Bruce Lee remembered
By Miranda Inganni
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 30-odd years, you have heard of Bruce Lee. Indeed, November 27th of 2010 would’ve been his 70th birthday.
Born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, Lee was raised in Hong Kong until he was 18 at which point he returned to the States. Tragically, Lee died 37 years ago when he was only 32. During his short life, he managed to revolutionize martial arts, star in a number of films (notably Fists of Fury, The Chinese Connection, Way of the Dragon, and Enter the Dragon) and television series The Green Hornet and Batman and inspire martial artists around the world, all the while taking care of his wife and two children. This year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival celebrated their 26th anniversary by honoring Mr. Lee in myriad ways.
April 30th kick-started things with a free outdoor screening of Lee’s classic, The Chinese Connection. On May 1st it was a one-two punch with a special showing at noon of the iconic, Enter the Dragon, followed by a panel discussion featuring actor/martial artist Bob Wall, president of Bruce Lee Enterprises (and Lee’s daughter), Shannon Lee, and filmmakers Brett Ratner and Reginald Hudlin. The festivities were round(house)ed out on May 2nd with an intimate gathering entitled "Bruce Lee: Family Man at the Director’s Guild of America." The trio of guests were Lee’s wife, Linda Lee Cadwell, daughter, the aforementioned Shannon Lee, and his goddaughter, Diana Lee Inosanto. Winston Emano magnificently moderated.
Sitting next to a large video monitor displaying a loop of family photographs, Lee’s ladies were candid and comical, relating personal stories and memories of life with Bruce. All three agreed on what an amazing man Bruce was as a family man, actor, philosopher and martial artist. While Shannon was only four years old when her father died, she clearly remembers him as an “extremely vital, playful…passionate man.” Her mother, Linda, echoed the sentiment and added that not only was she honored to be his wife, but asked what woman wouldn’t have wanted to be Mrs. Lee? Linda also made it abundantly clear that the definitive Bruce Lee movie has yet to be made, citing cinematic biographies that were ridiculously fictitious. Diana, who is older than Shannon and therefore closer to her brother Brandon’s age, reminisced about the backyard sparring between Lee and her father, Dan Inosanto (a famous martial artist and actor in his own right), fighting with Brandon for the trampoline (and getting into trouble as a result).
The conversation respectfully stayed away from the macabre or salacious tabloid fodder about Bruce’s death focusing instead on all the positive feats Lee accomplished during his life as well as the legacy he left behind. While nothing was revealed that you can’t already find in books or online, the honesty and sincerity with which Linda, Shannon and Diana spoke was refreshing and touching.
