79th birth anniversary of Bruce Lee today

World-famous late international star, director and martial artist Bruce Lee's 79th birth anniversary is being observed today (Nov 27). He died on July 20, 1973, shortly before the release of his film Enter the Dragon, at the age of 32.

He was the founder of the hybrid martial arts Jeet Kune Do. Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-Chuen. He is considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.

He is noted for his roles in five feature-length martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei’s The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest’s Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers’ Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse.