name	James Bond
author	Ian Fleming
country	United Kingdom
language	English
subject	Spy fiction
genre	Action/Suspense
publisher	Jonathan Cape
pub date	1953–present
followed by	}}

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The fictional British Secret Service agent has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with ''Dr. No''.

After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, John Pearson wrote an authorised biography, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.

There have been 22 films in the Eon Productions series to date, the most recent of which, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from films and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.

The Eon Productions films are generally termed as "official", by fans of the series, originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the early 1960s.

Creation and inspiration

Commander James Bond, (CMG, RNVR) is an intelligence officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS; commonly known as MI6). He was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. The hero was named after the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide book ''Birds of the West Indies.'' Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said in a ''Reader's Digest'' interview, "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."

Nevertheless, news sources speculated about real spies or other covert agents after whom James Bond might have been modelled or named, such as Sidney Reilly or William Stephenson, best-known by his wartime intelligence codename of Intrepid. Although they are similar to Bond, Fleming confirmed none as the source figure, nor did Ian Fleming Publications nor any of Fleming's biographers, such as John Pearson or Andrew Lycett. Historian Keith Jeffery speculates in his authorised history of MI6, that Bond may be modelled on Fleming's close friend, Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale, a MI6 agent whose sophisticated persona and penchant for pretty women and fast cars closely matches that of Bond.

James Bond's parents are Andrew Bond, from village of Glencoe (Argyll, Scotland), and Monique Delacroix, from Yverdon (Vaud, Switzerland). Their nationalities were established in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service.'' Fleming emphasised Bond's Scottish heritage in admiration of Sean Connery's cinematic portrayal, whereas Bond's mother is named after a Swiss fiancée of Fleming's. A planned, but unwritten, novel would have portrayed Bond's mother as a Scot. Ian Fleming was a member of a prominent Scottish banking family. Although John Pearson's fictional biography of Bond gives him a birth date on 11 November (Armistice Day) 1920, the books themselves are inconsistent on the matter. In ''Casino Royale'', he is said to have bought a car in 1933 and to have been an experienced gambler before World War II. Two books later, in ''Moonraker'', he is said to be in his mid-thirties; the setting of this book can be no earlier than 1954 as it refers to the South Goodwin Lightship, which was lost in that year. There is a further reference to Bond's age in ''You Only Live Twice'', when Tanaka tells him he was born in the Year of the Rat (1924/25 or 1912/13). The books were written over a 12-year period during which Bond's age, when mentioned, thus varies, but is usually around 40. In the novel ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service,'' Bond's family motto is found to be ''Orbis non sufficit'' ("The world is not enough"). The novel also states that the family that used this motto may not necessarily be the same Bond family from which James Bond came.

After completing the manuscript for ''Casino Royale'', Fleming allowed his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read it. Plomer liked it and submitted it to Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much. Cape finally published it in 1953 on the recommendation of Fleming's older brother Peter, an established travel writer.

Most researchers agree that James Bond is a romanticised version of Ian Fleming, himself a jet-setting womaniser. Both Fleming and Bond attended the same schools, preferred the same foods (scrambled eggs and coffee), maintained the same habits (drinking, smoking, wearing short-sleeve shirts), shared the same notions of the perfect woman in looks and style, and had similar naval career paths (both rising to the rank of naval Commander). They also shared similar height, hairstyle, and eye colour. Some suggest that Bond's suave and sophisticated persona is based on that of a young Hoagy Carmichael. In ''Casino Royale'', Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in ''Moonraker'', Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking . . . Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."

Fleming did admit to being partly inspired by a story recounted to him which took place during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. The incident is depicted in ''Casino Royale,'' when Ralph Izzard finds himself involved in a card game, playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Novels and related works

Ian Fleming novels

In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel. At the time, Fleming was the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, owners of ''The Daily Express'' in London. Upon accepting the job, Fleming asked for two months' yearly vacation in his contract—time spent writing in Jamaica. Between 1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published twelve novels and one short-story collection (a second collection was published posthumously).

Fleming had long planned to become an author and whilst serving in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II he had told a friend, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." Fleming used his experiences of his espionage career and all other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing.

Casino Royale (novel)>Casino Royale''

Live and Let Die (novel)>Live and Let Die''

Moonraker (novel)>Moonraker''

Diamonds Are Forever (novel)>Diamonds Are Forever''

From Russia, with Love (novel)>From Russia, with Love''

Dr. No (novel)>Dr. No''

Goldfinger (novel)>Goldfinger''

For Your Eyes Only (short story collection)>For Your Eyes Only'' – short stories

Thunderball (novel)>Thunderball''

The Spy Who Loved Me (novel)>The Spy Who Loved Me''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (novel)>On Her Majesty's Secret Service''

You Only Live Twice (novel)>You Only Live Twice''

The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)>The Man with the Golden Gun''

*1966 ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights'' – short stories

Post-Fleming novels

After Fleming's death a continuation novel, Colonel Sun, was written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham) and published in 1968. Although a novelisations of two of the films appeared in print - ''James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''James Bond and Moonraker'', both written by screenwriter Christopher Wood - the series of novels did not continue until the 1980s.

In 1981 John Gardner, picked up the series with ''Licence Renewed'', publishing 16 books in total. Gardner moved the series into the 1980s, although retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them. In 1996, Gardner retired from writing James Bond books due to ill health and he was replaced by Raymond Benson, who was the first American author of James Bond. Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelisations, and three short stories.

In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks had been commissioned to write a new Bond novel to commemorate Fleming's 100th Birthday. The book — titled ''Devil May Care'' – was published on 27 May 2008. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. the commissioned best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver who wrote ''Carte Blanche'', which was published on May 26, 2011.

Young Bond

The ''Young Bond'' series of novels was begun in 2005, by Charlie Higson. Between 2005 and 2008 5 books were published, with the first Young Bond novel, ''SilverFin'' being released as a graphic novel on October 2, 2008 by Puffin Books.

Adaptations

Films

The Eon films

In the late 1950s, Eon Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for ''Casino Royale'' (those rights were recovered in 1999). In 1962, the first adaptation ''Dr. No'' was made, which featured Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in six more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's ''Never Say Never Again'', which was not part of the Eon series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for one film) before the latter's last Eon film Diamonds Are Forever, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for seven films), Timothy Dalton (for two films), Pierce Brosnan (for four films) and Daniel Craig (two films to 2008). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the Eon series. The 21st film, ''Casino Royale'', with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day. Notably, it is the first Bond film to have been released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Craig is ''Quantum of Solace'', which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (''For Your Eyes Only'', 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot.

In April 2010, Eon Productions suspended development of ''Bond 23'' indefinitely due to MGM's crippling debt and uncertain future. Prior to this suspension, Craig was expected to return to the franchise for a third time. On 11 January 2011, MGM sent out a press releasing announcing the 23rd Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, will be released on 9 November 2012. The press release reveals that "Sam Mendes [is] directing [the] screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan."

The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever. The 22nd and newest movie in the series, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for ''Quantum of Solace'' were almost $161 million (£103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the ''Harry Potter'' film series even when not adjusting for inflation.

Franchise Count	Title	!Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
		1962		rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"
		1963
		1964
		1965	style="text-align:center;"
			1967
		1969
		1971
		1973
		1974
		1977
		1979
		1981	rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"
	''Octopussy''	1983
		''A View to a Kill''	1985
	''The Living Daylights''	1987
	''Licence to Kill''	1989
	''GoldenEye''	1995
	''Tomorrow Never Dies''	1997
	''The World Is Not Enough''	1999
	''Die Another Day''	2002
		2006
	''Quantum of Solace''	2008
	''Bond 23''	2012
Totals	''Films 1–22''

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Non-Eon films

In 1967, ''Casino Royale'' was adapted into a spoof Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond 007 and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. David Niven, had, in fact, been Ian Fleming's preference for the part of James Bond. Eon Productions, however, chose Sean Connery. David Niven is the only James Bond actor who is mentioned by name in the text of two of Fleming's James Bond novels. In ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Bond visits an exclusive ski resort and is told that David Niven is a frequent visitor and in ''You Only Live Twice'' Kissy Suzuki mentions him as the only man who had been kind to her in her brief foray to Hollywood. Ursula Andress is also mentioned in the text of ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as being present at the ski resort.

A legal loophole allowed Kevin McClory to release a remake of ''Thunderball'' titled ''Never Say Never Again'' in 1983. The film, featuring Sean Connery as Bond, is not part of the Eon James Bond series of films because it is not part of the Bond film franchise from Eon Productions and United Artists, although it is currently owned by United Artists parent MGM. Its original theatrical release in October 1983 actually created a situation in which two Bond movies were playing in cinemas at the same time, as the Eon Bond film, ''Octopussy'' was still playing in cinemas. Since then, MGM has bought the name "James Bond", preventing a repeat of this episode.

Title	Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
	1967	David Niven
''Never Say Never Again''	1983	Sean Connery	Irvin Kershner
Totals

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Television programmes

In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming for the rights to adapt ''Casino Royale'' into a one hour television adventure as part of their ''Climax!'' series. However, Barry Nelson played a CIA agent named Jimmy Bond, Clarence Leiter was a British agent played by Michael Pate and Peter Lorre was Le Chiffre.

According to Andrew Pixley's notes to ''Danger Man'' Original soundtrack, Ian Fleming collaborated with Ralph Smart to bring James Bond to television, but dropped out taking his creation with him. Ralph Smart went on to develop ''Danger Man'' with Patrick McGoohan who would later turn down the opportunity to play James Bond.

The 1973 BBC documentary ''Omnibus: The British Hero'' featured Christopher Cazenove playing a number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond), including James Bond in dramatised scenes from ''Goldfinger'' – notably featuring the hero being threatened with the novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam — and ''Diamonds Are Forever''.

A TV cartoon series James Bond Jr. was produced in 1991 with Corey Burton in the role of the young James Bond.

Radio programmes

In 1956, Bob Holness starred in a South African radio adaptation of ''Moonraker'', making him the second actor to portray James Bond.

In 1990, a radio adaptation of ''You Only Live Twice'' was produced starring Michael Jayston.

Radio adaptations featuring Toby Stephens have been produced, with ''Dr. No'' in 2008 and ''Goldfinger'' in 2010.

Actors

Cultural impact

James Bond has long been a household name and remains a huge influence within the genre. The ''Austin Powers'' series by writer, producer and comedian Mike Myers, and other parodies such as ''Johnny English'' (2003), ''Bons baisers de Hong Kong'', ''OK Connery'', the "Flint" series starring James Coburn as Derek Flint, the "Matt Helm" movies starring Dean Martin, and ''Casino Royale'' (1967) are testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture.

The Bond series also received many homages and parodies in popular media. The 1960s TV imitations of James Bond such as ''I Spy'', ''Get Smart'', ''Charles Vine'', ''Matt Helm'' and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' went on to become popular successes in their own right, the last having enjoyed contributions by Fleming towards its creation: the show's lead character, "Napoleon Solo", was named after a character in Fleming's novel ''Goldfinger''; Fleming also suggested the character name April Dancer, which was later used in the spin-off series ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' A reunion television movie, ''The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1983), is notable for featuring a cameo by George Lazenby as James Bond in tribute to Fleming (for legal reasons, the character was credited as "JB").

George Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond was one of the primary inspirations for the Indiana Jones character, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in the third film of that series.

His association with Aston Martin sports cars has helped further boost the brand's already strong image and popularity since Bond (then played by Sean Connery) first drove an Aston Martin in Goldfinger in 1964. A poll by Lloyds TSB in September 2010 revealed that Aston Martin was the most desired brand of "dream" car in Britain.

Music

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The "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's ''Dr. No'', although the actual authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for many years. In 2001, Norman won £30,000 in libel damages from the British paper ''The Sunday Times'', which suggested that Barry was entirely responsible for the composition.

Barry did go on to compose the scores for eleven Bond films in addition to his uncredited contribution to ''Dr. No'', and is credited with the creation of "007", used as an alternate Bond theme in several films, as well as the popular orchestrated theme "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Both the "James Bond Theme" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" have been remixed a number of times by popular artists, including Art of Noise, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and the Propellerheads. The Beatles used a portion of the "Bond theme" in the introduction of their song "Help" as released on the American version of the "Help" LP. The British/Australian string quartet also named bond (purposely in lower case) recorded their own version of the theme, entitled "Bond on Bond."

Barry's legacy was followed by David Arnold, in addition to other well-known composers such as Chris Minear and Corbin Ott and record producers such as George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch and Éric Serra. Arnold is the series' current composer of choice and composed the score for the 22nd Bond film, ''Quantum of Solace''.

A Bond film staple are the theme songs heard during their title sequences sung by well-known popular singers (which have included Tina Turner, Paul McCartney and Wings, Sheryl Crow and Tom Jones, among many others). Shirley Bassey performed three themes in total. After ''Doctor No'', ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' is the only Bond film with a solely instrumental theme, though Louis Armstrong's ballad "We Have All the Time in the World", which serves as Bond and his wife Tracy's love song and whose title is Bond's last line in the film, is considered the unofficial theme. Likewise, although the credit sequence to ''From Russia with Love'' features an instrumental version of the film's theme, another version, with lyrics sung by Matt Monro, can be partially heard within the film itself, and is featured on the film's soundtrack album.

The themes usually share their names with their film. "Nobody Does It Better", the theme for ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', was the first Bond theme not to share its title with that of the movie, although the words "the spy who loved me" do appear in the lyrics. The song is featured in both credit sequences of the film, and in orchestral form throughout. "Nobody Does It Better" was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Original Song" of 1977, but lost to the theme song to ''You Light Up My Life''. Hamlisch's score for the film was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost to John Williams' score for ''Star Wars''.

The only other Bond themes to be nominated for an Academy Award for best song are "Live and Let Die", written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by their band Wings, and "For Your Eyes Only", written by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson and performed by Sheena Easton, though a few of John Barry's scores have been nominated.

The only Bond theme to reach number one on the pop charts in the U.S. was Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill".

The only singer, to date, to appear within a title sequence is Sheena Easton during ''For Your Eyes Only''. The only singer of a title song to appear as a character within the film itself, to date, is Madonna, who appeared (uncredited) as fencing instructor Verity, as well as contributing the theme for ''Die Another Day''. The title sequence in ''Die Another Day'' is notable, however, for being the only one in which the visuals actually serve to further the plot of the film itself, as opposed to being merely a montage or collage of abstract images related to the film or to the larger James Bond mythos.

