1966, September: Bruce debuts in The Green Hornet as Hornet's (literal) sidekick,
Kato. Receives ton on fan mail and teen zine coverage but show cancelled after first season.

1967, Los Angeles: Meets Fred Weintraub to develop TV show, Kung Fu. Role is perfect for
Bruce but given to David Carradine. Does cameos in Matt Helm, and Ironside and trains other actors
at $250 an hour: "All of them would come and say 'Hey man, how do you do that?'" Students include

Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Kareem Jabbar and screenwriter Stirling "Shaft In Africa" Silliphant,

who helps Bruce with script idea.

1968, Los Angeles: Begins formulating philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, or "Way of the Intercepting
Fist." Instead of blocking and then hitting, Jeet Kune Do, like fencing, focuses on intercepting and
hitting in one motion.

1968, Fall: Silliphant writes hour pilot for Longstreet, a crime drama about a blind private detective.
Reviews of the pilot (described by Silliphant as an hour lesson in Jeet Kune Do) are mixed but
concede that Bruce is a highlight.

1968-69: McQueen and Coburn help land him occasional bits but racism and his abrasive
personality hold Bruce back. Bides time by driving his Porsche on Mullholland with McQueen.

1969-70: Gives Silliphant outline for a script based on his dreams which would star McQueen and
feature himself in several roles, including a panter and a monkey. McQueen balks, saying, "I'm not
going to carry you on my back." Bruce literally shakes his fist and says, "Someday I'm going to be a
bigger star than he is!"

1970: Coburn expresses interest and Warners picks up the script, now titled The Silent Flute (i.e. a
call of the soul). Coburn, Silliphant, and Bruce go to India intent on filming, but trip ends in disaster
when Coburn screams at Bruce for constantly humming along to pop songs. Crushed, Bruce agains
shakes his fist and vows revenge, but The Silent Flute is abandoned. (Re-titled Circle of Iron, it is
released in 1987, starring David Carradine, who declares that "when Bruce died, his spirit went into
me. I'm possessed").

1971, Hong Kong: The Green Hornet's continuing popularity in Hong King compels producer
Raymong Chow to offer Bruce the lead in the film, The Big Boss.

1971, October: Made for $100,000 in Bangkok, The Big Boss, later known in America as Fists of
Fury, opens in Hong King to ecstatic response and grosses 3.2 million in first run.

1972, Hong Kong: Fists of Fury, Bruce's second film, later known here are Chinese Connection,
is made for $200,000 and breaks all records set by a first film. In Singapore, $2 ticketsm
fetch $45, and the film is withdrawn to ease traffic jams. In the Phillipines it's closed to give domestic films a
chance. Eventually the first two films grossed over $20 million. The second film, though, is too
similar to the first (what Chinese call "warming over yesterday's rice") and Bruce begins to feud with
director Lo Wei ("No way, Lo Wei").

1972, Hong Kong: Bruce rejects Lo Wei and Chow's script, Stern Faced Tiger, in favor of his
own idea, Enter The Dragon. This in turn becomes his third and worst film, Return Of The Dragon,
which includes Bruce's fight with Chuck Norris in the Roman Colosseum.

1972, Hong Kong: Bruce announces his next project will be called Game of Death. Mentioning
"death" in the title is bad luck (or bad feng shui). The $100,000 house he buys in Kowloon also has
bad feng shui.

1972, Hollywood: Before Game of Death can be made, Bruce signs big deal with Warners, and
upon his return to L.A., tells McQueen the good news. McQueen responds by sending Bruce
autographed photo: "To Bruce Lee, My Greatest Fan, Steve McQueen."

1973, January: Production on Enter The Dragon begins in Hong Kong, despite Bruce's
feuds with screenwriter Michael Alin and producers Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller.
Bruce is now mobbed in public, forcing him to don disguises. He also receives
challenges--even by mail and phone--from scores of tough guys. Too often Bruce accepts
the challenges.

1973, Winter: Bruce injured several times during shooting. Said to look alternately pale
and dark. On the set he hangs out with stuntmen from rival Triad gangs. The staged fights with 400 extras
"often degenerated into a vengeful brawl." Bruce also vows to his buddies that "at the end of
our big fight scene, I'm going to kill (co-star) Bob Wall." He is later talked out of it.

1973, May 10: During final edit session for Dragon, Bruce collapses, convulses, loses
consciousness. Hong Kong doctors prescribe drugs to reduce the brain swelling they detect, but
doctors at UCLA later find no trouble after series of tests. Bruce reportedly drinking as many as 20
sakes a night.

1973, July 20: Raymond Chow and Bruce meet at apartment of actress Betty Ting-Pei to go over
new Game of Death script. Bruce complains of headache, Betty gives him a prescription herbalist pill
called Equagesic, he lies down and hours later is dead of a cerebral edema, or massive swelling of the
brain. Attempt to move body from Betty to Bruce's house exposed by Hong Kong critic Mel Tobias
and fuels speculation of foul play. Original cause of death listed as "marijuana poisoning," later
changed to "death by misadventure." An estimated 20,000 people attend his funeral in Hong Kong.
Normall restrained Chinese weep in public.

1973, Summer: Rumors fly: he died while making love to Betty; he died because
his house had bad feng shui; he died from the "Iron Fist" or "Vibrating Palm," a
killing technique certain Kung Fu Grand Masters allegedly possess which channels
all their energy into a single touch. In this last scenario, a Master put his hand on
Bruce's shoulder purportedly because he had revealed too many martial arts secrets
to Westerners.

1973, August: Enter The Dragon premiers. Rob Cohen, who would later direct the movie
about Bruce's life, is at the American opening: "It was the first time I'd ever seen an audience
respond to an actor as if he were part of a live sporting event. Cheering, screaming, applauding--I'd
never seen anything like that before. Nor have I since." Though released in August, Dragon
outgrosses all other films that year except The Exorcist. Made for $500,000, it has grossed over $150 million so far.

1978, Fall: Game of Death is finally released, featuring only 20 minutes of Bruce footage (the rest
is filmed with stand-ins).