name	The Game of Death
traditional	死亡的遊戲
simplified	死亡的游戏
pinyin	Sǐwáng dé Yóuxì
jyutping	Sei5 Mong4 Dik1 Jau4 Hei3
director	Bruce Lee
producer	Raymond ChowBruce Lee
writer	Bruce Lee
starring	Bruce LeeJames TienChieh YuanDan InosantoHan-Jae JiKareem Abdul-Jabbar
cinematography	Tadashi Nishimoto
studio	Golden HarvestConcord Productions Inc.
released	(incomplete) (DVD)
runtime	39 min. 40 seconds (incomplete)
country
language	CantoneseEnglish
budget	}}

''The Game of Death'' () is a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee. It was almost the last film Bruce Lee had planned to be the demonstration piece of his martial art Jeet Kune Do. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot before his death, some of which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives. The remaining footage has been released with Bruce Lee's original English and Cantonese dialogue, with John Little dubbing Bruce Lee's Hai Tien character as part of the documentary entitled ''Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey''. Most of the footage which was shot is from what was to be the centerpiece of the film, which was to be co-produced (with Raymond Chow), written and directed by Lee.

During filming ''The Game of Death'' Bruce Lee received an offer to star in ''Enter the Dragon''. The first kung fu film to be produced by a Hollywood studio, and with a budget unprecedented for the genre. Lee died of cerebral edema before the film's release. At the time of his death, he had already made plans to resume the filming of ''The Game of Death''.

After Lee's death, ''Enter the Dragon'' director Robert Clouse was enlisted to direct additional scenes featuring two stand-ins which, when pieced together with the original footage as well as other footage from earlier in Bruce Lee's career, would form a new film (entitled ''Game of Death'' () which was released in 1978, nearly 5 years after his death, by Golden Harvest.

Original plot

The original plot involves Lee playing the role of Hai Tien, a retired champion martial artist who was confronted by the Korean underworld gangs. They tell him the story of a pagoda where guns are prohibited, and under heavy guard by highly skilled martial artists who are protecting something (which is not identified at all in any surviving material) held on its top level. The gang boss wants Hai to be a part of a group whose purpose is to retrieve said item. They would be the second group to try to do so as the first attempt with a previous group had failed. When Hai refuses, his younger sister and brother are kidnapped, forcing him to participate. Hai, as well as four other martial artists (two of which were played by James Tien and Chieh Yuan), then fight their way up a five-level pagoda, encountering a different challenge on each floor. The setting of the pagoda was at Beopjusa temple in Songnisan National Park in South Korea.

The pagoda, called Palsang-jon, is the only remaining wooden pagoda in South Korea. At the base of the pagoda they fight 50 people all black belts in martial arts, while inside the pagoda, they encounter a different opponent on each floor, each more challenging than the last. Although his allies try to help out, they are handily defeated, and Hai must face each of the martial artists in one-on-one combat. He defeats Filipino martial arts master Dan Inosanto, hapkido master Ji Han Jae, and finally Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who fights with a free and fluid style mirroring Lee's Jeet Kune Do. Because Abdul-Jabbar's character has great size and strength in addition to a fighting style as potent as Lee's, he can only be defeated once Hai recognizes that an unusually high sensitivity to light is his greatest weakness.

Immediately after defeating the giant guardian, Hai turns around and descends the staircase, heading out the pagoda. Despite all the talk of something awaiting up top of the (now unguarded) flight of stairs, there is no mention of anyone going up to retrieve it. No surviving material explains how this will affect Hai or his captive siblings.

Original production

Although the pagoda was supposed to have five floors, complete scenes were only shot for three of the floors: the "Temple of the Tiger," where Lee faced Inosanto; the "Temple of the Dragon", where he fought Ji Han Jae; and the final floor, where he fought Abdul-Jabbar was the "Temple of the Unknown". Hapkido master Hwang In-Shik was slated to play the guardian of the first floor, a master of a kick-oriented style, while Bruce's long time student and good friend Taky Kimura was asked to play the guardian of the second floor, a stylist of praying mantis kung fu.

The goal of the film's plot was to showcase Lee's beliefs regarding the principles of martial arts. As each martial artist is defeated (including Lee's allies), the flaws in their fighting style are revealed. Some, like Dan Inosanto's character, rely too much on fixed patterns of offensive and defensive techniques, while others lack economy of motion. Lee defeats his opponents by having a fighting style that involves fluid movement, unpredictability, and an eclectic blend of techniques. His dialogue often includes references on their weaknesses.

''Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey''

Several years later, Bruce Lee historian John Little released ''Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey'', a documentary revealing the original footage and storyline of ''The Game of Death''. The documentary also includes a fairly in-depth biography of Lee and leads into the filming of ''The Game of Death''. Fans still believe there is more footage to be found. Originally meant to be a documentary in its own right, now it can be found on the second disc of the 2004 Special Edition DVD release of ''Enter the Dragon'', along with the documentary ''Bruce Lee: Curse of the Dragon''.

''Bruce Lee in G.O.D.: Shibōteki Yūgi''

In 2000, the Japanese film ''Bruce Lee in G.O.D.'' 死亡的遊戯 was released on DVD. This film shows Lee's original vision of the film through the existing footage that was shot for the film before he died, interviews, and historical re-enactments of what went on behind the scenes. A "special edition" DVD was released in 2003.

Cast

Filmed cast

Bruce Lee as "Hai Tien"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as "Hakim(5th Floor Guardian)"

James Tien as "Tien"

Chieh Yuan as "Chieh"

Dan Inosanto as "3rd Floor Guardian"

Han-Jae Ji as "4th Floor Guardian"

Unfilmed cast

Hwang In-Shik as "1st Floor Guardian"

Taky Kimura as "2nd Floor Guardian"

Nora Miao as "Hai Tien's sister"

Intended cast

George Lazenby

Robert Wall

Robert Baker

Chuck Norris

Jackie Chan

Sammo Hung

Bolo Yeung

Lam Ching Ying

Lee Kwan

Kien Shih

Han Yin-chieh

Yuen Biao

Carter Wong

''Game of Death'' (1978)

name	Game of Death
traditional	死亡遊戲
simplified	死亡游戏
pinyin	Sǐwáng Yóuxì
jyutping	Sei5 Mong4 Jau4 Hei3
director	Robert Clouse
producer	Raymond Chow
writer	Jan Spears (Robert Clouse/Raymond Chow)
starring	Bruce LeeTai Chung KimYuen Biao Gig YoungDean JaggerColleen CampRobert WallHugh O'BrianDan InosantoMel NovakSammo HungKareem Abdul-JabbarHan-Jae JiCasanova Wong
music	John BarryJoseph Koo
cinematography	Ho Lan ShanGodfrey A. Godar
editing	Alan Pattillo
studio	Golden Harvest
distributor	Golden Harvest (HK)
released	Hong Kong:
runtime	103 min. (International version)94 min. (Hong Kong ver.)125 mins. (HK premiere)
language	CantoneseEnglish
country	Hong Kong
gross	HK$3,436,169
followed by	''Game of Death II'' (1981) }}

''Game of Death'' () is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action crime thriller film co-written (under the pseudonym ''Jan Spears'' with Raymond Chow) and directed by Robert Clouse and starring Bruce Lee, Tai Chung Kim, Yuen Biao, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Colleen Camp, Robert Wall, Hugh O'Brian, Dan Inosanto, Mel Novak, Sammo Hung, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Han-Jae Ji and Casanova Wong.

Plot

The 1978 version uses portions of the original footage married to an entirely new plot involving a new character, Billy Lo, struggling against a racketeering "syndicate" after gaining international success as a martial arts movie star. When Billy refuses to be intimidated by syndicate henchman Steiner (Hugh O'Brian) and his gangs of thugs, syndicate owner Dr. Land (Dean Jagger) orders his assassination to serve as an example to others.

Disguised as a stuntman, Land's assassin Stick (Mel Novak) sneaks onto the set of Billy's new film, and shoots Billy during filming. A fragment of the bullet passes through Billy's face, leaving him alive but in need of plastic surgery which alters his facial features. Billy takes the opportunity to fake his death and disguise himself, exacting revenge against those who wronged him one at a time. When the syndicate threatens and kidnaps his fiancée, Ann Morris (Colleen Camp), Billy is forced to come out of hiding in order to save her. In the revised film, Bruce Lee's fight scenes inside the pagoda are assumed to take place in the upper floors of the Red Pepper restaurant, where Dr. Land and his thugs have laid an ambush. In the end Billy survives the ambush, rescues Ann, and destroys each of the main mobsters one-by-one.

Production

The revised version of the film uses only 11 minutes and 7 seconds of the footage from the original ''The Game of Death'', and for the vast majority of the film, the role of Billy Lo was shared by Yuen Biao and taekwondo master Tai Chung Kim and was voiced by Chris Kent. The plot of the film allowed Kim and Yuen to spend much of the film in disguises, usually involving false beards and large, dark sunglasses that obscured the fact that they bore little resemblance to Lee. Many scenes, including fight scenes, also included brief close-up bits of stock footage of the real Bruce Lee from his pre-''Enter the Dragon'' films, often only lasting a second or two. These clips are easily recognizable due to the difference in film quality between the old and new footage.

Several actors associated with previous Lee movies were included in the re-shoot for the final 1978 film. For example, Robert Wall, a villain in both ''Way of the Dragon'' and ''Enter the Dragon'', plays a kickboxer named Carl Miller who must battle with Billy Lo. Sammo Hung, who appeared in ''Enter the Dragon'', served as the fight coordinator for the re-shoot of ''Game of Death'', and also appears in the scene as a ring opponent for Miller. In order to maintain continuity with the fight footage taken from the original film, Dan Inosanto (renamed Pasqual) and Ji Han Jae (whose character was unnamed and was not shown until near the end of the film) were given small parts as additional enforcers for the syndicate. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar refused to participate in the re-shoot, with another tall African-American stand-in (renamed Hakim) included instead. Although Chuck Norris is credited as starring in the movie, his role is limited to clips from ''Way of the Dragon'' inserted into the film.

The film quality of the Clouse-directed footage was noticeably higher than that of Lee's earlier Hong Kong films, and John Barry provided an original soundtrack. The film also featured performances by experienced actors as well as up-and-coming stars, including two recipients of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Dean Jagger and Gig Young) and several who have been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including Dean Jagger, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Hugh O'Brian, and Gig Young.

For Chinese-speaking audiences, the film was dubbed into Cantonese and Mandarin, and had significant changes, such as the inclusion of a fight in a green house with Casanova Wong and a different opening and closing credits sequence, featuring a new theme song, plus a couple of minor scenes. Unlike the English version, they use Lee's actual battle sounds. Several scenes were removed, also, including the fight in the opera house dressing room.

In the original Hong Kong version, the fight with Ji Han Jae is included (during the middle of the film though), whilst the ending did not show Billy Lo being arrested - instead, both he and Ann share their good-byes to Jim as they appear to depart Hong Kong on a boat. The Singaporean version ended with Billy Lo's arrest, and it did not feature the Ji Han Jae fight - this is the version commonly found in Chinese.

Cast

Bruce Lee as "Billy Lo"

Tai Chung Kim as "Billy Lo" (doubling for Bruce Lee)

Yuen Biao as "Billy Lo" (doubling for Bruce Lee)

Gig Young as "Jim Marshall"

Dean Jagger as "Dr. Land"

Colleen Camp as "Ann Morris"

Mel Novak as "Stick"

James Tien as "Charlie Wang"

Roy Chiao as "(Uncle) Henry Lo" (U.S. version only)

Sammo Hung as "Lo Chen"

Hugh O'Brian as "Steiner"

Robert Wall as "Carl Miller"

Dan Inosanto as "Pasqual"

Han-Jae Ji as "Restaurant Fighter"

Casanova Wong as "Lau Yea-chun" (H.K. version only)

Chuck Norris as "Fighter in Film"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as "Hakim"

Tony Leung

Billy McGill

Jim James

Russell Cawthorne

Yuen Wah

Lam Ching Ying

John Ladalski

David Hu

Don Barry

Jess Hardie

Eddie Dye

Peter Nelson

Peter Gee

Peter Chan

Mars

Lau Kar-wing

Fung Hark-on

Tai San

Theme song

;Game of Death (死亡遊戲) :*Lyrics: Wong Jim :*Composition and Arrangement: Joseph Koo :*Performance: Roman Tam

The American score was composed by John Barry.

Reception

The movie was successful at the Hong Kong box office grossing HK$3,436,169, but was not well received. Criticism of the revised version included the inclusion of scenes that could be considered in bad taste, such as the incorporation of footage of Lee's actual funeral. Another scene, often pointed out by critics of the film, involved a shot of Kim looking at himself in the mirror, with an obvious cardboard cut-out of Lee's face pasted onto the mirror's surface.

However the action directed by Sammo Hung for the scenes with the Bruce Lee lookalikes and the footage that Bruce Lee shot for the original footage with the final three fights helped alleviate the problems the movie has. Apart from the cheesy techniques used to disguise the fact that Bruce Lee was being played by stand-ins, the movie enjoyed respectable production values.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports the film as holding an overall 75% approval rating based on 8 reviews, of these six were fresh and two were rotten.

Other Game of Death Films

After the death of Bruce Lee, several studios exploited the situation by making their own versions of ''The Game of Death'' based on what they had learned of the story from production stills and magazine articles. Many of these films pre-dated Robert Clouse's "official" Game of Death.

''Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death'' (新死亡遊戲) (1975)

''The New Game of Death'' (詠春大兄) (1976)

''Enter the Game of Death'' (十字手拳/死亡魔塔) (1978)

''The True Game of Death'' (決鬥死亡塔) (1979)

''Game of Death II'' (死亡塔 ''Tower of Death'') (1981)

:Clouse's film had a sequel in 1981 kung fu action mystery film, ''Game of Death II'', which used cut footage from Bruce's "Enter the Dragon" film to have him make an appearance in the beginning of the film, only to be killed off midway, allowing his on screen brother take on the role of protagonist. Aside from the English dub giving the "Bruce Lee" character the name Billy Lo, this movie would seem to have no connection with Clouse's film, and it was directed by Ng See Yuen. :Wong Jing's film "City Hunter" has a similar scenario played in the theatre. Jackie Chan as Ryu Saeba takes on two tall black guys and uses clips of Bruce Lee vs Kareen Abdul Jabbar to get the better of the two.

The yellow-and-black tracksuit

thumb|Screenshot of ''Game of Death'', Bruce Lee is wearing his iconic yellow-and-black tracksuit.The yellow-and-black tracksuit which Lee wore in the film has come to be seen as something of a trademark for the actor, and is paid homage to in numerous other media. In the Clouse-directed remake, the filmmakers rationalized its presence by including a scene where Billy Lo disguises himself as one of Dr. Land's motorcycle-riding thugs, who all wear striped jumpsuits.

In the warehouse scene, Billy Lo wears a pair of yellow Adidas shoes with black stripes and white shelltoes. Towards the end of the movie, Billy wears a pair of yellow Onitsuka Tiger shoes, with black stripes. This was due to the fact that the real Bruce Lee wore the latter when he was filming, and the double wore the former in the 1978 version to resemble his shoes.

In movies

Uma Thurman wears a similar suit in ''Kill Bill Volume 1'' when she travels to Japan to take on an underworld boss and assassin played by Lucy Liu. In homage to both the film and the remake, Thurman wears the suit and Onitsuka Tiger sneakers as part of her motorcycle-riding gear, and keeps the suit on during her battle with Liu and her gang, the Crazy 88.

In ''Shaolin Soccer'', a similar suit is worn by the goalie "Empty Hand" (Danny Chan Kwok Kwan) who resembles Bruce Lee.

In the Jet Li film ''High Risk'', Jacky Cheung plays a movie star who is losing his fighting ability due to his cowardice. When he regains his courage at the end of the film, he wears a copy of the yellow tracksuit. The role is generally felt to be a parody of Jackie Chan, but the references to Bruce Lee are also obvious.

The 1980s film ''The Last Dragon'' produced by Motown legend Berry Gordy centered around a Bruce Lee fan in search of reaching Martial arts enlightenment who instructed his students wearing the same tracksuit.

In ''Revenge of the Nerds'', Brian Tochi's character, Toshiro Takashi, wears the yellow jumpsuit while riding a tricycle during the inter-Greek competitions.

In ''Finishing the Game'', Breeze Loo, played by Roger Fan, wears a yellow and black striped jumpsuit.

In video games

The 1984 arcade videogame Kung-Fu Master was inspired by the Game of Death movie. The player protagonist fights bosses at the end of each level before climbing the stairs to the next, more difficult stage in a "Devil's Temple" with five floors.

Marshall Law and Forrest Law, from the ''Tekken'' series of fighting games, resemble Bruce Lee's with their move set, whoops and yells and wears a sleeveless version of the tracksuit.

In ''Dead or Alive 4'', Jann Lee's third costume is none other than the tracksuit and his ending movie includes him watching Bruce Lee movies to help him practice Jeet Kune Do.

In the Playmore fighting game ''Rage of the Dragons'', Mr. Jones (who already bares a striking reseblance to Kareem Abdul Jabbar) wears a suit very similar to the famous yellow jump suit.

The suit is present in the MMORPG ''Anarchy Online'' as a piece of equipment for powerful martial artist characters.

In ''Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow'', one equippable item is the "kung fu suit," which is a yellow tracksuit with black vertical stripes along the sides.

Although the suit does not appear in any ''Street Fighter'' games, Fei Long wears it in several issues of the UDON ''Street Fighter'' comic book and in Masahiko Nakahira's ''Cammy'' manga.

In the video game ''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'', the main character can wear an identical outfit called the "Dragon Jumpsuit".

In the video game ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' talking cat and drunken master Mao confronts the master of cat martial arts, the tracksuit-clad "Bruce Meow".

In ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008'', in the "Create a WWE Superstar" function the tracksuit is emulated.

In ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4'', the character Chie Satonaka's Persona is dressed in the same yellow jumpsuit, and fights with a combination of spears and Jeet Kun Do.

In ''Street Fighter IV'', the character Rufus wears a yellow and black tracksuit. The suit matches his personality of having a great love for martial arts movies, leading to his style being adopted from imitating martial arts movies and mail order courses.

In the online game ''Dragon Fist 3: Age of the Warrior'', one of the characters from martial arts films is Billy Lo (with Bruce Lee being animated out) from this film, dressed in the yellow-and-black jumpsuit, fighting with Jeet Kune Do, using a yellow nunchaku (which is not found in the Character Editor) as a weapon, and the one inch punch as a special move.