The theme song from ''Quantum of Solace'' is Alicia Keys and Jack White's "Another Way to Die", which is the first James Bond theme song to be a duet. It is also the fourth theme song not to reference the name of the movie in its lyrics.

In 1998, Barry's music from ''You Only Live Twice'' was adapted into the hit song "Millennium" by producer and composer Guy Chambers for British recording artist Robbie Williams. The music video features Williams parodying James Bond, and references other Bond films such as ''Thunderball'' and ''From Russia with Love''. It should also be noted that the video was filmed at Pinewood Studios, where most of the Bond films have been made.

In 2004 the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps won the Drum Corps International World Championship with "007," using the music of James Bond as composed by David Arnold. The Cavaliers performed selections from ''GoldenEye'', ''Die Another Day'' ("Hovercraft Theme" and "Welcome to Cuba"), and ''Tomorrow Never Dies''.

Burt Bacharach's score for 1967's ''Casino Royale'' included "The Look Of Love", nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, has become a standard for its era, with the biggest-selling version recorded by Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 (#4 on the Billboard pop charts in 1968). It was heard again in ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', which was to a degree inspired by ''Casino Royale''.

Video games

In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker Brothers, was released for the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, the Atari 800, the Commodore 64, and the ColecoVision. Since then, there have been numerous video games either based on the films or using original storylines.

Bond video games, however, did not reach their popular stride until 1997's revolutionary ''GoldenEye 007'' by Rare for the Nintendo 64. Subsequently, virtually every Bond video game has attempted to copy the accomplishments and features of ''GoldenEye 007'' to varying degrees of success; even going so far as to have a game entitled ''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'' that had little to do with either the video game ''GoldenEye 007'' or the film of the same name. Bond himself plays only a minor role in which he is "killed" in the beginning during a 'virtual reality' mission, which served as the first level of the game.

Since acquiring the licence in 1999, Electronic Arts has released eight games, five of which have original stories, including the popular ''Everything or Nothing'', which broke away from the first-person shooter trend that started with ''GoldenEye 007'' (including the games "Agent Under Fire" and "Nightfire") and instead featured a third-person perspective. It also featured well known actors including Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, John Cleese and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, although several previous games have used Brosnan's likeness as Bond. In 2005, Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of ''From Russia with Love'', another game in the same vein as ''Everything or Nothing''. This was the second game based on a Connery Bond film (the first was a 1980s text adventure adaptation of ''Goldfinger'') and the first to allow the player to play as Bond with the likeness of Sean Connery. Connery himself recorded new voice-overs for the game, the first time the actor had played Bond in twenty-two years.

In 2006, Activision secured the licence to make Bond-related games, briefly sharing but effectively taking over the licence from EA. The deal became exclusive to Activision in September 2007. Activision studio Treyarch has released the new James Bond game "Quantum of Solace" a movie tie in of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" it (not unlike "Goldeneye 007") is a first person shooter and it does include a new 'dashing to cover' and 'cover fire' third person game play.

In relation to the twenty-first film in the series Sony Ericsson released a Casino Royale edition of their K800i mobile phone. In this edition, a Java ME game loosely based on the movie was included. Vodafone has also published a game for the same platform called ''007: Hoverchase'' and developed by IOMO.

Activision released a reimagining of the N64 ''GoldenEye 007'', which was released for the Wii and DS in 2010. A number of changes are present in the game, most notable being Daniel Craig playing Bond, rather than Pierce Brosnan, who was Bond in the original game, and the film.

Comic strips and comic books

In 1957 the ''Daily Express'', a newspaper owned by Lord Beaverbrook, approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips. After initial reluctance by Fleming who felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing, agreed and the first strip ''Casino Royale'' was published in 1958. Since then many illustrated adventures of James Bond have been published, including every Ian Fleming novel as well as Kingsley Amis's ''Colonel Sun'', and most of Fleming's short stories. Later, the comic strip produced original stories, continuing until 1983.

Titan Books is presently reprinting these comic strips in an ongoing series of graphic novel-style collections; by the end of 2005 it had completed reprinting all Fleming-based adaptations as well as ''Colonel Sun'' and had moved on to reprinting original stories.

Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years, as well as numerous original stories.

Most recently, a thinly veiled version of Bond (called only "Jimmy" to avoid copyright issues) appeared in ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier''. In this story, Bond is the villain; he chases the heroic duo of Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain across London, aided by disguised versions of Bulldog Drummond ("Hugo Drummond") and Emma Peel ("Miss Night"). Jimmy is portrayed as an unpleasant incompetent servant of the US who only pretends to work with Britain.

Characters

The James Bond series of novels and films have a plethora of allies and villains. Bond's superiors and other officers of the British Secret Service are known by letters, such as M and Q. In the novels, Bond has employed two secretaries, Loelia Ponsonby and Mary Goodnight, who in the films typically have their roles and lines transferred to M's secretary, Miss Moneypenny. Occasionally Bond is assigned to work a case with his good friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter.

Throughout both the novels and the films there have only been a handful of recurring characters. Some of the more memorable ones include Bill Tanner, Rene Mathis, Jack Wade, Jaws and recently Charles Robinson. J.W. Pepper is also a recurring character.

Vehicles and gadgets

Exotic espionage equipment and vehicles are very popular elements of James Bond's literary and cinematic missions. These items often prove critically important to Bond in successfully completing his missions.

Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal equipment such as the booby-trapped attaché case in ''From Russia with Love''. In ''Dr. No'', Bond's sole gadgets were a Geiger counter and a wristwatch with a luminous (and radioactive) face. The gadgets, however, assumed a higher profile in the 1964 film ''Goldfinger''. The film's success encouraged further espionage equipment from Q Branch to be supplied to Bond. In the opinion of critics, some Bond films have included too many gadgets and vehicles, such as 1979's science fiction-oriented ''Moonraker'' and 2002's ''Die Another Day''.

James Bond's cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, V8 Vantage (80s), V12 Vanquish and DBS (00s); the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in ''Goldfinger''; it later features in ''Thunderball'', ''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', and ''Casino Royale''. The films have used a number of different Aston Martin DB5s for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 to an unnamed European collector. That specific car was originally sold for £5,000 in 1970.

In Fleming's books, Bond had a penchant for "battleship grey" Bentleys, while Gardner awarded the agent a modified Saab 900 Turbo (nicknamed the Silver Beast) and later a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.

In the James Bond film adaptations, Bond has been associated with several well-known watches, usually outfitted with high-tech features not found on production models. The Rolex Submariner, one of the few recurring models, was worn by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton's versions of James Bond. Roger Moore also sported a number of digital watches by Pulsar and Seiko. Pierce Brosnan's and Daniel Craig's James Bonds were both devotees of the Omega Seamaster. The selection of James Bond's watch has been a matter of both style and finance, as product placement agreements with the watch manufacturers have frequently been arranged.

Bond's weapon of choice in the beginning of ''Dr. No'' is an Italian-made Beretta 418 .25 calibre, later replaced by the German-made Walther PPK, chambered in 7.65 mm (a peculiar choice, as Valentin Zukovsky remarks in ''GoldenEye'': the PPK as found in the U.S. and Western Europe is most commonly chambered in .380 ACP). The PPK was used in every subsequent film and became his signature weapon until the ending of ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', when Bond upgraded to the Walther P99. He has subsequently used the P99 pistol in ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', ''The World Is Not Enough'', ''Die Another Day'', and ''Casino Royale''. Strangely, Bond resumed use of the PPK in ''Quantum of Solace'', the direct sequel of ''Casino Royale''.

