When I was a kid, I once saw this movie called Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth.

Kung-Fu Theater on Channel 9 in LA used to play it as part of their Bruce Lee festival.

There was nothing special about it really - the "Bruce" they used in this flick, Bruce Li, was a little bit better than the other Bruce's I'd seen.

At least he looked a LITTLE like Bruce! 

The film was an autobiography about the life and times of Bruce Lee.

Bruce Li played Bruce Lee.

Got it? 

Anyway, what set that movie apart for me was a prediction they made at the end.

I remember it going something like this:

"Still, no one truly knows for sure if Bruce is really dead. Some say he'll back, returning from hiding in 1987."

It kind of pains me to admit this, but I thought about that prediction ALOT that year.

Back then I pretty much believed anything movies told me, including the ones about NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD & TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE being true stories.

I was pretty stupid back then!

Side-note: I could never really get into any Kung Fu Flicks (save for the Master of the Flying Guillotine) that didn't have Bruce - the real Bruce - in them.

Bruce was our guy. 

He could kick the snot out of someone and just make you smile while doing it.

The man was lightning fast.

And he was funny too.

All movie stars have that certain quality about them - that little thing that sets them apart, gets them noticed. I don't think it's just looking good or being really talented - hell, I live in LA, I could point you to a billion good looking talented people you've never heard of keeping your glass filled with ice water.

Bruce, however, was a little different in the sense that he was an international star who happened to be Chinese at a time when the only international stars who were Chinese on film were American actors.

Didn't hurt that he could walk it like he could talk it.

All those things he did on film - HE did on film.

For me, nothing beat the sight of seeing him kick the crap out of Chuck Norris - except for maybe seeing him kick the crap out of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

And who could forget "boards don't hit back."

He came along and won everybody's heart... and then he died.

To be honest with you, I didn't even know he was dead yet when I first started watching his flicks.

I kept thinking, "When are you going to make a new movie, Bruce?"

Or I'd see a so-called "new" one and think, "Why does Bruce look uglier and fatter now?"

I don't need to see any new ones.

What's left is good enough.

Later Bruce - wherever you are.

copyright,  © 2007 Paul Silva 

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