In most servers of the ''Dragonica'' online game, the gladiator class can summon a Bruce Lee styled character named Bro Lee who wears the jumpsuit to perform some Kung Fu moves. The players can also buy the suit from the cash shop to equip on their characters.

The yellow-and-black tracksuit can be obtained in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon from the custom character creation menu.

In ''Rumble Fighter'', Billy's Jumpsuit is available in yellow, blue and green under the name: Billy Lo, Jeet Kune Do is also available as a fighting style.

A similar tracksuit can be found and worn in the Capcom game ''Dead Rising 2''.

In music

A short promotional video for the virtual band Gorillaz showed the fictional animated guitarist, Noodle, taking on a pack of thugs while dressed in the tracksuit and imitating Lee's fighting style. Noodle has also worn this suit in the Game Of Death short clip from Phase One: Celebrity Take Down.

The band Sugar Ray, in their video for the single ''When It's Over'', included a segment in which one of the band members fantasizes about having a kung fu battle similar to the fight scene between Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The band member wears Lee's tracksuit, his opponent wears a beard, clothes, and sunglasses similar to Abdul-Jabbar's, and the video duplicates the scene in which a seated Kareem kicks Lee in the chest, knocking him down and leaving a huge footprint on his chest.

Topper Headon of The Clash was known to wear a similar jumpsuit at live shows. Avant-garde guitarist Buckethead released a cover of "Game of Death" in 2006. He also wore a yellow tracksuit while playing live and performed with nunchakus on stage. The band Far East Movements song "Satisfaction" had the yellow jumpsuits etc. in the video as the song was the soundtrack to the 2007 mockumentry Finishing the Game.

In manga, anime and other cartoons

In "Karate Island," a fourth season episode of ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (which is itself a take-off of "Game of Death"), Sandy Cheeks wears a yellow tracksuit similar to Bruce's.

In the ''Urusei Yatsura'' episode titled "The Mendo Family's Masquerade War," Ataru was wearing a yellow tracksuit with black stripes while trying to court Mendou's sister who is sporting nunchakus. Both Ataru's yellow tracksuit and the Mendou sister's nunchakus are a homage to Bruce Lee.

In the anime/manga ''Tenjho Tenge'', there is a short appearance of a character named "Inosato Dan" who is the leader of the "Jun Fan Gung Fu club" (Jun Fan is Bruce Lee's Chinese name). He resembles Bruce Lee very much, and wears the jumpsuit. However, in the anime the colors of the jumpsuit are switched to a black suit with yellow stripes.

Duel #25 of the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' manga features some references to Bruce Lee. Yugi's fighting-game character of choice is a Bruce Lee clone called Bruce Ryu. His opponent, the villain of the chapter, wears the yellow jumpsuit and calls his fight with Jonouchi a "Game of Death."

The second episode of the anime series ''Cowboy Bebop'', "Stray Dog Strut," further plays homage with the episode's main antagonist being named Abdul Hakim (after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's character) and bearing a strikingly similar appearance.

The character Mr. Tanaka from ''Sonic X'' wears the suit in an episode.

The character Sasshi, from the anime ''Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi'', also gets a uniform called the Game of Death suit, later imitating Lee in both appearance and mannerisms.

Another reference is found in ''Great Teacher Onizuka'', where the main character, Onizuka Eikichi, wears the same suits when performing feats of strength like breaking a baseball bat with a kick in front of his class.

In episode 18 of the anime, ''Gin Tama'', Kagura wears a suit similar to Bruce's suit in this movie.

The character, Mandy, from ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' wore a yellow jumpsuit in the episode "Modern Primitives / Giant Billy and Mandy All-Out Attack". The episode also had parodies from ''Akira'' (Mandy drives a bike similar to Kaneda's in the series), the "Godzilla" franchise (there are several giant monsters that parody monsters from the franchise including the name of the episode), and ''Kill Bill'' (a check off list plus a red screened close-up mimicking the bride).

A game sprite resembling an Asian man can be seen wearing Bruce Lee's yellow suit during the first and third season's of ''ReBoot''.

A Gorillabite from the band Gorillaz is titled ''Game of Death''. In the bite, Noodle, the guitarist, dons the yellow tracksuit to take on Russel.

The cover for the third volume of the American DVD release of the anime, ''PaniPoni Dash!'', features the main character Rebecca Miyamoto wearing a track suit similar to Bruce Lee's. The subtitle for the DVD, "Class of Death", also pays homage to ''Game of Death''.

In episode 20 of ''Hayate the Combat Butler'', Hayate asks Maria is she knows "the art of assassination". She denies it, but Hayate and does not believe her and Nagi imagines what Maria would look like wearing a yellow jumpsuit and holding nunchucks.

Episode 100 of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' cartoon depicts Master Splinter's former owner, Hamato Yoshi, wearing the yellow tracksuit.

In the classic anime/manga series ''Dragon Ball'' during his early adventures, Goku enters a military base named "Muscle Tower" in the shape of a dumbbell, in which he visits numerous floors, fighting enemies that inhabit them. He fights a robot, a ninja, a beast, and a general of the military.

In The Boondocks episode "Let's Nab Oprah", Oprah's bodyguard Bushido Brown is seen as a reference to Jim Kelly's character, Williams in Enter the Dragon. Brown also tells main character Huey Freeman "You come straight out of a comic book," a reference to Enter the Dragon> However, he wears a Karate gi version of the yellow and black tracksuit in the episode Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy.

Character Hong Kong from the famous anime series "Hetalia Axis Powers", fans love to portray him wearing the yellow tracksuit.

In episode 11 of Heartcatch Pretty Cure! the guest characters for the episode, brothers Masato Sakai and Yoshito Sakai, both wear the yellow tracksuit. Masato Sakai styles himself as a "Kung Fu Master" and his brother is his pupil.

Home media releases

DVD releases

''Universe (Hong Kong)''

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed

Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese

Supplements: Stars' Files, Trailer for the film, Trailers for ''The Big Boss'', ''Way of the Dragon'', ''Enter the Dragon'' and ''Legacy of Rage''

All regions, NTSC

''Mega Star (Hong Kong)''

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed

Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Spanish

Supplements: Synopsis, Cast and Crew Info, Theatrical trailer

All regions, NTSC

''Fortune Star - Bruce Lee Ultimate DVD Collection (Hong Kong)''

Released: April 29, 2004

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic

Sound: English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English

Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Still photos, Slideshow of photos, Unseen footage, ''Game of Death'' outtakes, ''Enter the Dragon'' alternate opening, Celebrity interviews, 32-page booklet

Region 3, NTSC

''Fox (America)''

Released: May 21, 2002

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed

Sound: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Subtitles: English

Supplements: None

Region 1, NTSC

''Fox - Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (America)''

Released: October 18, 2005

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic

Sound: English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Subtitles: English

Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Still photos, Slideshow of photos, ''Game of Death'' outtakes, Bonus trailers

Region 1, NTSC

''Hong Kong Legends Platinum Edition (United Kingdom)''

Released: October 1, 2001

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:45:1) anamorphic

Sound: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: Dutch

Supplements: Disc 1: Commentary by Bey Logan, Animated biography of Bruce, Biography of Bey Logan, Deleted scenes (in Cantonese) Disc 2: ''Game of Death'' retrospective, History of Jeet Kune Do, Photo galleries: Production gallery; Rare photo archive, US trailer, Hong Kong trailer, UK promo trailer, UK promo trailers for ''The Big Boss'', ''Fist of Fury'', ''Way of the Dragon'', TV spots for ''Way of the Dragon'' and ''Fist of Fury'', Biography of Dan Inosanto, Biography of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, ''Dan Inosanto: Warrior and Teacher'' - interview, ''Jeet Kune Do seminar'', ''Taky Kimura: Keeping the Flame Alive'' - interview, ''George Lazenby: Reflection of the Dragon'' - interview, ''Game of Death'' outtake montage, ''Legacy of the Dragon'' - documentary, ''Game of Death revisted''

Region 2, PAL

Blu-ray disc release

'''''Kam & Ronson - Bruce Lee Legendary Collection (Hong Kong)

Released: August 27, 2010

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (1.78:1)

Sound: English (Dolby DTS HD MA 7.1), English (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Thai

Supplements: Trailers, ''Legacy of the Dragon'' featurette, ''Game of Death Revisited'', ''Game of Death'' Outtake Montage, Photo Gallery

Region A, NTSC

See also

Bruce Lee filmography

Sammo Hung filmography

Hong Kong Movie Database

References

External links

City on Fire: Game Over!

Category:Bruce Lee Category:Hong Kong films Category:1978 films Category:1970s action films Category:1970s crime films Category:1970s thriller films Category:Hong Kong action films Category:Crime thriller films Category:Kung fu films Category:Martial arts films Category:Golden Harvest films Category:Films directed by Bruce Lee Category:Cantonese-language films Category:Jeet kune do films Category:Unfinished films Category:Bruceploitation films Category:Posthumous films

ar:لعبة الموت (فيلم) de:Bruce Lee – Mein letzter Kampf es:Game of Death fr:Le Jeu de la mort ko:사망유희 it:L'ultimo combattimento di Chen nl:Game of Death (1978) ja:死亡遊戯 no:Game of Death pt:Game of Death ru:Игра смерти (фильм) fi:Panoksena kuolema sv:Game of Death th:ไอ้หนุ่มซินตึ๊ง เกมมังกร tr:Ölüm Oyunu (film, 1978) vi:Tử Vong Du Hý zh-yue:死亡遊戲 zh:死亡遊戲

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.

