American actor and martial arts artist Brandon Lee (1965-1993) was more than the son of his famous father. His last film The Crow (1994), is remembered for his acting talent. During the shooting of the film, Brandon died by an accidental gunshot wound from a faulty prop revolver. In 2000, seven years after his death, he returned to the screen in a little Swedish film.
German collectors card by Bravo.
Italian postcard by World Collection, no. p.c. 418. Photo: Olympia. Brandon Lee in Rapid Fire (Dwight H. Little, 1992).
French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 709. Photo: TM and Bad Bird Productions Inc., 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
Brandon Bruce Lee was born in Oakland, California, the USA in 1965 to Martial Arts idol and film star Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Cadwell, an American of Swedish heritage. He was born on Chinese New Year's eve, the last day of the dragon. Brandon had a sister, Shannon Lee, a future opera singer.
Brandon was born with blond hair. As he aged, his hair color changed to brown. By the time he was able to walk, he was already involved in learning about martial arts from his father. In 1970-1971, the family moved to Hong Kong, and at the age of 8, Brandon was fluent in Cantonese. After Bruce Lee's untimely death in 1973, Brandon, his mother, and his sister moved to Los Angeles.
He attended Boston's Art-Oriented Emerson College in Massachusetts and studied Martial Arts and drama, like his father. In 1983, he was expelled from school because of misbehaviour but received his diploma at Miraleste High School. Having chosen an acting career, Lee took his work seriously. He studied at the Strasberg Academy, with Eric Morris in New York and in Los Angeles, and in Lynette Katselas' class in Los Angeles.
His first professional job as an actor came at age twenty when casting director Lynn Stalmaster asked him to read for a CBS television film, Kung Fu: The Movie (Richard Lang, 1986) with David Carradine. It was a spin-off of the 1970s television series Kung Fu (1972-1975).
Lee's first role in a feature film was Long zai jiang hu/Legacy of Rage (Ronny Yu, 1986), Lee's first and only Hong Kong film, and spoken in Cantonese. Dee Reid at IMDb: "Brandon Lee is in fine form here (despite never hearing his natural speaking voice), though the film itself - written and directed by Hong Kong action veteran Ronny Yu (who would later gain fame in the West with the American horror films Bride of Chucky and Freddy vs. Jason, and the martial arts epic Fearless with Jet Li) - is somewhat of a mixed bag; it's more or less a standard action film, with lots of stuff about gangsters, drugs, and John Woo-style gun-play."
Shortly after, on television, Lee played a lead in the pilot Kung Fu: The Next Generation (Tony Wharmby, 1987), and guest-starred in an episode of the television series Ohara (1988) with Pat Morita. He also starred in the B-film Laser Mission (BJ Davis, 1989) with Ernest Borgnine. In Hollywood, Brandon Lee co-starred with Dolph Lundgren in the buddy cop action film Showdown in Little Tokyo (Mark L. Lester, 1991). They play two L.A. cops with opposing views on what is the best way to uphold the law have to work together to bring down the Yakuza while trying to protect a beautiful woman (Tia Carrere).
Next, he was in Rapid Fire (Dwight H. Little, 1992) with Powers Boothe. Lee also did the fight choreography. While some critics liked the film, most felt the script was too simple, however, almost all described Lee to be charismatic, in a slick Hollywood action film. Dee Reid at IMDb: "it was a showcase for his fighting talents. Rapid Fire is decent, certainly not perfect, but very fun to watch nonetheless." Lee turned down the offer to play his father in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Rob Cohen, 1993). The role was later given to Jason Scott Lee.
British postcard. Bruce and Brandon Lee.
Dutch postcard by Film Freak Productions, Zoetermeer, no. FA 405 Photo: Crowvision Inc., 1994. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
In 1992, Brandon Lee landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in Alex Proyas' The Crow (1994), based on the comic book of the same name, which would be his final and best film. He died while filming at the age of 28, of what is to be believed, a brain hemorrhage on the set. The film crew shot a scene in which it was decided to use a gun without consent from the weapons coordinator, who had been sent home early that night.
Michael Massee, the actor portraying Funboy, was required to fire a .44 magnum revolver loaded with blanks at Lee. The revolver had been inspected days earlier for a previously filmed scene in which it was not fired but needed to be seen loaded. Dummy rounds are used for this, which have a bullet, a spent primer, but no powder. One of the dummy rounds had a bullet, a live primer, and no powder. When test-fired, the primer propelled the bullet into the barrel, where it stopped. The gun was then rechecked, but no anomalies were found because the primer was now spent and the barrel was not inspected. Then, when filming the fateful scene days later, the same gun was used with blanks. Blanks are fully charged rounds with no bullets, but there was a bullet in the barrel.
The blank round propelled it into Lee's abdomen just as if he had been shot with a live .44 magnum round. Michael Massee spent a year, devastated by what happened, deciding whether or not to return to acting. The crew only noticed when Lee was slow getting up. The doctors worked desperately for five hours, but it was no use. The bullet had lodged itself in Lee's lower spine. He was pronounced dead at 1:04 P.M. the next day.
He was supposed to marry Eliza Hutton on 17 April 1993. His body was flown to Seattle to be buried beside his father in Lake View Cemetery. Wikipedia: "With the blessing of Lee's family and very few scenes to shoot, the film was completed by re-writing the script, using early CGI technology, and stunt doubles. Released a year after, the film is known to present Mr. Lee's dramatic abilities, in which he had less of a chance to show in his previous films."
The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994) was a commercial success and is now considered a cult classic. Upon release, the film received great critical acclaim and made $50 million at the box office and was also a success overseas. Many saw parallels between Lee and his father comparing their careers as action film leading men who passed young, prior to the release of their breakthrough film, with the difference that his father demonstrated high martial arts skills, while Lee showed a strong dramatic performance.
In 2000, a new film with Lee was released, the Swedish production Sex, lögner & videovåld/Sex, Lies and Video Violence (Richard Holm, 2000). In 1992 Brandon Lee had come to Sweden to promote Rapid Fire (1992). His host, director Richard Holm, asked Lee to make a cameo appearance in this film, and he gladly agreed. The film was shot over an extended period between 1990 to 1993, but for different reasons delayed over and over again in post-production. Finally released in 2000, seven years after Lee's death, the film was dedicated to him, in the last line in the end credits.
British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. PR 755 (Series 1 set of 6). Photo: TM and Crowvision Inc., 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994). Caption: Graveside.
French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 491. Photo: TM and Crowvision, 1994. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. PR 756 (Series 1 set of 6) Collage 2. Photo: TM and Crowvision, 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
Sources: Caryn Liles (IMDb), Dee Reid (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
German collectors card by Bravo.
Italian postcard by World Collection, no. p.c. 418. Photo: Olympia. Brandon Lee in Rapid Fire (Dwight H. Little, 1992).
French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 709. Photo: TM and Bad Bird Productions Inc., 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
Born on the last day of the dragon
Brandon Bruce Lee was born in Oakland, California, the USA in 1965 to Martial Arts idol and film star Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Cadwell, an American of Swedish heritage. He was born on Chinese New Year's eve, the last day of the dragon. Brandon had a sister, Shannon Lee, a future opera singer.
Brandon was born with blond hair. As he aged, his hair color changed to brown. By the time he was able to walk, he was already involved in learning about martial arts from his father. In 1970-1971, the family moved to Hong Kong, and at the age of 8, Brandon was fluent in Cantonese. After Bruce Lee's untimely death in 1973, Brandon, his mother, and his sister moved to Los Angeles.
He attended Boston's Art-Oriented Emerson College in Massachusetts and studied Martial Arts and drama, like his father. In 1983, he was expelled from school because of misbehaviour but received his diploma at Miraleste High School. Having chosen an acting career, Lee took his work seriously. He studied at the Strasberg Academy, with Eric Morris in New York and in Los Angeles, and in Lynette Katselas' class in Los Angeles.
His first professional job as an actor came at age twenty when casting director Lynn Stalmaster asked him to read for a CBS television film, Kung Fu: The Movie (Richard Lang, 1986) with David Carradine. It was a spin-off of the 1970s television series Kung Fu (1972-1975).
Lee's first role in a feature film was Long zai jiang hu/Legacy of Rage (Ronny Yu, 1986), Lee's first and only Hong Kong film, and spoken in Cantonese. Dee Reid at IMDb: "Brandon Lee is in fine form here (despite never hearing his natural speaking voice), though the film itself - written and directed by Hong Kong action veteran Ronny Yu (who would later gain fame in the West with the American horror films Bride of Chucky and Freddy vs. Jason, and the martial arts epic Fearless with Jet Li) - is somewhat of a mixed bag; it's more or less a standard action film, with lots of stuff about gangsters, drugs, and John Woo-style gun-play."
