All language subtitles for historys.greatest.mysteries.s02e03.1080p.web.h264-whosnext_track3_[eng].1

[dramatic music]

‐ Tonight on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...

♪ ♪

He was an action hero,

a cultural icon,

a martial arts legend
on the cusp of superstardom.

♪ ♪

I'm Laurence Fishburne.

On July 20th, 1973,

Bruce Lee died tragically
at the age of 32,

the official cause of death
a fatal reaction to aspirin.

On tonight's mystery,
Bruce Lee's surviving brother

has questions about
what really happened.

♪ ♪

‐ It was total shock.
I mean, how could that be?

♪ ♪

I need answers
about Bruce's death.

♪ ♪

‐ Now, Robert Lee
has enlisted a former

Hong Kong police detective

to launch an investigation
into the truth.

‐ Do you think
there was foul play?

‐ Good question.

You know,
I would sure like to find out.

‐ Was Bruce Lee killed
because of bad blood?

‐ Bruce pulls out knife.

Threatens that if Lo Wei
says anything or does anything,

he's going to stick it
in Lo Wei's neck.

‐ Was his death self‐inflicted?

‐ I was rather shocked
to discover

Bruce had
had his sweat glands removed.

‐ Could the answers lie
in Bruce Lee's

previously unseen autopsy?

‐ They looked for arsenic.

Quite a common way
of poisoning people.

‐ Or could Bruce Lee have been
caught up in a gangland feud

with Hong Kong's underworld?

♪ ♪

‐ The mysterious death
of a true action hero.

Who or what

killed the one, the only,
Bruce Lee?

♪ ♪

[gentle acoustic guitar music
playing]

♪ ♪

‐ ♪ At the dawning ♪

♪ Of the morning ♪

♪ Of the Year of the Dragon ♪

‐ Today,
Bruce Lee's brother Robert

is a musician
who lives in Los Angeles.

Bruce is far more
than just his big brother.

He is his inspiration.

‐ ♪ Into this world ♪

♪ Came a little dragon,
Bruce Lee ♪

Every time I do
"The Ballad of Bruce Lee,"

yeah, just think of him.

It's hard not to miss him,
hard not to think about him,

because he is my idol, really.

♪ ♪

♪ For he was strong ♪

♪ And his will untamed ♪

♪ ♪

Well, this was early on
and‐‐you know,

I think this was taken
in the '60s in L. A.

♪ ♪

‐ Mr. Marlowe?
‐ Yes.

‐ In the late 1960s
and early '70s,

Bruce Lee had begun to find
fame on American television...

‐ Kato strikes with
the deadly art of kung fu.

‐ Supporting roles
in Hollywood pictures.

‐ It's Lee unleashed.

‐ And in low budget
Hong Kong action movies.

‐ Against the Dragon,

even the best
are better off dead.

‐ [high‐pitched shout]
[bones crack]

‐ But Bruce wasn't satisfied.

He had far bigger ambitions.

♪ ♪

‐ He did write down
on a piece of paper,

which he put under
his pillow every night,

that he wanted to be

the highest‐paid actor
in the world.

[chuckles]

‐ He doesn't write down, "Man,
I'd just really like a job."

He doesn't write down,
"I'd like steady work."

He writes down, "I want to be
the biggest star in the world."

Like, that's the level
of his ambition.

♪ ♪

‐ As this rare interview
shows,

Bruce's ambitions reached
far beyond simple fame.

He saw his films
as the perfect platform

to fight back
against prejudice

and racial stereotypes.

‐ In the United States.

I think something
about the oriental‐‐

I mean, the true Oriental

should be shown.

‐ Hollywood sure as heck
hasn't.

‐ You better believe it, man.

I mean, it's always that
pigtail and bouncing around,

"chop‐chop," you know,

with the eye slant,
and all of that.

‐ Bruce always wanted
to be a pioneer,

and I'm sure that's what
he wanted,

you know,
people to remember him by.

♪ ♪

‐ On July 20th, 1973,
Bruce Lee was in Hong Kong,

awaiting the release
of the movie

he hoped
would finally bring him

the international fame
he craved.