Kareem Abdul-JabbarJames CoburnJoe LewisRoman PolanskiLee MarvinStirling SilliphantSteve McQueenMike Stone |}

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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Name	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Width	250px
Position	Center
Height ft	7 |height_in2
Weight lbs	225
Number	33
Birth date	April 16, 1947
Birth place	New York City
Career start	1969
Career end	1989
Draftyear	1969
Draftteam	Milwaukee Bucks
Draftround	1
Draftpick	1
College	UCLA
Teams	Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	38,387
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	17,440
Stat3label	Blocks
Stat3value	3,189
Bbr	abdulka01
Letter	a
Highlights	6× NBA Champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987–1988) 6× NBA Most Valuable Player (–, , –, ) 19× NBA All-Star (1970–1977, 1979–1989) 2× NBA Finals MVP (1971, 1985) 10× All-NBA First Team (–, –, –, , ) 5× All-NBA Second Team (, –, , ) 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (–, –) 6× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (–, –, ) NBA Rookie of the Year () NBA All-Rookie Team () NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team 3× NCAA Men's Basketball Champion (1967–1969) 3× NCAA Basketball Tournament MOP (1967–1969) Naismith College Player of the Year (1969) 2× USBWA College Player of the Year (1967–1968) No.33 retired by Milwaukee Bucks No.33 retired by Los Angeles Lakers
Hof player	kareem-abdul-jabbar }}

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., April 16, 1947) is a retired American basketball player, coach, actor, and author. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar scored more points than any other player in league history, won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. In college at UCLA, he played on three consecutive national championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games. At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds, and personal fouls.

Early life

Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr on April 16, 1947, and grew up in Manhattan in New York City, the only child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker, and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Sr, a transit police officer and jazz musician. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds, 10 ounces (5.73 kg), and was twenty-two and a half inches (57.2 cm) long. He was raised as a Catholic and attended St. Jude School in the Inwood section of Manhattan. Later in life he converted to Islam. He initially joined the Nation of Islam in 1968, before retaking the Shahada and converting to Sunni Islam that same summer.

From an early age he began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments. In high school, he led Power Memorial Academy to three straight New York City Catholic championships, a 71-game winning streak, and a 79–2 overall record.

College

Lew Alcindor played three seasons for the UCLA Bruins from 1966–69 under coach John Wooden, contributing to the team's three-year record of 88 wins and only two losses: one to the University of Houston (see below) and the other to crosstown rival USC who played a "stall game" (i.e., there was no shot clock in those days, so a team could hold the ball as long as it wanted before attempting to score).

During his college career, Alcindor was twice named Player of the Year (1967, 1969), was a three-time First Team All-American (1967–69), played on three NCAA basketball champion teams (1967, 1968, 1969), was honored as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969), and became the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year in 1969.

In 1967 and 1968 he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the only player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–1966 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1. But on November 27, 1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion. Alcindor scored 31 points and had 21 rebounds in that game.

The dunk was banned in college basketball after the 1967 season, primarily because of Alcindor's dominant use of the shot. It was not allowed again until 1976.

While playing for UCLA, he suffered a scratched left cornea on January 12, 1968, at the Cal game when he was struck by Tom Henderson of Cal in a rebound battle. He would miss the next two games against Stanford and Portland. This happened right before the momentous game against Houston. His cornea later would be scratched again during his pro career, subsequently causing him to wear goggles for protection.

Alcindor boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics by deciding not to join the United States Men's Olympic Basketball team that year, protesting the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the United States.

Besides playing basketball, Alcindor also earned a degree in history from UCLA.

Game of the Century

On January 20, 1968, Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins faced the Houston Cougars in the first-ever nationally televised regular season college basketball game. In front of 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Elvin Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds—while Alcindor, who suffered from a scratch on his left cornea, was held to just 15 points—as Houston beat UCLA 71–69. The Bruins' 47-game winning streak ended in what has been called the "Game of the Century". Hayes and Alcindor would have a rematch in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where UCLA with a healthy Alcindor, would defeat Houston in the semi-finals 101–69, and go on to win the National Championship.

School records

Alcindor had an outstanding career at UCLA. As of the 2008–2009 season, he still holds or shares a number of individual records at UCLA:

Highest career scoring average: 26.4

Most career field goals: 943 (tied with Don MacLean)

Most points in a season: 870 (1967)

Highest season scoring average: 29.0 (1967)

Most field goals in a season: 346 (1967)

Most free throw attempts in a season: 274 (1967)

Most points in a single game: 61

Most field goals in a single game: 26 (vs. Washington State, February 25, 1967)

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks

The Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play for them, but he declined, and was picked first in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks (who were in only their second season of existence.) The Bucks won a coin-toss with the Phoenix Suns for first pick. He was also chosen first overall in the 1969 American Basketball Association draft by the New York Nets. The Nets believed that they had the upper hand in securing Alcindor's services because he was from New York; however, when Alcindor told both the Bucks and the Nets that he would accept one offer only from each team, the Nets bid too low.

Lew Alcindor's entry into the NBA was timely, as center Bill Russell had just left the Boston Celtics, and Wilt Chamberlain, though still effective, was 33 years old. Alcindor's presence enabled the 1969–70 Bucks to claim second place in the NBA's Eastern Division with a 56–26 record (up from 27–55 the previous year), and he was an instant star, ranking second in the league in scoring (28.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (14.5 rpg), for which he was awarded the title of NBA Rookie of the Year.

The next season the Bucks acquired All-Star guard Oscar Robertson, known to sports fans as "the Big 'O'." Milwaukee went on to record the best record in the league with 66 victories in the 1970–71 NBA season, including a then-record of 20 straight wins. Alcindor was awarded his first of six NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, along with his first scoring title (31.7 ppg). In the playoffs, the Bucks went 12–2 (including a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals), won the championship, and Alcindor was named Finals MVP. On May 1, 1971, the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, its Arabic translation roughly "generous/noble (Kareem), servant of (Abdul) the mighty/stern one (Jabbar) [i.e., of God]."

Abdul-Jabbar remained a dominant force for Milwaukee, repeating as scoring champion (34.8 ppg) and NBA Most Valuable Player the following year, and helping the Bucks to repeat as division leaders for four straight years. In 1974, Abdul-Jabbar won his third MVP Award in five years and was among the top five NBA players in scoring (27.0 ppg, third), rebounding (14.5 rpg, fourth), blocked shots (283, second), and field goal percentage (.539, second).

While remaining relatively injury-free throughout his NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar twice broke his hand. The first time was during a pre-season game in 1974, when he was bumped hard and got his eye scratched, which angered him enough to punch the basket support stanchion. When he returned, after missing the first 16 games of the season, he started to wear protective goggles. The second time he broke his hand was in the opening game of the 1977–78 NBA season. Two minutes into the game, Abdul-Jabbar punched Milwaukee's Kent Benson in retaliation for an overly aggressive elbow. He was out for two months.

Although Abdul-Jabbar always spoke well of Milwaukee and its fans, he said that being in the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs and requested a trade to either New York or Los Angeles in October 1974.

Los Angeles Lakers

In 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters, and rookie "blue chippers" Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman. In the 1975–76 season, his first with the Lakers, he had a dominating season, averaging 27.7 points per game and leading the league in rebounding, blocked shots, and minutes played. His 1,111 defensive rebounds remains the NBA single-season record (defensive rebounds were not recorded prior to the 1973–74 season). Also it marked the last time anyone had 4,000 or more PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists) in a single NBA season. He earned his fourth MVP award, but missed the post-season for the second straight year.

Once he joined the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar began wearing his trademark goggles (he briefly ditched them in the 1979–80 season). Years of battling under NBA backboards, and being hit and scratched in the face in the process, had taken their toll on his eyes and he developed corneal erosion syndrome, where the eyes begin to dry out easily and cease to produce moisture. He once missed a game in the 1986–87 season due to his eyes drying out and swelling as a result.

In the 1976–77 season, Abdul-Jabbar had another strong season. He led the league in field goal percentage, finished second in rebounds and blocked shots, and third in points per game. He helped lead the Lakers to the best record in the NBA, and he won his record-tying fifth MVP award. In the playoffs, the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semi-finals, setting up a confrontation with the Portland Trail Blazers. The result was a memorable matchup, pitting Abdul-Jabbar against a young, injury-free Bill Walton. Although Abdul-Jabbar dominated the series statistically, Walton and the Trail Blazers (who were experiencing their first-ever run in the playoffs) swept the Lakers, behind Walton's skillful passing and leadership.

Abdul-Jabbar's play remained strong during the next two seasons, being named to the All-NBA Second Team twice, the All-Defense First Team once, and the All-Defense Second Team once. The Lakers, however, continued to be stymied in the playoffs, being eliminated by the Seattle SuperSonics in both 1978 and 1979.