See also

Shaken, not stirred

Sir Fitzroy MacLean, 1st Baronet

The Battle for Bond

9007 James Bond Asteroid named after the character

References

External links

; Official sites:

James Bond Official Website

Ian Fleming Publications Official Website

Young Bond Official Website

Pinewood Studios – home of Bond

Pinewood Studios Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage Official Website

Ian Fleming's 'Red Indians' – 30AU – Literary James Bond's Wartime unit

;Unofficial sites:

007James – The Site's Bond, James Bond

MI6 – The Home of James Bond

Licensed to Kill – The fan compendium

Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century Category:Fictional Scottish people Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Media franchises Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1953

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Name	Bruce Lee
Tradchinesename
Simpchinesename	李小龙
Pinyinchinesename	Lǐ Xiǎolóng
Jyutpingchinesename	Lei5 Siu2 Lung4
Birth name	Lee Jun-fan李振藩 (Traditional)李振藩 (Simplified)Lǐ Zhènfān (Mandarin)Lei5 Jun3 Faan4 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Shunde, Guangdong, China
Origin	Hong Kong
Birth date	November 27, 1940
Birth place	San Francisco Chinese Hospital Chinatown, San Francisco
Death date	July 20, 1973
Death place	Kowloon Tong, HK
Restingplace	Seattle, Washington, USA
Restingplacecoordinates	Lakeview Cemetery
Occupation	Martial arts instructor, actor, philosopher, film director, screenwriter, and martial arts founder
Yearsactive	1941–73
Spouse	Linda Emery (1964–73)
Children	Brandon Lee (1965–93) Shannon Lee (born 1969)
Parents	Lee Hoi-chuen (1901–65) Grace Ho (1907–96)
Website	Bruce Lee FoundationBruce Lee official website
Hongkongfilmwards	Lifetime Achievement Award1994
goldenhorseawards	Best Mandarin Film1972 ''Fist of Fury''Special Jury Award1972 ''Fist of Fury'' }}

Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement. He is widely considered by many commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist, and a cultural icon.

Lee was born in San Francisco to parents of Hong Kong heritage but was raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. Lee emigrated to the United States at the age of 18 to claim his U.S. citizenship and receive his higher education. It was during this time that he began teaching martial arts, which soon led to film and television roles.

His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, as well. He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films: Lo Wei's ''The Big Boss'' (1971) and ''Fist of Fury'' (1972); ''Way of the Dragon'' (1972), directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers' ''Enter the Dragon'' (1973), directed by Robert Clouse; and ''The Game of Death'' (1978), directed by Robert Clouse.

Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films. He initially trained in Wing Chun, but he later rejected well-defined martial art styles, favouring instead to utilise useful techniques from various sources in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist).

Early life

Lee was born on 27 November 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in Chinatown, San Francisco. His father, Lee Hoi-chuen was fully Chinese, and his mother, Grace Ho (何愛瑜) was half Chinese and half Caucasian. Lee was the fourth child of five children: Agnes, Phoebe, Peter, and Robert. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old.

Names

Lee's Cantonese birth name was ''Lee Jun-fan'' (李振藩). The name homophonically means "return again"; it was given to Lee by his mother, who felt he would return to the United States once he came of age. Because of his mother's superstitious nature, she originally named him ''Sai-fon'' (細鳳), which is a feminine name meaning "small phoenix". The English name "Bruce" was thought to be given by the hospital attending physician, Dr. Mary Glover.

Lee had three other Chinese names: Li Yuanxin (李源鑫), a family/clan name; Li Yuanjian (李元鑒), as a student name while he was attending La Salle College, and his Chinese screen name Li Xiaolong (李小龍; ''Xiaolong'' means "little dragon"). Lee's given name Jun-fan was originally written in Chinese as 震藩, however, the ''Jun'' (震) Chinese character was identical to part of his grandfather's name, Lee Jun-biu (李震彪). Hence, the Chinese character for ''Jun'' in Lee's name was changed to the homonym 振 instead, to avoid naming taboo in Chinese tradition.

Family

Lee's father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was one of the leading Cantonese opera and film actors at the time, and was embarking on a year-long Cantonese opera tour with his family on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. Lee Hoi-chuen had been touring the United States for many years and performing at numerous Chinese communities there.

Although a number of his peers decided to stay in the United States, Lee Hoi-chuen decided to go back to Hong Kong after his wife gave birth to Bruce Lee. Within months, Hong Kong was invaded and the Lees lived for three years and eight months under Japanese occupation. After the war ended, Lee Hoi-chuen resumed his acting career and became a more popular actor during Hong Kong's rebuilding years.

Lee's mother, Grace Ho, was from one of the wealthiest and most powerful clans in Hong Kong, the Ho-tungs. She was the niece of Sir Robert Ho-tung, of Eurasian descent and patriarch of the clan. As such, the young Bruce Lee grew up in an affluent and privileged environment. Despite this advantage of his family's status, the Hong Kong neighbourhood Lee grew up in became over-crowded, dangerous, and full of gang rivalries because of the mass number of people fleeing communist China to Hong Kong, :

After being involved in several street fights, Lee's parents decided that he needed to be trained in the martial arts. Lee's first introduction to martial arts was through his father. He learned the fundamentals of Wu style tai chi chuan from his father.

Wing Chun

The largest influence on Lee's martial arts development was his study of Wing Chun. Lee began training in Wing Chun at the age of 13 under the Wing Chun teacher Yip Man in 1954, after losing a fight with rival gang members. Yip's regular classes generally consisted of the forms practice, ''chi sao'' (sticking hands) drills, wooden dummy techniques, and free-sparring. There was no set pattern to the classes. Yip tried to keep his students from fighting in the street gangs of Hong Kong by encouraging them to fight in organised competitions.

After a year into his Wing Chun training, most of Yip Man's other students refused to train with Lee after they learnt of his ancestry (his mother was half Chinese and half Caucasian) as the Chinese generally were against teaching their martial arts techniques to non-Asians. Lee's sparring partner, Hawkins Cheung states, "Probably fewer than six people in the whole Wing Chun clan were personally taught, or even partly taught, by Yip Man". However, Lee showed a keen interest in Wing Chun, and continued to train privately with Yip Man and Wong Shun Leung in 1955.

Leaving Hong Kong

After attending Tak Sun School (德信學校) (a couple of blocks from his home at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon), Lee entered the primary school division of La Salle College in 1950 or 1952 (at the age of 12). In around 1956, due to poor academic performance (or possibly poor conduct as well), he was transferred to St. Francis Xavier's College (high school) where he would be mentored by Brother Edward, a teacher and coach of the school boxing team.

In the spring of 1959, Lee got into yet another street fight and the police were called. From all the way to his late teens, Lee's street fights became more frequent and included beating up the son of a feared triad family. Eventually, Lee's father decided for him to leave Hong Kong to pursue a safer and healthier avenue in the United States. His parents confirmed the police's fear that this time Lee's opponent had an organised crime background, and there was the possibility that a contract was out for his life.

In April 1959, Lee's parents decided to send him to the United States to stay with his older sister, Agnes Lee (李秋鳳), who was already living with family friends in San Francisco.

New life in America

At the age of 18, Lee returned to the United States with $100 in his pocket and the titles of 1957 High School Boxing Champion and 1958 Crown colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. After living in San Francisco for several months, he moved to Seattle in 1959, to continue his high school education, where he also worked for Ruby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restaurant.

Chow's husband was a co-worker and friend of Lee's father. Lee's older brother Peter Lee (李忠琛) would also join him in Seattle for a short stay before moving on to Minnesota to attend college. In December 1960, Lee completed his high school education and received his diploma from Edison Technical School (now Seattle Central Community College, located on Capitol Hill, Seattle).

In March 1961, Lee enrolled at the University of Washington, majoring in drama according to the university's alumni association information, not in philosophy as claimed by Lee himself and many others. Lee also studied philosophy, psychology, and various other subjects. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife Linda Emery, a fellow student studying to become a teacher, whom he married in August 1964.

Lee had two children with Linda Emery, Brandon Lee (1965–93) and Shannon Lee (b. 1969).

Jun Fan Gung Fu

Lee began teaching martial arts in the United States in 1959. He called what he taught Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce Lee's Kung Fu). It was basically his approach to Wing Chun. Lee taught friends he met in Seattle, starting with Judo practitioner Jesse Glover, who later became his first assistant instructor. Lee opened his first martial arts school, named the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, in Seattle.

Lee dropped out of college in the spring of 1964 and moved to Oakland to live with James Yimm Lee (嚴鏡海). James Lee was twenty years senior to Bruce Lee and a well known Chinese martial artist in the area. Together, they founded the second Jun Fan martial art studio in Oakland. James Lee was also responsible for introducing Bruce Lee to Ed Parker, royalty of the U.S. martial arts world and organiser of the Long Beach International Karate Championships at which Bruce Lee was later "discovered" by Hollywood.

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do originated in 1967. After filming one season of ''The Green Hornet'', Lee found himself out of work and opened The Jun Fan Institute of Gung Fu. A controversial match with Wong Jack Man influenced Lee's philosophy about martial arts. Lee concluded that the fight had lasted too long and that he had failed to live up to his potential using his Wing Chun techniques. He took the view that traditional martial arts techniques were too rigid and formalistic to be practical in scenarios of chaotic street fighting. Lee decided to develop a system with an emphasis on "practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency". He started to use different methods of training such as weight training for strength, running for endurance, stretching for flexibility, and many others which he constantly adapted, including fencing and basic boxing techniques.

Lee emphasised what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of getting rid of the formalised approach which Lee claimed was indicative of traditional styles. Lee felt the system he now called Jun Fan Gung Fu was even too restrictive, and eventually evolved into a philosophy and martial art he would come to call ''Jeet Kune Do'' or the ''Way of the Intercepting Fist.'' It is a term he would later regret because Jeet Kune Do implied specific parameters that styles connote whereas the idea of his martial art was to exist outside of parameters and limitations.

Long Beach International Karate Championships

At the invitation of Ed Parker, Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed repetitions of two-finger push-ups (using the thumb and the index finger of one hand) with feet at approximately a shoulder-width apart. In the same Long Beach event he also performed the "One inch punch", the description of which is as follows: Lee stood upright, his right foot forward with knees bent slightly, in front of a standing, stationary partner. Lee's right arm was partly extended and his right fist approximately an inch away from the partner's chest. Without retracting his right arm, Lee then forcibly delivered the punch to his partner while largely maintaining his posture, sending the partner backwards and falling into a chair said to be placed behind the partner to prevent injury, though his partner's momentum soon caused him to fall to the floor. His volunteer was Bob Baker of Stockton, California. "I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again", Baker recalled. "When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable".

It was at the 1964 championships where Lee first met Taekwondo master Jhoon Goo Rhee. The two developed a friendship – a relationship from which they benefited as martial artists. Rhee taught Lee the side kick in detail, and Lee taught Rhee the "non-telegraphic" punch.

Lee appeared at the 1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed various demonstrations, including the famous "unstoppable punch" against USKA world Karate champion Vic Moore. Lee told Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to the face, and all he had to do was to try and block it. Lee took several steps back and asked if Moore was ready, when Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee glided towards him until he was within striking range. He then threw a straight punch directly at Moore's face, and stopped before impact. In eight attempts, Moore failed to block any of the punches.

Fight history

Lee was involved in competitive fights, some of which were arranged while others were not. Dan Inosanto stated, "There's no doubt in my mind that if Bruce Lee had gone into pro boxing, he could easily have ranked in the top three in the lightweight division or junior-welterweight division".

Lee defeated three-time champion British boxer Gary Elms by way of knockout in the third round in the 1958 Hong Kong Inter-School amateur Boxing Championships by using Wing Chun traps and high/low-level straight punches.

The following year, Lee became a member of the "Tigers of Junction Street," and was involved in numerous gang-related street fights. "In one of his last encounters, while removing his jacket the fellow he was squaring off against sucker punched him and blackened his eye. Bruce flew into a rage and went after him, knocking him out, breaking his opponent's arm. The police were called as a result". The incident took place on a Hong Kong rooftop at 10 pm on Wednesday, 29 April 1959.

In 1962, Lee knocked out Uechi, a Japanese black belt Karateka, in 11 seconds in a 1962 Full-Contact match in Seattle. It was refereed by Jesse Glover. The incident took place in Seattle at a YMCA handball court. Taki Kamura says the battle lasted 10 seconds in contrary to Hart's statement. Ed Hart states "The karate man arrived in his gi (uniform), complete with black belt, while Bruce showed up in his street clothes and simply took off his shoes. The fight lasted exactly 11 seconds – I know because I was the time keeper – and Bruce had hit the guy something like 15 times and kicked him once. I thought he'd killed him".

In Oakland, California in 1964 at Chinatown, Lee had a controversial private match with Wong Jack Man, a direct student of Ma Kin Fung known for his mastery of Xingyiquan, Northern Shaolin, and Tai chi chuan. According to Lee, the Chinese community issued an ultimatum to him to stop teaching non-Chinese; when he refused to comply he was challenged to a combat match with Wong, the arrangement being that if Lee lost he would have to shut down his school while if he won then Lee would be free to teach Caucasians or anyone else. Wong denies this, stating that he requested to fight Lee after Lee issued an open challenge during one of Lee's demonstrations at a Chinatown theatre, and that Wong himself did not discriminate against Caucasians or other non-Chinese. Lee commented, "That paper had all the names of the sifu from Chinatown, but they don't scare me".

Individuals known to have witnessed the match included Cadwell, James Lee (Bruce Lee's associate, no relation) and William Chen, a teacher of Tai chi chuan. Wong and witness William Chen stated that the fight lasted an unusually long 20–25 minutes. According to Bruce Lee, Linda Lee Cadwell, and James Yimm Lee, the fight lasted 3 minutes with a decisive victory for Bruce. "The fight ensued, it was a no holds barred fight, it took three minutes. Bruce got this guy down to the ground and said 'do you give up?' and the man said he gave up" – Linda Lee Cadwell.

Wong Jack Man published his own account of the battle in the Chinese ''Pacific Weekly'', a Chinese-language newspaper in San Francisco, which contained another challenge to Lee for a public rematch. Lee had no reciprocation to Wong's article nor were there any further public announcements by either, but Lee had continued to teach Caucasians.

