towards casting in the series: "They think that business-wise it is a risk. I don't blame them. If the situation were reversed, and an American star were to come to Hong Kong, and I was the man with the money, I would have my own concerns as to whether the acceptance would be there".<ref>From {{YouTube|uXOtmhA6Nvw|The Pierre Berton Show}} December 9, 1971 (comments near end of part 2 & early in part 3)</ref>

Producer Fred Weintraub had advised Lee to return to Hong Kong and make a feature film that he could showcase to executives in Hollywood.<ref>Tale of the Dragon (Channel 4), directed by [[Jess Search]]</ref> Not happy with his supporting roles in the US, Lee returned to Hong Kong. Unaware that ''[[The Green Hornet (TV series)|The Green Hornet]]'' had been played to success in Hong Kong and was unofficially referred to as "The Kato Show", he was surprised to be recognized as the star of the show.<ref name=director>{{cite AV media |date=1993 |people=Rob Cohen |title=Director's Commentary |medium=[[Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story]], DVD |publisher=[[Universal Pictures]]}}</ref> After negotiating with both [[Shaw Brothers Studio]] and [[Orange Sky Golden Harvest|Golden Harvest]], Lee signed a film contract to star in two films produced by Golden Harvest.{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=304}}

[[File:HKHM 沙田 Shatin 香港文化博物館 HK Heritage Museum Hong Kong Pop 60+ Exhibition August 2021 SS2 168.jpg|thumb|left|Poster for  ''[[Fist of Fury]]'' (1972), displayed at the [[Hong Kong Heritage Museum]]]]
Lee played his first leading role in ''[[The Big Boss]]'' (1971), which proved to be an enormous box-office success across Asia and catapulted him to instant stardom in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Bruce Lee's The Big Boss shot kung fu to the top, launched one of his trademark moves and stood up for Chinese people |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3169097/how-bruce-lees-big-boss-shot-kung-fu-top-launched-one-his |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=South China Morning Post}}</ref> He followed up with ''[[Fist of Fury]]'' (1972), which broke the box office records set previously by ''The Big Boss'', with film critic Blake Howard writing that Lee was "cresting the wave of international super-stardom."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Howard |first1=Blake |title=Fist of Fury – (laughing) |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/fist-of-fury-laughing/ |work=[[ACMI (museum)|ACMI]]|access-date=1 April 2025}}</ref> Having finished his initial two-year contract, Lee negotiated a new deal with Golden Harvest. Lee later formed his own company, [[Concord Production Inc.]], with Chow. For his third film, ''[[The Way of the Dragon]]'' (1972), he was given complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and [[Stage combat|choreographer]] of the fight scenes. In 1964, at a demonstration in [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], California, Lee met karate champion [[Chuck Norris]]. In ''The Way of the Dragon'' Lee introduced Norris to moviegoers as his opponent. Their showdown has been characterized as "one of the best fight scenes in [[martial arts film|martial arts]] and [[History of film|film history]]".<ref name="harvnb|Lee|1989">{{harvnb|Lee|1989|}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/07/us/bruce-lee-myth-vs-reality/index.html |title=New Bruce Lee bio debunks 'kung fu Jesus' myth |author=John Blake |website=CNN |date=July 7, 2018|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219081112/https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/07/us/bruce-lee-myth-vs-reality/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Fist of Fury'' and ''Way of the Dragon'' grossed an estimated {{US$|100 million}} and {{US$|130 million}} worldwide, respectively.<ref name="Way">{{cite book |last1=Krizanovich |first1=Karen |title=Infographic Guide To The Movies |date=2015 |publisher=[[Hachette UK]] |isbn=978-1-84403-762-9 |pages=18–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fniDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |access-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608112800/https://books.google.com/books?id=-fniDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |url-status=live}}</ref>

From August to October 1972, Lee began work on his fourth Golden Harvest film, ''[[Game of Death]]''. He began filming some scenes, including his fight sequence with {{convert|7|ft|2|in|cm|abbr=on}} American basketball star [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]], a former student. Production stopped in November 1972 when Warner Bros. offered Lee the opportunity to star in ''[[Enter the Dragon]]'', the first film to be produced jointly by Concord, Golden Harvest, and Warner Bros. Filming began in Hong Kong in February 1973 and was completed in April 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bruceleefansite.com/bruces-life.html |title=Bruce Lee's Life |access-date=March 14, 2020 |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218233318/http://bruceleefansite.com/bruces-life.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

One month into the filming, another production company, Starseas Motion Pictures, promoted Lee as a leading actor in ''Fist of Unicorn'', although he had merely agreed to choreograph the fight sequences in the film as a favor to his long-time friend [[Unicorn Chan]]. Lee planned to sue the production company but retained his friendship with Chan.<ref name="Thomas, B. 2003">Thomas, B. (2003) Bruce Lee Fighting Words. Berkeley: Frog Ltd.</ref> However, only a few months after the completion of ''Enter the Dragon'', and six days before its July 26, 1973, release, Lee died.<ref name="Wilson" />

''Enter the Dragon'' went on to become one of the year's highest-grossing films and cemented Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973,<ref name="Polly">{{cite book |last1=Polly |first1=Matthew |title=Bruce Lee: A Life |date=2019 |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |isbn=978-1-5011-8763-6 |page=478 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5bGWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA478 |quote=''Enter the Dragon'' struck a responsive chord across the globe. Made for a minuscule $850,000, it would gross $90 million worldwide in 1973 and go on to earn an estimated $350 million over the next forty-five years. |access-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620092030/https://books.google.com/books?id=5bGWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA478 |url-status=live}}</ref> the equivalent of $4&nbsp;million adjusted for inflation as of 2007.<ref name="bls">{{cite web |url=http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl |title=Inflation Calculator |publisher=[[Bureau of Labor Statistics]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529155647/http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl|archive-date=May 29, 2008|access-date=May 30, 2008}}</ref> ''Enter the Dragon'' is estimated to have grossed over {{US$|400 million|long=no}} worldwide,<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Wayne |title=Bruce Lee |date=2001 |publisher=Mitchell Lane Publishers |isbn=978-1-58415-066-4 |pages=30–1 |url=https://archive.org/details/bruceleereallife00wayn/page/30/mode/2up |quote=After its release, ''Enter the Dragon'' became Warner Brothers' highest grossing movie of 1973. It has earned well over $400{{nbsp}}million}}</ref> the equivalent of over {{US$|2 billion|long=no}} adjusted for inflation {{as of|2022|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Risen |first1=Clay |title=Bob Wall, Martial Arts Master Who Sparred With Bruce Lee, Dies at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/us/bob-wall-dead.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211164954/http://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/us/bob-wall-dead.html |archive-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chachowski |first1=Richard |title=The Best Kung Fu Movies Of All Time Ranked |url=https://www.looper.com/805482/the-best-kung-fu-movies-of-all-time-ranked/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |work=[[Looper.com]] |publisher=[[Static Media]] |date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421163001/https://www.looper.com/805482/the-best-kung-fu-movies-of-all-time-ranked/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The film sparked a brief [[Fads and trends|fad]] in martial arts, epitomized in songs such as "[[Kung Fu Fighting]]" and some TV shows.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}