In 1979, the Lakers acquired 1st overall draft pick Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The trade and draft paved the way for a Laker dynasty as they went on to become one of the most dominant teams of the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times and winning five NBA championships. Individually, while Abdul-Jabbar was not the dominant center he had been in the 1970s, he experienced a number of highlight moments. Among them were his record sixth MVP award in 1980, four more All-NBA First Team designations, two more All-Defense First Team designations, the 1985 Finals MVP, and on April 5, 1984 breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record for career points. Later in his career, he bulked up to about 265 pounds, to be able to withstand the strain of playing the highly physical center position into his early 40s.

While in L.A., Abdul-Jabbar started doing yoga in 1976 to improve his flexibility, and was notable for his physical fitness regimen. He says, "There is no way I could have played as long as I did without yoga."

In 1983, Abdul-Jabbar's house burnt down, incinerating many of his belongings including his beloved jazz LP collection. Many Lakers fans sent and brought him albums, which he found uplifting.

On June 28, 1989, after twenty professional seasons, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement. On his "retirement tour" he received standing ovations at games, home and away and gifts ranging from a yacht that said "Captain Skyhook" to framed jerseys from his basketball career to an Afghan rug. In his biography ''My Life'', Magic Johnson recalls that in Abdul-Jabbar's farewell game, many Lakers and Celtics legends participated. Every player wore Abdul-Jabbar's trademark goggles and had to try a sky hook at least once, which led to comic results. The Lakers made the NBA Finals in each of Abdul-Jabbar's final three seasons, defeating Boston in 1987, and Detroit in 1988. The Lakers lost to the Pistons in a four-game sweep in his final season. .

At the time of his retirement, Jabbar held the record for most games played by a single player in the NBA; this would later be broken by Robert Parish.

Post-NBA career

Since 2005, Abdul-Jabbar has served as special assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar had been interested in coaching since his retirement, and given the influence he had on the league, he thought that the opportunity would present itself. However, during his playing years, Abdul-Jabbar had developed a reputation of being introverted and sullen. He did not speak to the press, leading to the impression that he disliked them. In his biography ''My Life'', Magic Johnson recalls instances when Abdul-Jabbar brushed him off when Magic (as a ball boy) asked for his autograph, Abdul-Jabbar froze out reporters who gave him a too enthusiastic handshake or even hugged him, and refused to stop reading the newspaper while giving an interview. Many basketball observers, in addition to Abdul-Jabbar, believe that Kareem's reticence, whether through disdain for the press corps or simply because of introversion, contributed to the dearth of coaching opportunities offered to Abdul-Jabbar by the NBA. In his words, he said he had a mindset he could not overcome, and proceeded through his career oblivious to the effect his reticence may have had on his coaching prospects in the future. Abdul-Jabbar said: "I didn't understand that I also had affected people that way and that's what it was all about. I always saw it like they were trying to pry. I was way too suspicious and I paid a price for it." Since he began lobbying for a coaching position in 1995, he has managed to obtain only low-level assistant and scouting jobs in the NBA, and a head coaching position only in a minor professional league.

Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament wrote the song "Sweet Lew" about a similar incident when he met Abdul-Jabbar whom he "idolized" at a charity game and got a "complete lack of response or interest". Ament was upset by the incident. The song appears on the Pearl Jam's B-Sides compilation ''Lost Dogs''.

Abdul-Jabbar has worked as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle SuperSonics, helping mentor, among others, their young centers, Michael Olowokandi and Jerome James. Abdul-Jabbar was the head coach of the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League in 2002, leading the team to the league's championship that season, but he failed to land the head coaching position at Columbia University a year later. He then worked as a scout for the New York Knicks. Finally, on September 2, 2005, he returned to the Lakers as a special assistant to Phil Jackson to help the Lakers' centers, and in particular their young draftee Andrew Bynum. Abdul-Jabbar's influence has been credited with Bynum's emergence as a more talented NBA center. Abdul-Jabbar has also served as a volunteer coach at Alchesay High School on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona in 1998.

Acting career

Playing in Los Angeles facilitated Abdul-Jabbar's trying his hand at acting. He made his film debut in Bruce Lee's posthumous 1978 film ''Game of Death'', in which his character Hakim fought Billy Lo (played by Lee). His character was the last and most dangerous guardian that Bruce Lee's character had to face. In the extended footage of the final fight scenes of the film (which were shot in 1973), which last about half an hour, Abdul-Jabbar and Lee fight on the highest level of a pagoda in which Lee's character had to fight his way up. In real-life, Abdul-Jabbar was a student of Lee's Jeet Kune Do fighting philosophy.

In 1980, he played co-pilot Roger Murdock in ''Airplane!''. Abdul-Jabbar has a memorable scene in which a little boy looks at him and remarks that he is in fact Abdul-Jabbar—spoofing the appearance of football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch as an airplane pilot in the 1957 drama ''Zero Hour!''. Staying in character, Abdul-Jabbar states that he is merely Roger Murdock, an airline co-pilot, but the boy continues to insist that Abdul-Jabbar is "the greatest", but that, according to his father, he doesn't "work hard on defense" and "never really tries, except during the playoffs". This causes Abdul-Jabbar's character to snap, "The hell I don't!", then grab the boy and snarl he has "heard that crap since UCLA", he "busts his buns every night" and the boy should tell his "old man to drag [Bill] Walton and [Bob] Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes". When Murdock passes out later in the film, he is carried out wearing Abdul-Jabbar's goggles and yellow Lakers' shorts.

Abdul-Jabbar has had numerous other television and film appearances, often playing himself, including appearances in the movie ''Fletch'', the sitcoms ''Full House'', ''Living Single'', ''Amen'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Martin'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (his height humorously contrasted with that of diminutive child star Gary Coleman), ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Scrubs'', ''21 Jump Street'' and ''Emergency!''. Jabbar played a genie in lamp in a 1984 episode of ''Tales From The Darkside''. He also appeared in the telemovie version of Stephen King's ''The Stand'', played the Archangel of Basketball in ''Slam Dunk Ernest'', and a brief non-speaking cameo appearance in ''BASEketball''. Abdul-Jabbar was also the co-executive producer of the 1994 TV movie, ''The Vernon Johns Story''. He has also made appearances on ''The Colbert Report'', in a 2006 skit called "HipHopKetball II: The ReJazzebration Remix '06" and in 2008 as a stage manager who is sent out on a mission to find Nazi Gold. On Al Jazeera English he expressed his desire to be remembered not just as a player, but somebody who had many talents and used them.

Player profile

Abdul-Jabbar played the center position and is regarded as one of the best players of all time. He is the all-time leading NBA scorer with 38,387 points, having collected six titles, six regular season MVP and two Finals MVP awards, fifteen NBA First or Second Teams, a record nineteen NBA All-Star call-ups and averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He is also the third all-time in registered blocks (3,189), which is even more impressive because this stat had not been recorded until the fourth year of his career (1974).

On offense, Abdul-Jabbar was an unstoppable low-post threat. In contrast to other low-post dominators like Wilt Chamberlain, Artis Gilmore or Shaquille O'Neal, Abdul-Jabbar was a relatively slender player, standing 7–2 but only weighing 225 lbs (though in his latter years the Lakers listed Abdul-Jabbar's weight as 265). However, he made up for his relative lack of bulk by showing textbook finesse, strength and was famous for his ambidextrous skyhook shot (see below), which defenders found impossible to block. It contributed to his high .559 field goal accuracy, making him the eighth most accurate scorer of all time and a feared clutch shooter. Abdul-Jabbar was also quick enough to run the "Showtime" fast break led by Magic Johnson and was well-conditioned, standing on the hardwood an average 36.8 minutes. In contrast to other big men, Abdul-Jabbar also could reasonably hit his free throws, finishing with a career 72% average.

On defense, Abdul-Jabbar maintained a dominant presence. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team eleven times. He frustrated opponents with his superior shot-blocking ability, denying an average 2.6 shots a game.

As a teammate, Abdul-Jabbar exuded natural leadership and was affectionately called "Cap" or "Captain" by his colleagues. He was also known for his strict fitness regime, which made him one of the most durable players of all time. In the NBA, his 20 seasons and 1,560 games are performances surpassed only by Robert Parish.

Abdul-Jabbar made the NBA's 35th and 50th Anniversary Teams, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players of All Time in 1996.

Sky hook

Abdul-Jabbar was well known for his trademark "sky hook", a hook shot in which he bent his entire body (rather than just the arm) like a straw in one fluid motion to raise the ball and then release it at the highest point of his arm's arching motion. Combined with his long arms and great height (7 feet 2 inches), the sky hook was nearly impossible for a defender to block without goaltending. Only a few have blocked his legendary skyhook, including basketball greats Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon. It was a reliable and feared offensive weapon and contributed to his high lifetime field goal percentage of .559. As a twist, he was adept at shooting the skyhook with either hand, which made him even more difficult to defend against. According to Abdul-Jabbar, he learned the move in fifth grade after practicing with the Mikan Drill and soon learned to value it, as it was "the only shot I could use that didn't get smashed back in my face".

