The Life, Films, & RARE Health Certificate: Bruce and Brandon Lee

Lee Jun-fan  born in November 27, 1940 and died in July 20, 1973, commonly known as Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong American martial artist, actor, director, instructor, and philosoper, Hong Kong American martial artist, actor, director, martial arts instructor and philosopher drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts. Lee is considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between east and west. He is credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films. As many of you may or may not know, ESPN ran a special called ’30 for 30’, regarding the unusual life of the infamous Hollywood actor, and martial arts artist Bruce Lee. He rose to prominence as one of the first Chinese martial arts actors and became very quickly famous here in the states. It’s a truly fascinating documentary on his life which wasn’t captured and published to the public eye as much as the lives of celebrities today. The documentary on Bruce Lee features footage capturing the start of his rise to prominence through working with the ABC series titled ‘Green Hornet’, which lasted less than a year in 1966. The documentary continues to unravel the life of Lee, and of course the wonderful person that he was. After the discontinuation with ‘Green Hornet’ Lee was very much interested in pursuing another television show, and did so with ABC again, having taken great pride in the influence and creation of the 1972 show ‘Kung Fu’. The series is an action-adventure based martial arts western drama. The show is revolving around the adventures of a Shaolin monk who travels through the American Old West, armed with only his spiritual training and skill in martial arts as he is on the search for his half-brother. They just don’t make this kind of television anymore! After much work on the development of the series, Lee was disappointed in finding out that executives of the show later began to question if starring a Chinese Actor such as himself would affect the sales. ABC instead chose to hire actor David Carradine for the role within the film. Bruce Lee was terribly upset about not being chosen for the film, which ultimately increased his desire to work in front of the camera. Towards the later end of his career Bruce Lee’s film ‘Enter the Dragon’ won considerable recognition as it was his last film of his life.  Lee plays a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition in an attempt to fight his way to the dealer's headquarters with the help of some friends. The movie grossed over $200 million dollars however, as mentioned previously, Bruce’s career fells short when he was found by his accident passed away in his bed at the young age of 32 years old from a brain aneurism during his sleep.

 

After the passing of Bruce Lee, his son, the young and handsome, Brandon Lee, decided to follow in his father footsteps on the road to becoming the next great actor and martial artist. Brandon Lee was featured in a number of films throughout his career including the recreation of his father’s ‘Kung Fu’ movie in 1986, ‘Legacy of Rage’, “Showdown in Little Tokyo’, “Rapid Fire’, originally known as ‘Moving Target’ which premiered in 92’,   and his final film ‘The Crow’ which premiered after his passing in 94’.  A number of years ago we acquired a very special and unique piece of memorabilia which happened to be a health certificate that was issued to Brandon Lee dated May 16^th, 1991. It was for the FOX Pirate Enterprises; the film was titled ‘Moving Target ‘starring Brandon Lee. What is peculiarly interesting is why the film company would request a health certificate? What were the reasons behind why this certificate was issued to Brandon Lee at 26 years old? The reason this certificate was necessary is because the company must be able to be sure that Brandon Lee is in good health and would not be injured or die by any means in the making of the film, hence issuing a life insurance policy, and health policy. In another light, the film company also took note of the late Bruce Lee who was in perfect health, but had passed randomly from the aneurism, during the filming of ‘Enter the Dragon’. The precaution for looking after Brandon Lee was considerably enhanced since he was also acting in a film. This document is signed, stamped, and dated with the signature of Brandon Lee, and a statement within the document stating he is in perfect health. It is a very unique document to have in a collection of film and movie memorabilia as well as a remembrance to the amazing Brandon Lee. However, sadly, during the making of his next, and final movie, ‘The Crow’, Brandon Lee was fatally injured due to a bullet shot in his abdomen which later was lodged in his spine. It caused various health complications, and unfortunately Brandon Lee passed away also the very young age of just 28 years old, on March 31st, 1993, two years prior to the release of 'Moving Target', and just a year after the release of 'The Crow'. 

 

 

 

 

 

This amazing, likely one-of-a-kind document from Fox Studios is a record of Brandon Lee’s Bill of Health for the film, Moving Target. The certificate is dated May 16, 1991, just a mere 2 years before his untimely death. This incredibly rare piece of entertainment memorabilia gives us a glimpse into this young actor’s life. Lee signs the bottom right corner of the document in cursive, as well as penning his name in the upper right corner. Brandon Lee was the son of martial arts master Bruce Lee. Like his father, he was a highly skilled martial artist and also passed away at a very young age. While filming The Crow in March of 1993, an incident with an onset bullet from a gun prop was fired from an unspecific location and struck Lee. It entered through his abdomen and became lodged in his spine. After being rushed to the hospital and enduring an excruciating 6-hour surgery, he was pronounced dead. The shooting was ruled an incident.

 

     

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