Lee's eventual celebrity put him in the path of a number of men who sought to make a name for themselves by causing a confrontation with Lee. A challenger had invaded Lee's private home in Hong Kong by trespassing into the backyard to incite Lee in combat. Lee finished the challenger violently with a kick, infuriated over the home invasion. Describing the incident, Herb Jackson states,

Bob Wall, USPK karate champion and Lee's co-star in ''Enter the Dragon'', recalled one encounter that transpired after a film extra kept taunting Lee. The extra yelled that Lee was "a movie star, not a martial artist," that he "wasn't much of a fighter". Lee answered his taunts by asking him to jump down from the wall he was sitting on. Wall described Lee's opponent as "a gang-banger type of guy from Hong Kong," a "damned good martial artist," and observed that he was fast, strong, and bigger than Bruce.

Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn't touch him...then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass with the wall and swept him up, proceeding to drop him and plant his knee into his opponent's chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him in the face repeatedly". – Bob Wall}}

Acting career

Lee's father Lee Hoi-chuen was a famous Cantonese opera star; because of this, Lee was introduced into films at a very young age and appeared in several short black-and-white films as a child. Lee had his first role as a baby who was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.

While in the United States from 1959 to 1964, Lee abandoned thoughts of a film career in favour of pursuing martial arts. However, a martial arts exhibition on Long Beach in 1964 eventually led to the invitation by William Dozier for an audition for a part in the pilot for Number One Son. The show never aired, but Lee was invited for the role of Kato alongside Van Williams in the TV series ''The Green Hornet''. The show lasted just one season, from 1966 to 1967. Lee also played Kato in three crossover episodes of ''Batman''. This was followed by guest appearances in three television series: ''Ironside'' (1967), ''Here Come the Brides'' (1969), and ''Blondie'' (1969).

At the time, two of Lee's martial arts students were Hollywood script writer Stirling Silliphant and actor James Coburn. In 1969 the three worked on a script for a film called ''The Silent Flute'' and went together on a location hunt to India. The project was not at realised at the time, but the 1978 film ''Circle of Iron'' starring David Carradine was based on the same plot. In 2010, producer Paul Maslansky was reported to plan and receive fundings for a film based on the original script for ''The Silent Flute''. In 1969, Lee made a brief appearance in the Silliphant penned film ''Marlowe'' where he played a henchman hired to intimidate private detective Philip Marlowe (played by James Garner) by smashing up his office with leaping kicks and flashing punches, only to later accidentally jump off a tall building while trying to kick Marlowe off. The same year he also choreographed fight scenes for ''The Wrecking Crew'' starring Dean Martin, Sharon Tate and featuring Chuck Norris in his first role. In 1970, he was responsible for fight choreography for ''A Walk in the Spring Rain'' starring Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn, again written by Silliphant. In 1971, Lee appeared in four episodes of the television series ''Longstreet'' written by Silliphant. Lee played 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.

According to statements made by Lee, and also by Linda Lee Cadwell after Lee's death, in 1971 Lee pitched a television series of his own tentatively titled ''The Warrior'', discussions which were also confirmed by Warner Bros. In a 9 December 1971 television interview on ''The Pierre Berton Show'', Lee stated that both Paramount and Warner Brothers 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". According to Cadwell, however, Lee's concept was retooled and renamed ''Kung Fu'', but Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit. Warner Brothers states that they had for some time been developing an identical concept, created by two writers and producers, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander. According to these sources, the reason Lee was not cast was in part because of his ethnicity but more so because he had a thick accent. The role of the Shaolin monk in the Wild West, was eventually awarded to then-non-martial-artist David Carradine. In ''The Pierre Berton Show'' interview, Lee stated he understood Warner Brothers' 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".

Producer Fred Weintraub had advised Lee to return to Hong Kong and make a feature film which he could showcase to executives in Hollywood. Not happy with his supporting roles in the United States., Lee returned to Hong Kong. Unaware that ''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 recognised on the street as the star of the show. After negotiating with both Shaw Brothers Studio and Golden Harvest, Lee signed a film contract to star in two films produced by Golden Harvest. 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 stardom. He soon followed up with ''Fist of Fury'' (1972) which broke the box office records set previously by ''The Big Boss''. Having finished his initial two-year contract, Lee negotiated a new deal with Golden Harvest. Lee later formed his own company Concord Productions Inc. (協和電影公司) with Chow. For his third film, ''Way of the Dragon'' (1972), he was given complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and choreographer of the fight scenes. In 1964, at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee had met Karate champion Chuck Norris. In ''Way of the Dragon'' Lee introduced Norris to moviegoers as his opponent in the final death fight at the Colosseum in Rome, today considered one of Lee's most legendary fight scenes and one of the most memorable fight scenes in martial arts film history. The role was originally offered to American Karate champion Joe Lewis.

In late 1972, Lee began work on his fourth Golden Harvest Film, ''Game of Death''. He began filming some scenes including his fight sequence with 7'2" American Basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a former student. Production was stopped when Warner Brothers offered Lee the opportunity to star in ''Enter the Dragon'', the first film to be produced jointly by Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. Filming commenced in Hong Kong in February 1973. One month into the filming, another production company, Starseas Motion Pictures, promoted Bruce Lee as a leading actor in ''Fist of Unicorn'', although he had merely agreed to choreograph the fight sequences in the film as a favour to his long-time friend Unicorn Chan. Lee planned to sue the production company, but retained his friendship with Chan. However, only a few months after the completion of ''Enter the Dragon'', and six days before its 26 July 1973 release, Lee died. ''Enter the Dragon'' would go on to become one of the year's highest grossing films and cement Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $4 million adjusted for inflation as of 2007). To date, ''Enter the Dragon'' has grossed over $200 million worldwide. The film sparked a brief fad in martial arts, epitomised in songs such as "Kung Fu Fighting" and TV shows like ''Kung Fu''.

Robert Clouse, the director of ''Enter the Dragon'', and Raymond Chow attempted to finish Lee's incomplete film ''Game of Death'' which Lee was also set to write and direct. Lee had shot over 100 minutes of footage, including out-takes, for ''Game of Death'' before shooting was stopped to allow him to work on ''Enter the Dragon''. In addition to Abdul-Jabbar, George Lazenby, Hapkido master Ji Han-Jae and another of Lee's students, Dan Inosanto were also to appear in the film, which was to culminate in Lee's character, Hai Tien (clad in the now-famous yellow track suit) taking on a series of different challengers on each floor as they make their way through a five-level pagoda. In a controversial move, Robert Clouse finished the film using a look-alike and archive footage of Lee from his other films with a new storyline and cast, which was released in 1978. However, the cobbled-together film contained only fifteen minutes of actual footage of Lee (he had printed many unsuccessful takes) while the rest had a Lee look-alike, Kim Tai Chung, and Yuen Biao as stunt double. The unused footage Lee had filmed was recovered 22 years later and included in the documentary ''Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey''.