NBA career and statistics

Teams and years

1969–75 Milwaukee Bucks

1975–89 Los Angeles Lakers

Statistics

Games played – 1560 (2nd most in NBA history)

Field goal % – 55.9 (10th highest in NBA history)

Free throw % – 72.1

Three-point % – 05.6

Rebounds – 17,440 (3rd most in NBA history)

Rebounds per game – 11.2 (23rd highest in NBA history)

Assists – 5,660 (34th in NBA history)

Assist per game – 3.6

Steals – 1,160

Steals per game – 0.74

Blocks – 3,189 (3rd most in NBA history) (Note: blocks were not officially tabulated until the 1973–74 season)

Blocks per game – 2.57

Points per game – 24.6 (14th highest in NBA history)

Holds NBA career record for:

Most points (38,387)

* Most minutes played (57,446)

* Most field goals made (15,837)

* Most field goals attempted (28,307)

* Most All-Star selections (19)

* Most All-Star games played (18)

Career highs

40 point games

70 times in the regular season 55 with Milwaukee Bucks 15 with Los Angeles Lakers

50 point games

All of Abdul-Jabbar's 50 point efforts occurred while he played for the Milwaukee Bucks. His career high as a Laker was 48 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on .

! Points	! Opponent	! Home/Away	! Date	Field goal (basketball)>FGM	! FGA	Free throw (basketball)>FTM	! FTA
55	Boston Celtics	Home		23	36	9
53	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away		20	32	13
53	Boston Celtics	Away		22	31	9
53	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away		23	31	7
53	Philadelphia 76ers	Home		18	28	17	22
52	Atlanta Hawks	Home		18	29	16	20
51	Seattle SuperSonics	Neutral		18	25	15	23
51	Boston Celtics	Away		21	36	9
50	Los Angeles Lakers	Away		22	39	6
50	Portland Trail Blazers	Home		18	30	14

Top shot-blocking efforts

	Occurred in playoff competition

! Blocks	! Opponent	! Home/Away	! Date	! Minutes played	Point (basketball)>Points	Rebound (basketball)>Rebounds	Assist (basketball)>Assists
	Detroit Pistons	Away		46	29	21	2
	Detroit Pistons	Home		43	27	16	4
	Kansas City Kings	Home		41	25	15	3
	Detroit Pistons	Home		53	19	16	5
	Atlanta Hawks	Home		49	39	23	5
	Atlanta Hawks	Home		39	28	15	2
	Detroit Pistons	Home		35	19	10	0
9	Phoenix Suns	Away		39	18	17	2
9	Milwaukee Bucks	Away		45	30	20	5
9	Portland Trail Blazers	Home		46	41	20	3
9	Phoenix Suns	Home		26	28	12	1
9	Golden State Warriors	Home		40	40	19	3
9	New Orleans Jazz	Away		48	34	16	6
9	Chicago Bulls	Away		44	18	10	8
9	Indiana Pacers	Away		40	25	13	8

Regular season

! Stat	! High	! Opponent	! Date
Points	55	vs. Boston Celtics
Field goals made, none missed	11—11	vs. Phoenix Suns
Field goals made, none missed	10—10	vs. Golden State Warriors
Field goals made	24	vs. Houston Rockets
Field goal attempts	39	at Los Angeles Lakers
Free throws made, none missed	—
Free throws made	20	at Boston Celtics
Free throw attempts	25	at Boston Celtics
		vs. Detroit Pistons
Rebounds	30	at Boston Celtics
		at New Jersey Nets
Offensive rebounds
		vs. Detroit Pistons
Assists	14	at Seattle SuperSonics
Steals
Minutes played	60	at Cleveland Cavaliers

Playoffs

! Stat	! High	! Opponent	! Date
Points	46	vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Field goals made	20	at Chicago Bulls
Field goals made	19	vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Field goal attempts	37	vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Field goal attempts	37	vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Free throws made	13
Free throw attempts	18
Rebounds	31	vs. New York Knicks
Defensive rebounds	18	vs. Golden State Warriors
Assists	11	at New York Knicks
Steals	6	at Portland Trail Blazers
Blocked shots	9	vs. Golden State Warriors
Blocked shots	8	at Portland Trail Blazers
Blocked shots	8	at Portland Trail Blazers
Blocked shots	7	vs. Denver Nuggets
Blocked shots	7	vs. Seattle SuperSonics

Athletic honors

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (May 15, 1995)

College:

* Player of the Year (1967, 1969)

* Three-time First Team All-American (1967–69)

* Three-time NCAA champion (1967, 1968, 1969)

* Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969)

* Naismith College Player of the Year (1969)

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (2007)

National Basketball Association:

* Rookie of the Year (1970)

* Six-time NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)

* Most Valuable Player (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)

* Sporting News NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)

* Finals Most Valuable Player (1971, 1985)

* ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" (1985)

* One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)

* First player in NBA history to play 20 seasons

* #7 in SLAM Magazine's Top 50 NBA Players of all time in 2009.

As author

Abdul-Jabbar is also a best-selling author. His first book, his autobiography ''Giant Steps'', was written in 1983 with co-author Peter Knobler. (The book's title is an homage to jazz great John Coltrane.) His latest is ''On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance'', co-written with Raymond Obstfeld. His previous book, ''Brothers In Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's "Forgotten Heroes'', co-written with Anthony Walton, is a history of an all-black armored unit that served with distinction in Europe.

Bibliography:

''Giant Steps'', with Peter Knobler (1983) ISBN 0-553-05044-3

''Kareem'', with Mignon McCarthy (1990) ISBN 0-394-55927-4

''Selected from Giant Steps (Writers' Voices)'' (1999) ISBN 0-7857-9912-5

''Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement'', with Alan Steinberg (1996) ISBN 0-688-13097-6

''A Season on the Reservation: My Sojourn with the White Mountain Apaches'', with Stephen Singular (2000) ISBN 0-688-17077-3

''Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes'' with Anthony Walton (2004) ISBN 978-0767909136

''On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance'' with Raymond Obstfeld (2007) ISBN 978-1416534884

Audio Book:

''On the Shoulders of Giants: An Audio Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance'' 8 CD Set Vol. 1–4, with Avery Brooks, Jesse L. Martin, Maya Angelou, Herbie Hancock, Billy Crystal, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, Julius Erving, Jerry West, Clyde Drexler, Bill Russell, Coach John Wooden, Stanley Crouch, Quincy Jones and other chart-topping musicians, as well as legendary actors and performers such as Samuel L. Jackson. (2008) ISBN 978-0-615-18301-5

In 2007, Abdul-Jabbar participated in the national UCLA alumni commercial entitled "My Big UCLA Moment." The UCLA commercial is featured on YouTube.

On February 10, 2011, Abdul-Jabbar debuted his film ''On the Shoulders of Giants'', documenting the tumultuous journey of the famed yet often-overlooked Harlem Renaissance professional basketball team, at Science Park High School in Newark, NJ. The event was simulcasted live throughout the school, city, and state.

Personal life

Abdul-Jabbar was married to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar (born Janice Brown), and together they had three children: daughters Habiba and Sultana and son Kareem Jr., who also played basketball. They were divorced in 1978. He has another son, Amir, with Cheryl Pistono. Another son, Adam, made an appearance on the TV sitcom ''Full House'' with him.

Religion and name

Speaking about the thinking behind his change of name when he converted to Islam he said to ''Playboy'' that he was "latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims. My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th century. My people were Yoruba, and their culture survived slavery (...) My father found out about that when I was a kid, and it gave me all I needed to know that, hey, I was somebody, even if nobody else knew about it. When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that's a terrible burden on black people, because they don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted."

Abdul-Jabbar reached a settlement after suing Miami Dolphins running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar (now Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar, born Sharmon Shah) because he felt Karim was sponging off the name he made famous by having the Abdul-Jabbar moniker and number 33 on his Dolphins jersey, even though names are not protectable under U.S. copyright laws. As a result, the younger Abdul-Jabbar had to change his jersey nameplate to simply "Abdul" while playing for the Dolphins. The football player had also been an athlete at UCLA.

Health problems

Abdul-Jabbar suffers from migraines, and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has had legal ramifications.

In November 2009, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he was suffering from a form of leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The disease was diagnosed in December 2008, but Abdul-Jabbar said his condition could be managed by taking oral medication daily, seeing his specialist every other month and getting his blood analyzed regularly. He expressed in a 2009 press conference that he did not believe that the illness would stop him from leading a normal life. Abdul-Jabbar became a spokesman for Novartis, the company that produces his cancer medication, Gleevec.

In February 2011, Abdul-Jabbar announced via Twitter that his leukemia was gone and was "100% cancer free". A few days later, he clarified his misstatement. "You're never really cancer-free and I should have known that," Abdul-Jabbar said. "My cancer right now is at an absolute minimum."

See also

NBA

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game

List of National Basketball Association players with most blocks in a game

List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season

College

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 60 or more points in a game

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

References

External links

Official Kareem Abdul-Jabbar website

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Blog

Kareem's complete bio @ NBA.com

1967–68 Oscar Robertson Trophy USBWA College Player of the Year

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playerfile, stats, draft, NBA at 50, wallpapers

SPORT magazine, February 1976: Goodbye Schlitz, Hello Smog: Kareem Goes West Again

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Profile and Stats at LakersWeb.com

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: My Big UCLA Moment

Video: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks about Coach John Wooden

Video: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gives the keynote address during the inauguration of UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball coaches Category:African American basketball players Category:African American Muslims Category:Converts to Islam Category:African American Muslims Category:American Muslims Category:African American non-fiction writers Category:American basketball players Category:African American film actors Category:American people of Yoruba descent Category:African American television actors Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Basketball players from New York Category:People with cancer Category:College basketball announcers in the United States Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity Category:Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Category:Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Category:Male basketball centers Category:Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Category:Milwaukee Bucks players Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:New York Nets draft picks Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Sportspeople from Manhattan Category:UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Category:United States Basketball League coaches

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Name	Samus Aran
Series	''Metroid''
Firstgame	''Metroid'' (1986)
Creator	Makoto Kano
Artist	Hiroji Kiyotake
Voiceactor	Jennifer Hale (2002–2007)Alésia Glidewell (2008)Jessica Martin (2010)
Japanactor	Ai Kobayashi (Metroid: Other M)
Liveactor	Chisato Morishita (Metroid: Zero Mission commercial)
Inuniverse	}}

is the protagonist of the ''Metroid'' video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game ''Metroid'', Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles. Throughout the series, she executes missions given to her by the Galactic Federation while hunting the antagonistic Space Pirates and their leader, Ridley, along with the energy-draining extraterrestrial parasites called Metroids. Orphaned at a young age, Samus was brought up by the extraterrestrial avianoid Chozo race, who trained her as a warrior. The Chozo also gave her the Power Suit, and infused her with their blood in order to create a perfect warrior. The suit gives Samus the ability to transform herself into a sphere called the Morph Ball in order to roll through tight areas such as tunnels.