Shortly after, on television, Lee played a lead in the pilot Kung Fu: The Next Generation (Tony Wharmby, 1987), and guest-starred in an episode of the television series Ohara (1988) with Pat Morita. He also starred in the B-film Laser Mission (BJ Davis, 1989) with Ernest Borgnine. In Hollywood, Brandon Lee co-starred with Dolph Lundgren in the buddy cop action film Showdown in Little Tokyo (Mark L. Lester, 1991). They play two L.A. cops with opposing views on what is the best way to uphold the law have to work together to bring down the Yakuza while trying to protect a beautiful woman (Tia Carrere).
Next, he was in Rapid Fire (Dwight H. Little, 1992) with Powers Boothe. Lee also did the fight choreography. While some critics liked the film, most felt the script was too simple, however, almost all described Lee to be charismatic, in a slick Hollywood action film. Dee Reid at IMDb: "it was a showcase for his fighting talents. Rapid Fire is decent, certainly not perfect, but very fun to watch nonetheless." Lee turned down the offer to play his father in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Rob Cohen, 1993). The role was later given to Jason Scott Lee.
British postcard. Bruce and Brandon Lee.
Dutch postcard by Film Freak Productions, Zoetermeer, no. FA 405 Photo: Crowvision Inc., 1994. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
His final and best film
In 1992, Brandon Lee landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in Alex Proyas' The Crow (1994), based on the comic book of the same name, which would be his final and best film. He died while filming at the age of 28, of what is to be believed, a brain hemorrhage on the set. The film crew shot a scene in which it was decided to use a gun without consent from the weapons coordinator, who had been sent home early that night.
Michael Massee, the actor portraying Funboy, was required to fire a .44 magnum revolver loaded with blanks at Lee. The revolver had been inspected days earlier for a previously filmed scene in which it was not fired but needed to be seen loaded. Dummy rounds are used for this, which have a bullet, a spent primer, but no powder. One of the dummy rounds had a bullet, a live primer, and no powder. When test-fired, the primer propelled the bullet into the barrel, where it stopped. The gun was then rechecked, but no anomalies were found because the primer was now spent and the barrel was not inspected. Then, when filming the fateful scene days later, the same gun was used with blanks. Blanks are fully charged rounds with no bullets, but there was a bullet in the barrel.
The blank round propelled it into Lee's abdomen just as if he had been shot with a live .44 magnum round. Michael Massee spent a year, devastated by what happened, deciding whether or not to return to acting. The crew only noticed when Lee was slow getting up. The doctors worked desperately for five hours, but it was no use. The bullet had lodged itself in Lee's lower spine. He was pronounced dead at 1:04 P.M. the next day.
He was supposed to marry Eliza Hutton on 17 April 1993. His body was flown to Seattle to be buried beside his father in Lake View Cemetery. Wikipedia: "With the blessing of Lee's family and very few scenes to shoot, the film was completed by re-writing the script, using early CGI technology, and stunt doubles. Released a year after, the film is known to present Mr. Lee's dramatic abilities, in which he had less of a chance to show in his previous films."
The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994) was a commercial success and is now considered a cult classic. Upon release, the film received great critical acclaim and made $50 million at the box office and was also a success overseas. Many saw parallels between Lee and his father comparing their careers as action film leading men who passed young, prior to the release of their breakthrough film, with the difference that his father demonstrated high martial arts skills, while Lee showed a strong dramatic performance.
In 2000, a new film with Lee was released, the Swedish production Sex, lögner & videovåld/Sex, Lies and Video Violence (Richard Holm, 2000). In 1992 Brandon Lee had come to Sweden to promote Rapid Fire (1992). His host, director Richard Holm, asked Lee to make a cameo appearance in this film, and he gladly agreed. The film was shot over an extended period between 1990 to 1993, but for different reasons delayed over and over again in post-production. Finally released in 2000, seven years after Lee's death, the film was dedicated to him, in the last line in the end credits.
British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. PR 755 (Series 1 set of 6). Photo: TM and Crowvision Inc., 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994). Caption: Graveside.
French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 491. Photo: TM and Crowvision, 1994. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. PR 756 (Series 1 set of 6) Collage 2. Photo: TM and Crowvision, 1996. Brandon Lee in The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994).
Sources: Caryn Liles (IMDb), Dee Reid (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
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