Apart from ''Game of Death'', other future film projects were planned to feature Lee at the time. In 1972, after the success of ''The Big Boss'' and ''Fist of Fury'', a third film was planned by Raymond Chow at Golden Harvest to be directed by Lo Wei, titled ''Yellow-Faced Tiger''. However, at the time, Lee decided to direct and produce his own script for ''Way of the Dragon'' instead. Although Lee had formed a production company with Raymond Chow, a period film was also planned from September–November 1973 with the competing Shaw Brothers Studio, to be directed by either Chor Yuen or Cheng Kang, and written by Yi Kang and Chang Cheh, titled ''The Seven Sons of the Jade Dragon''. Lee had also worked on several scripts himself. A tape containing a recording of Lee narrating the basic storyline to a film tentatively titled ''Southern Fist/Northern Leg'' exists, showing some similarities with the canned script for ''The Silent Flute'' (''Circle of Iron''). Another script had the title ''Green Bamboo Warrior'', set in San Francisco, planned to co-star Bolo Yeung and to be produced by Andrew Vajna who later went on to produce ''First Blood''.}}

The weight training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 placed heavy emphasis on his arms. At that time he could perform single biceps curls at a weight of 70 to 80 lb (about 32 to 36 kg) for three sets of eight repetitions, along with other forms of exercises, such as squats, push-ups, reverse curls, concentration curls, French presses, and both wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. The repetitions he performed were 6 to 12 reps (at the time). While this method of training targeted his fast and slow twitch muscles, it later resulted in weight gain or muscle mass, placing Lee a little over 160 lb (about 72 kg). Lee was documented as having well over 2,500 books in his own personal library, and eventually concluded that "A stronger muscle, is a bigger muscle", a conclusion he later disputed. Bruce forever experimented with his training routines to maximise his physical abilities and push the human body to its limits. He employed many different routines and exercises including skipping rope, which served his training and bodybuilding purposes effectively.

Lee believed that the abdominal muscles were one of the most important muscle groups for a martial artist, since virtually every movement requires some degree of abdominal work. Mito Uyehara recalled that "Bruce always felt that if your stomach was not developed, then you had no business doing any hard sparring". According to Linda Lee Cadwell, even when not training, Lee would frequently perform sit ups and other abdominal exercises in domestic living throughout the day, such as during watching TV. She said of Lee, "Bruce was a fanatic about ab training. He was always doing sit-ups, crunches, Roman chair movements, leg raises and V-ups".

Lee trained from 7 am to 9 am, including stomach, flexibility, and running, and from 11 am to 12 pm he would weight train and cycle. A typical exercise for Lee would be to run a distance of two to six miles in 15 to 45 minutes, in which he would vary speed in 3–5 minute intervals. Lee would ride the equivalent of 10 miles (about 16 kilometres) in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.

Lee would sometimes exercise with the jump rope and put in 800 jumps after cycling. Lee would also do exercises to toughen the skin on his fists, including thrusting his hands into buckets of harsh rocks and gravel. He would do over 500 repetitions of this on a given day. An article of the S. China Post writes "When a doctor warned him not to inflict too much violence on his body, Bruce dismissed his words. 'the human brain can subjugate anything, even real pain' —Bruce Lee".

Physical feats

Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats. The following list includes some of the physical feats of which, according to author John Little, Lee was capable: Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second. Lee could take in one arm a 75 lb barbell from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest and slowly stick his arms out locking them, holding the barbell there for several seconds. In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind. Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger. Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups. Lee could cause a 300-lb (136.08 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.

Also, according to the ''Intercepting Fist'' DVD, Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.

Nutrition

According to Linda Lee Cadwell, soon after he moved to the United States, Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods, high-protein drinks and vitamin and mineral supplements. He later concluded that in order to achieve a high-performance body, one could not fuel it with a diet of junk food, and with "the wrong fuel" one's body would perform sluggishly or sloppily. Lee also avoided baked goods and refined flour, describing them as providing calories which did nothing for his body.

Lee consumed green vegetables and fruit every day. He always preferred to eat Chinese or other Asian food because he loved the variety that it had. Some of Lee's favorite Chinese dishes were beef in oyster sauce, tofu and steak and liver. He also became a heavy advocate of dietary supplements, including Vitamin C, Lecithin granules, bee pollen, Vitamin E, rose hips (liquid form), wheat germ oil, Acerola – C and B-Folia.

Lee disliked dairy food although he felt that for building muscle he must consume milk. As a result he only ate dairy as part of cereals and protein drinks, usually using powdered milk instead of fresh milk. Lee's diet included protein drinks; he always tried to consume one or two daily, but discontinued drinking them later on in his life. They typically included non-instant powdered milk which is reported to have a higher concentration of calcium than other forms of powdered milk, eggs, wheat germ, peanut butter, banana, brewers yeast for its B vitamins, and Inositol and Lecithin supplements. Linda Lee recalls Bruce Lee's waist fluctuated between 26 and 28 inches (66 to 71 centimetres). ''"He also drank his own juice concoctions made from vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender"'', she said.

According to Lee, the size of portions and number of meals were just as important. He would usually consume four or five smaller meals a day rather than a couple of large meals, and would boost his metabolism by eating small healthy snacks such as fruits throughout the day. Fruit and vegetables provided him with the richest source of carbohydrates; he was particularly keen on carrots which would make up one half of the contents of the drink, with the remaining being split between the other fruits and vegetables. The reason why Lee was so keen on juicing vegetables and fruits is that he believed it allowed the body to assimilate many nutrients more easily. The enzymes in the juiced vegetables acting as organic catalysts which increase the metabolism and absorption of nutrients. Given that most of these enzymes are destroyed when vegetables are cooked, Lee would try to consume them raw.

Lee often drank a royal jelly and ginseng drink as they contain B-complex vitamins, including a high concentration of vitamin B₅ (pantothenic acid) and vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine), acetylcholine, hormones, and eighteen amino acids which allow for a quick energy boost. In traditional Chinese medicine, ginseng is also said to improve circulation, increase blood supply, allow quicker recovery times after exhaustion and stimulating the body. In addition, Lee regularly drank black tea, often with honey or with milk and sugar.

Philosophy

Lee is best known as a martial artist, but he also studied drama and philosophy while a student at the University of Washington. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions, both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts. His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism. On the other hand, Lee's philosophy was very much in opposition to the conservative world view advocated by Confucianism. John Little states that Lee was an atheist. He was asked in 1972 what his religious affiliation was, and he replied, "none whatsoever". Also in 1972, he was asked if he believed in God, and he responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not".

The following quotations reflect his fighting philosophy. "Be formless... shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You pour water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or creep or drip or crash! Be water, my friend..." "All types of knowledge, ultimately leads to self knowledge" "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it". "Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there". "Quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough". "I always learn something, and that is: to always be yourself. And to express yourself, to have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate him". "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential".

Death

On 10 May 1973, Lee collapsed in Golden Harvest studios while doing dubbing work for the movie ''Enter the Dragon''. Suffering from seizures and headaches, he was immediately rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors diagnosed cerebral edema. They were able to reduce the swelling through the administration of mannitol. These same symptoms that occurred in his first collapse were later repeated on the day of his death.

On 20 July 1973, Lee was in Hong Kong, to have dinner with former James Bond star George Lazenby, with whom he intended to make a film. According to Lee's wife Linda, Lee met producer Raymond Chow at 2 pm at home to discuss the making of the film ''Game of Death''. They worked until 4 pm and then drove together to the home of Lee's colleague Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress. The three went over the script at Ting's home, and then Chow left to attend a dinner meeting.

Later Lee complained of a headache, and Ting gave him an analgesic (painkiller), Equagesic, which contained both aspirin and the muscle relaxant meprobamate. Around 7:30 pm, he went to lie down for a nap. When Lee did not turn up for dinner, Chow came to the apartment but could not wake Lee up. A doctor was summoned, who spent ten minutes attempting to revive him before sending him by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Lee was dead by the time he reached the hospital.