Samus has appeared in all eleven ''Metroid'' video games as of 2010. She has also been featured in media outside of the series, including the comic book version of ''Captain N: The Game Master'', all three games in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series of multiplayer fighting games, and the video games ''Super Mario RPG'' (1996), ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996), and ''Kirby's Dream Land 3'' (1997), in which she makes cameo appearances. Makoto Kano created the characters for the original ''Metroid'', while Hiroji Kiyotake designed the main protagonist Samus. The idea for the character to be female came up partway through the development of ''Metroid'', when the developers determined that it would be an interesting twist to reveal her as female at the end of the game. Samus is one of the first major female protagonists in a video game, and her popularity among fans has helped her top several lists of the best video game heroines.

Development

The style for the original ''Metroid'' game was designed to be a cross between the side-scrolling gameplay of the ''Super Mario'' games and the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, with inspiration from science fiction. The game's characters were conceived by Makoto Kano, while Hiroji Kiyotake designed main protagonist Samus Aran. Samus is able to collapse into a ball to travel through tight areas. The ability, called the Maru Mari in the original Metroid (1986), and later the more popular title of Morph Ball in Super Metroid, was conceived by the developers because it required less effort to animate than "a cyborg crawling on all fours", and the producer for ''Metroid'', Gunpei Yokoi, took advantage of this shortcut.

The game's atmosphere was influenced by Ridley Scott's film, ''Alien'' (1979). Series co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto recalls, "We were partway through the development process when one of the staff members said 'Hey, wouldn't that be kind of cool if it turned out that this person inside the suit was a woman?'" The developers voted on the concept, and it passed. The game's instruction manual refers to Samus as if she were male to keep her true gender a secret until the end of the game. Samus was one of the first major female protagonists in a video game. Sakamoto noted that during the course of the ''Metroid'' series, developers constantly try to express Samus's femininity without turning her into a sex object. Samus's image was based on actress Kim Basinger from ''9 Weeks'' and ''My Stepmother Is an Alien''.Sakamoto and Kiyotake said that the character's last name "Aran" was taken from Edison ''Aran''tes do Nascimento, the birth name of famous soccer player Pelé.

Biography

Samus was born a normal human, and she spent her childhood with her family on the mining planet K-2L. The planet was raided by space pirates, who were looking for bounty and other useful items and treasures. The leader of the space pirates, Ridley, killed most of the people in Samus's colony, including her mother, and then destroyed the planet. Her father died when he overloaded a malfunctioning weapon destroying most of the cargo the space pirates were after. Orphaned, Samus was found by a bird-like alien race known as the Chozo, who brought her to their home planet Zebes. Samus was infused with Chozo DNA to give her a strong resistance to foreign environments, then trained as a warrior and given one of the alien race's artifacts, a powered exoskeleton called the Power Suit that biologically entwines itself with Samus's mind and body.

She enlisted in the Galactic Federation Police, but later left because her commanding officer Adam Malkovich sacrificed his little brother to save the team and some three-hundred refugees when a large fusion drive was about to explode. Samus, who is tall and weighs while in armor, now works as a freelance bounty hunter, and is called on by the Galactic Federation to execute missions "because of her superior skills and sense of justice". Samus is motivated at least in part by wrath as well as an accompanying sense of duty, since her "bounty hunting" helps the galaxy get rid of unsavory elements such as the mysterious lifeforms known as Metroids, who can drain life energy and are frequently used as biological weapons. She also takes the opportunity to exact revenge on the pirates who murdered her family. Typically, one of her suit's arms carries a cannon, which can be charged to shoot an extra-powerful blast, a limited number of missiles, and various beams. Samus's suit can collapse into a sphere, a mode called the Morph Ball, allowing her to roll through tight areas such as tunnels. The suit can scan objects to learn more about them, and has a grapple beam used to cross large distances, such as chasms.

Since ''Metroid II: Return of Samus'', Samus has been accompanied by her Gunship, which is used in the games to save progress and restore health and ammunition. The Gunship was destroyed in Metroid Fusion when she crashed it into an asteroid belt. Afterwards, the Galactic Federation provided her with a new ship.

Samus's suit can be enhanced by power-ups, the first introduced being the Varia Suit. In the original ''Metroid'', it gives a pinkish color to the Power Suit, but in ''Metroid II: Return of Samus'', because of the limited monochrome graphics on the Game Boy, the Varia Suit has giant shoulder pads to differentiate it from her other suits. The design has remained with the suit ever since. The difference between suits was explained in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', in which after completing her first mission on Zebes, Samus is shot down and her Power Suit is rendered useless. There, she re-visits a Chozo shrine that she first visited as a child, and receives upgraded armor, with the larger shoulder pads. When the Varia Suit is destroyed, Samus dons the less protective Zero Suit. She wears a unique suit in ''Metroid Fusion'' called the Fusion Suit, a weakened version of the Power Suit. Other suit upgrades in the series include the Gravity Suit, P.E.D. Suit, Phazon Suit, Hazard Suit, and Light and Dark Suits. As of Super Metroid, the suits have gained distinctive colors: the Power Suit (and variants) are yellow, the Varia Suit is red/orange and the Gravity Suit is purple. These colors are seen again in ''Metroid Prime'' and ''Metroid Fusion''. Also in the ''Metroid Prime'' series, the eponymous Metroid Prime creature fuses with the remnants of Samus's Phazon Suit to become Dark Samus, an evil doppelgänger of Samus.

Samus typically works alone. Before ''Metroid: Other M'' (2010), she had never spoken in any of the games in the ''Metroid'' series other than ''Metroid Fusion'', ''Metroid Zero Mission'' and the opening cutscene of ''Super Metroid'', conversing mostly through text dialogue. In the first ''Metroid'', her gender was kept a secret until the end of the game—the instruction booklet for the game referred to her character as male. If the player completes the game quickly enough, she is first revealed as female at the end of ''Metroid''. Typically emotionless, Samus reveals occasional feelings for ongoing situations in ''Metroid Fusion''. Without her suit, other emotions were also revealed while dealing with her artificially intelligent computer. In ''Metroid II: Return of Samus'', Samus bonds with a Metroid, which later sacrifices itself to save her from Mother Brain in ''Super Metroid''. Seeking revenge, Samus destroys Mother Brain in a scene that is "more than a little emotionally charged". In the Chozo's scrolls, Samus is recorded as The Newborn, an "orphaned warrior filled with vengeance". Thanks in part to her Chozo heritage, the Chozo consider her the hope of their race. The Galactic Federation sees her as the protector of the galaxy, and the Space Pirates refer to her as the Hunter.

Appearances

In the series

In ''Metroid'' (1986), Samus is tasked by the Galactic Federation to track down Space Pirates on their home planet of Zebes. At the end of the game, she battles Mother Brain, the organism that controls the defenses in the Space Pirate base, and escapes in time to avoid the base's self-destruction. In ''Metroid II: Return of Samus'' (1992), the Galactic Federation once again commissions Samus, this time to exterminate all Metroid creatures on the planet SR388. She travels deep into the planet's caverns, where she encounters a Metroid Queen. After dispatching the creature, Samus discovers a small Metroid hatchling, which she spares. The baby Metroid follows Samus to her gunship, after it imprints on her. In ''Super Metroid'' (1994), the baby Metroid is stolen by Ridley. She travels back to the Space Pirates' rebuilt base on the planet Zebes. Locating the now fully grown Metroid, Samus discovers a new and more powerful Mother Brain. She defeats it with the help of the Metroid, which sacrifices itself to save Samus. In ''Metroid Fusion'' (2002), Samus returns to the planet SR388, where a parasitic infection nearly kills her. Galactic Federation scientists surgically remove large sections of her corrupted Varia Suit and inject her with the baby Metroid's DNA to save her, which alters her suit's appearance dramatically. To prevent the parasites from spreading beyond SR388 and the space station orbiting above it, Samus sets the station to crash into SR388 and barely escapes before both the planet and station are vaporized. ''Metroid: Other M'' (2010), which takes place between ''Super Metroid'' and ''Fusion'', provides more information about Samus's backstory and emotional connection to both the baby and her former commander, Adam Malkovich, as well as her relation to all four Mother Brain designs, namely Zebes' Mother Brains, Aurora Unit 313 and MB.

