Shannon Lee remembers father Bruce Lee on 50th anniversary of his death: 'We're all just catching up to him'
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Fifty years after the untimely death of Bruce Lee, the martial arts legend's daughter, Shannon Lee, is keeping his spirit alive and reflecting on his legacy.
In a special episode of The Official Warrior Podcast — a companion piece to the Max show Warrior, which is based on an original concept by Bruce Lee — Shannon said her father was "very ahead of his time," to the point that "we're all just catching up to him" decades later.
"He had this foundation for himself of personal practice, of personal growth, of philosophy, and all of that that he implemented in his life, and it was based in principles that are timeless," she said. "Daoist principles and principles of human psychology, and how our minds work. And the thing I always say is: As hard as he exercised his body, he exercised his mind just as much. And when he had that strength of mind, the ability to quiet the mind, direct the mind to the creation of what he wanted in his life — that is the thing that I think that we all look at and go, 'Oh, he represents some kind of sense of what's possible,' and it's very invigorating and exciting."
Archive Photos/Getty Images Bruce Lee in 'Enter the Dragon'
Bruce Lee was born Lee Jun-fan in San Francisco in 1940. His family moved back to Hong Kong the next year, and he grew up cultivating his thespian and athletic skills as a child actor and martial arts student. Lee relocated to the United States in 1959, where he attended the University of Washington and began teaching martial arts.
His breakthrough role came on the 1966 TV show The Green Hornet, playing the titular hero's partner and valet, Kato.
"The thing about my father is that after Green Hornet, he was really excited about the idea of bringing his message and showing an authentic portrayal of an Asian man in Hollywood. It was his goal," Shannon said. "And because of that, he refused to take any roles that he felt were too stereotyped, or shallow in any way, which meant that there were not very many roles. So he created his own ideas."
Lee appeared on several more TV series over the next few years, including Longstreet, Batman, and Ironside. He also worked as an action choreographer on Hollywood films, including the Dean Martin movie The Wrecking Crew.
He went on to star in two Hong Kong martial arts movies, The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, that broke box office records around Asia and solidified him as an international action star in the early 1970s. He then directed, wrote, produced, and starred in another Hong Kong picture, The Way of the Dragon, in 1973. Lee's final completed film appearance came in Enter the Dragon, a American and Hong Kong co-production that was a box office hit and remains one of the most influential martial arts movies of all time.
"When you watch him on screen even today, even these movies that were done years ago, decades ago at this point, his aura and energy and performance are still so exciting," Shannon said of her father, "and it's because he had this ability to use his energy and express it out in a way that is timeless."
Bruce Lee died suddenly on July 20, 1973, after complaining of a headache, ingesting a painkiller, and taking a nap. He was 32. His death was determined to have been caused by a cerebral edema.
On the podcast, Shannon, who also serves as an executive producer on Warrior, shared two of her father's lessons that she holds dearest.
"He talked about self-actualization and researching your own experience, and really cultivating who you are. And that is something that I have needed to remind myself about," she said. "The other [lesson], I would say, is… to look within. That the answers are really within, and that when we are right on the inside, then it's much easier to be right on the outside. Don't try to create something on the outside — it never works that way."
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