There was no visible external injury; however, according to autopsy reports, his brain had swollen considerably, from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (a 13% increase). Lee was 32 years old. The only substance found during the autopsy was Equagesic. On 15 October 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee died from a hypersensitivity to the muscle relaxant (meprobamate) in Equagesic, which he described as a common ingredient in painkillers. When the doctors announced Lee's death officially, it was ruled a "death by misadventure".

Don Langford, Lee's personal physician in Hong Kong, had treated Lee during his first collapse. Controversy erupted when he stated, "Equagesic was not at all involved in Bruce's first collapse".

Donald Teare, a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard who had overseen over 1,000 autopsies, was assigned to the Lee case. His conclusion was "death by misadventure" caused by an acute cerebral edema due to a reaction to compounds present in the drug Equagesic.

The preliminary opinion of Peter Wu, the neurosurgeon who saved Lee's life during his first seizure, was that the cause of death should have been attributed to either a reaction to cannabis or Equagesic. However, Wu later backed off from this position, stating that:

: "Professor Teare was a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard; he was brought in as an expert on cannabis and we can't contradict his testimony. The dosage of cannabis is neither precise nor predictable, but I've never known of anyone dying simply from taking it."

Lee's wife Linda returned to her hometown of Seattle, and had him buried at lot 276 of Lakeview Cemetery. Pallbearers at his funeral on 31 July 1973 included Taky Kimura, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Chuck Norris, George Lazenby, Dan Inosanto, Peter Chin, and Lee's brother Robert.

Lee's iconic status and untimely demise fed many theories about his death, including murder involving the triads and a supposed curse on him and his family. ''Black Belt'' magazine in 1985 carried the speculation that the death of Bruce Lee in 1973 may have been caused by "a delayed reaction to a Dim Mak strike he received several weeks prior to his collapse".

Legacy

Certified instructors

Bruce Lee personally certified only three instructors. Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee, and Dan Inosanto. Inosanto holds the 3rd rank (Instructor) directly from Bruce Lee in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Bruce Lee's Tao of Chinese Gung Fu. Taky Kimura holds a 5th rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. James Yimm Lee held a 3rd rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. Ted Wong holds 2nd rank in Jeet Kune Do certified directly by Bruce Lee and was later promoted to Instructor under Dan Inosanto; feeling that Bruce would have wanted to promote him. Other Jeet Kune Do instructors since Lee's death have been certified directly by Dan Inosanto, some with remaining Bruce Lee signed certificates.

James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Lee, died without certifying additional students apart from Gary Dill who studied Jeet Kune Do under James and received permission via a personal letter from him in 1972 to pass on his learning of JKD to others. Taky Kimura, to date, has certified only one person in Jun Fan Gung Fu: his son Andy Kimura. Dan Inosanto continued to teach and certify select students in Jeet Kune Do for over 30 years, making it possible for thousands of martial arts practitioners to trace their training lineage back to Bruce Lee. Prior to his death, Lee told his then only two living instructors Kimura and Inosanto (James Yimm Lee had died in 1972) to dismantle his schools.

Both Taky Kimura and Dan Inosanto were allowed to teach small classes thereafter, under the guideline "keep the numbers low, but the quality high". Bruce also instructed several World Karate Champions including Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, and Mike Stone. Between the three of them, during their training with Bruce they won every karate championship in the United States.

Hong Kong legacy

There are a number of stories (perhaps apocryphal) surrounding Lee that are still repeated in Hong Kong culture. One is that his early 70s interview on the TVB show ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'' cleared the busy streets of Hong Kong as everyone was watching the interview at home.

On 6 January 2009, it was announced that Bruce's Hong Kong home (41 Cumberland Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong) will be preserved and transformed into a tourist site by philanthropist Yu Pang-lin.

Awards and honours

Bruce Lee was named by ''Time Magazine'' as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Martial arts lineage

Lee was trained in Wu Tai Chi Chuan (also known as Ng-ga) and Jing Mo Tam Tui for the twelve sets. Lee was trained in the martial arts Choy Li Fut, Western Boxing, Épée fencing, Judo, Praying Mantis Kung-fu, Hsing-I, and Jujitsu.

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Media

Books authored

''Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense'' (Bruce Lee's first book) – 1963

''Tao of Jeet Kune Do'' (Published posthumously) – 1973

''Bruce Lee's Fighting Method'' (Published posthumously) – 1978

Selected filmography

''For a complete list of Bruce Lee's filmography see''

Films

'' The Big Boss'' ''Fist of Fury'' ''Enter the Dragon'' ''Game of Death'' ''Game of Death II''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
style="text-align:center;"	1969	Marlowe (film)>Marlowe''	Winslow Wong
style="text-align:center;"	1971	|	Cheng Chao-an	Also known as ''Fists of Fury''
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	1972	|	Chen Zhen (fictional character)>Chen Zhen	Also known as ''The Chinese Connection''
''Way of the Dragon''	Tang Lung
style="text-align:center;"	1973	|	Lee	List of works published posthumously>posthumously
style="text-align:center;"	1978	|	Billy Lo	Released posthumously
style="text-align:center;"	1981	|	Billy Lo	Released posthumously (Stock footage)

Television

''Ironside (TV series) ''Blondie (1968 TV series) ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'' ''Longstreet (TV series)

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Series	Role	Notes
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	1966	The Green Hornet (TV series)>The Green Hornet''	Kato (The Green Hornet)>Kato
''Batman (TV series)	Batman''	Kato
style="text-align:center;"	1967	Ironside'' ||	Leon Soo	Episode: "Tagged for Murder"
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	1969	Blondie'' ||	Karate Instructor	Episode: "Pick on Someone Your Own Size"
''Here Come the Brides''	Lin
style="text-align:center;"	1970	|	Himself	2 episodes, 1970–1972 (Hong Kong)
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	1971	Longstreet'' ||	Li Tsung	4 episodes, 1971
style="text-align:center;"	''The Pierre Berton Show''	Himself

Games

In the Tekken series, Chinese American martial artist and chef Marshall Law bears a very close resemblance to Lee, both in appearance and fighting style, especially in Tekken 6.

In the Street Fighter series, Hong Kong action movie star Fei Long was inspired from Lee. Interestingly, compared to all the other Bruce Lee based characters from other franchises, Fei Long's story and background matches Bruce Lee's the closest. However there is a small difference, as Bruce Lee was born in the United States and lived in the USA as an adult and had an American wife, whereas Fei Long has no apparent connection to the USA.

See also

Bruce Lee Library

Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong

Bruceploitation

Mostar Bruce Lee statue

References

;Bibliography

External links

Bruce Lee Foundation

Sijo Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee Interview

Category:1940 births Category:1973 deaths Category:American atheists Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Atheist philosophers Category:Hong Kong film actors Category:Hong Kong film producers Category:Hong Kong film directors Category:Hong Kong screenwriters Category:Hong Kong kung fu practitioners Category:Hong Kong wushu practitioners Category:Martial arts school founders Category:American sportspeople of Chinese descent Category:American martial artists Category:Chinese actors Category:Chinese Jeet Kune Do practitioners Category:Chinese Wing Chun practitioners Category:Wing Chun practitioners from Hong Kong Category:Chinese martial artists Category:Chinese philosophers Category:20th-century philosophers Category:Cantonese people Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:Stunt actors Category:American people of Hong Kong descent Category:American actors of Chinese descent Category:University of Washington alumni

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