In ''Metroid Prime'' (2002), Samus travels to the planet Tallon IV, which contains a Chozo colony in ruins and a Space Pirate base. There she learns of Phazon, a mysterious mutagen that can alter the genetic material of an organism. Samus is eventually able to access the source of the planet's Phazon contamination, a meteor impact crater, where she defeats the Phazon-infused creature Metroid Prime. In ''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' (2004), Samus is sent to the planet Aether, a Phazon meteor-ravaged planet split into light and dark dimensions. There she battles the Ing, creatures that are able to possess other organisms, and Dark Samus, an evil doppelgänger of herself formed from the remains of Metroid Prime. In ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' (2006), Samus competes against six rival bounty hunters in a race to recover an alien ultimate weapon. In ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' (2007), Samus is infected by Phazon and is slowly corrupted by the mutagen while she works to prevent it from spreading to other planets. By the end of the game, she renders all Phazon inert by destroying its original source, the planet Phaaze, and defeats Dark Samus.

In other media

Samus was featured in a series of comic books called ''Captain N: The Game Master'', published by Valiant Comics in 1990, based on the animated series of the same name, despite Samus never appearing in the cartoon version. In the comics, Samus is depicted as brash, money-hungry, and fiercely independent. An article at 1UP.com describes Samus in the ''Captain N'' comics as "rambunctious, reckless, and gets into pissing contests with Lana over Kevin's affections, which makes for some of the most entertaining situations in the series". The reviewer added, "Not to say that the deadly quiet, contemplative Samus who fights for truth and justice in the more recent Metroid games isn't awesome, but there's something compelling about a Samus who's greedy and conniving—and is proud to admit it."

Comic book and manga adaptations of ''Metroid'' games were also developed. Samus is a playable character in all three games in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series of multiplayer fighting games, where she can use her array of weapons in combat against characters from other video games. ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' (2008) also features an alternate form of Samus called Zero Suit Samus, in which the heroine loses her Power Suit and has a different set of movements and attacks. She also stars in the Subspace Emissary fighting R.O.B. with Pikachu. Samus also cameos in the ''Galactic Pinball'' (1995), ''Super Mario RPG'' (1996), ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996), and ''Kirby's Dream Land 3'' (1997) video games. Samus also makes a non-playable appearance in the Nintendo 3DS game ''Dead or Alive: Dimensions'' (created by ''Metroid: Other M'' co-developers Team Ninja).

Samus also appeared in an episode of ''MAD''.

Reception

Samus has been generally well-received by video gamers. Paul O'Connor, the lead game designer for Sammy Studios and a fan of the ''Metroid'' series, described Samus as a "quiet and mysterious presence in ''Metroid Prime''". While playing ''Metroid Prime'', he felt a connection with Samus after sharing her exploration of an alien world and the catastrophe it experienced. O'Connor commented that curiosity about the unknown is a human trait, remarking that players empathize and identify with Samus because she is often rewarded for indulging in her curiosity. IGN remarked that Samus has a cult following greater than most other female video game characters. In the book ''Videogames and art'', Andy Clarke notes that in the original game, ''Metroid'', the player is not briefed on Samus's past or future; the only interaction that they have with the character is by being her through gameplay, while bits of information can be gleaned from the handbook and through concept art. Clarke remarks, "Samus is very rare for the character intimacy gained solely through game play and for her stasis and then drastic change," referring to the revelation that she is female.

On IGN, Samus was chosen as the most requested character who should have her own movie franchise by the website's users. The website remarked that her tragic past makes her a perfect candidate for a movie, especially the loss of both her parents to the Space Pirates. Among their list of voted characters, IGN considered Samus to be the video game character that "could lead the pack of video game adaptations that actually manage to live up to the source material". The website believed that Samus's theme song should be "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" by Aerosmith because she "spends her time running around in a manly battle suit blasting first and taking names later". Samus's popularity led to a toy line; First 4 Figures, a United Kingdom-based toy company, built 2,500 Varia Suit Samus figures, selling all of them. Nintendo Power listed Samus as their third favourite hero, citing her bravery in the face of dangerous situations. Samus ranked fifth on GameDaily's Top 10 Smash Bros. Characters list. In his review of ''Super Smash Bros.'' for the Nintendo 64, Former GameSpot editor Jeff Gerstmann called Samus one of the characters that made Nintendo "what it is today". IGN ranked Samus as the third-best character for ''Super Smash Bros.'' Samus appeared in multiple GameFAQs "Character Battle" contests, winning the "Character Battle V" in 2006. GameSpot featured her in their poll "All Time Greatest Game Hero".

Samus's portrayal in ''Metroid: Other M'' was heavily criticized by many. Unlike other ''Metroid'' games, where Samus took full advantage of weapons and abilities available, she deactivated most of them until Commander Adam Malkovich authorized their use, despite obvious uses for them. For example, she did not turn on her heat-resistant Varia Suit, which would have let her avoid taking damage from high-temperature rooms, until Adam approved it after she had gone through multiple such rooms. The justification given was a fear of the destructive power of her weapons, particularly her Power Bombs, but this did not explain the disabling of purely defensive parts such as the Varia Suit. This degree of subservience by a woman to a man was taken by some as a "sexist" portrayal. Samus's implied feelings for Adam, combined with her looking to him as "a father figure", made for the perception of an Electra complex. Abbie Heppe wrote that Samus "cannot possibly wield the amount of power she possesses unless directed to by a man", though she also went as far to criticize people who liked the game stating she would never talk to a person who liked the game ever again. She later retracted her statement after heavy criticism. The Onion's David Wolinsky echoes the misgivings about Samus's immaturity, petulant behavior, and misguided loyalty. Game Informer listed her 1st on their list of the "Top 10 Dorks of 2010", citing her "lame backstory" in ''Other M''.

Not all opinions on Samus' portrayal in Other M were negative. An article on Koku Gamer titled "The Psychology of Samus and the Roles of Adam and Ridley" defended Other M Samus.

Gender

As a female in a male-dominated role, Samus has been considered a breakthrough for female characters in video games. GameDaily considers Samus the video game industry's "first dominant female, a femme de force that didn't rely on a man to save her". They also listed the discovery of her gender as the greatest moment in Nintendo history. ''The Irish Times'' found it refreshing to learn that the series' protagonist, who is "well disguised under the suit of heavy armour", is female. In the book ''Gaming Lives in the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections'' by Gail Hawisher, Cynthia Selfe, and James Paul Gee, they wrote that Samus is perhaps the most nonsexualized female video-game character ever, a belief shared by Steve Rabin, who in ''Introduction to Game Development'' also considers Samus as one of Nintendo's most popular video game mascots. Justin Hoeger wrote in ''The Sacramento Bee'': "Unlike most other female video game characters, Samus isn't some husky-voiced bimbo in tight leather included only for sex appeal. Samus is tough, silent, heavily armed and spends most of her time in a bulky suit of high-tech Power Armor." She was listed on GameDaily's list of hottest blondes in video games, described as both one of Nintendo's most famous protagonists as well as a "curvaceous, drop-dead-gorgeous woman".

The ''Toronto Star'' argued that the sexual politics surrounding Samus and the ''Metroid'' series needed to stop, as they considered it unwarranted. They remarked that although Samus is female, it is not a significant characteristic after considering the fact that she spends most of her time in a suit of armor that "precludes creepy ogling". The newspaper believed that the "big crazy shock to the gaming public" that followed after ''Metroid'' revealed that Samus is female was "some seriously misspent energy [...] ''Metroid Prime''s heroine is not a woman for the benefit of the sweaty/excited crowd, and neither is she a standard-bearer nor a courageous leader in the struggle for video game civil rights. She is a supremely talented action figure, and in the closeups on her helmet you can kind of see that she wears mascara, but that is all." Rupert Goodwins of ''The Independent'' wrote, "Samus Aran [...] is apparently female, although the Transformer-like suit she wears could just as easily contain a large centipede; it's hardly a breakthrough for feminism."

GameDaily ranked Samus seventh on a list of the Top 50 Hottest Game Babes, describing her as "a refreshing change of pace, a tough, no nonsense warrior that isn't afraid to remove her famous orange and yellow power suit and let her hair down, especially to reveal her skin tight clothing". The website also ranked her number one on a list of the Top 25 Nintendo Characters of All Time. In another article, they listed the "smart and sexy heroine" archetype as one of their Top 25 Video Game Archetypes, using Samus as an example. UGO.com ranked Samus 11th on a list of the Top 11 Girls of Gaming, eighth on a list of the Top 50 Hottest Sci-Fi Girls, and twentieth in a list of Top 100 Heroes of All-Time. The website noted that the original "jaw-dropping moment" was when Samus was revealed to be a woman in the original ''Metroid'', a moment which ''Game Informer'' considers to be the greatest twist in video games. GameTrailers named Samus number one on a list of the Top Ten Women of Gaming, and number three among Axe's Top Ten Gamer Babes.

References

External links

Samus Aran at IGN

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1986 Category:Intelligent Systems characters Category:Metroid Category:Nintendo protagonists Category:Super Smash Bros. fighters Category:Female video game characters Category:Fictional adoptees Category:Fictional bodyguards Category:Fictional bounty hunters Category:Fictional cyborgs Category:Fictional explorers Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional women soldiers and warriors Category:Fictional police officers Category:Fictional government agents Category:Fictional extraterrestrial-human hybrids Category:Fictional genetically engineered characters Category:Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds

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