‐ Warner Brothers presents,
"Enter the Dragon."

♪ ♪

‐ Made with one of the
biggest studios in Hollywood,

he knew this film could make
or break his career.

‐ "Enter the Dragon"
is the first time

a Chinese‐American male actor

has ever starred
in a Hollywood movie,

‐ Starring Black Belt
Hall of Fame,

undisputed
martial arts champion,

and international film star
Bruce Lee.

‐ For Bruce Lee,
this had been everything

he had been working for.

And if it succeeds, it will
launch him into superstardom.

If it fails, he's never gonna
make it as a Hollywood actor.

And so this is the ultimate
big break for Bruce Lee.

‐ Bruce is not just
the movie's star.

He is also
the fight choreographer

and directs
the martial arts scenes.

‐ Fighting techniques
are carefully choreographed

by Bruce Lee.

Discipline and coordination
are the only protection

against possible
lethal accident.

♪ ♪

‐ Less than a month
before the movie's release,

Bruce Lee complains
of a headache,

takes a painkiller,

goes for a nap,
but never wakes up.

♪ ♪

[news anchor speaking Chinese]

His death leaves the whole
of Hong Kong in shock.

‐ One day
he was alive and well,

and he was being Bruce Lee,
and he was on the verge

of achieving everything
he'd ever dreamed of.

And the next, he just was gone.

♪ ♪

‐ How could their hero
have died so suddenly?

[news anchor speaking Chinese]

The crowds and the cameras
give Bruce's widow, Linda,

little chance
to grieve in private.

An American,
she and her two children

have only been living
in Hong Kong

for a little over a year.

‐ Raymond Chow, who is Bruce's
producer, business partner,

and his friend, has to
take on the role of, like,

uncle or father‐protector
to Linda and the children

through what would be
a very unfamiliar ritual

of a Chinese funeral.

♪ ♪

‐ What do you know about Han?

‐ We know everything.
We can prove nothing.

♪ ♪

‐ Just 30 days after
Bruce Lee's passing,

"Enter the Dragon"
is released.

‐ "Enter the Dragon,"

where the world's greatest
martial arts athletes

meet the ultimate challenge.

‐ To this day,
the movie has grossed

an excess of $400 million,

making it one of the most
profitable films of all time.

‐ Bruce Lee on screen
is just captivating.

‐ [grunts]

‐ You cannot take
your eyes off of him.

He's a shining,
incandescent star,

the kung fu hero,

the idea of the Asian male
as this martial arts master,

who beats up all the bad guys.

‐ [high‐pitched shout]
‐ [groans]

♪ ♪

‐ There was no question
that he was the superstar

of this particular movie.

I think for young people
of Asian descent,

and I think young people
of all kinds of backgrounds

all around the world,
to be able to see that picture

was transformative.

It was, like, mind‐blowing.

♪ ♪

‐ To this day, Bruce Lee is
a global superstar and icon.

In death, his life's dreams
had come true.

♪ ♪

For Robert Lee
and his sister Phoebe,

the cruel timing of Bruce's
passing still weighs heavily.

‐ [speaking Chinese]

‐ [speaking Chinese]

♪ ♪

‐ Almost half a century
after Bruce's passing,

they are still haunted
by rumors.

♪ ♪

‐ After his death,
so many stories floated around.

Oh man. My goodness.

♪ ♪

Yeah, there's always
this doubt.

I mean, how?

Why?

I don't know,
but if there's a doubt,

there is a doubt, you know?

That's all I can say.

♪ ♪

‐ The official autopsy claims
Bruce is killed

by an allergic reaction
to aspirin

in the painkiller he took.

‐ I mean, I think there was
a perception on the part

of everybody around the world,
particularly in Hong Kong,

that aspirin was
just too ordinary

to kill somebody
so extraordinary.

‐ Is that really
how Bruce died?

I mean,
it's hard for me to believe.

This was very difficult.

I need answers
about Bruce's death.

♪ ♪

‐ At 72,

Robert wants to understand
why his brother died

before it's too late.

And he knows just the man
to re‐investigate

Bruce Lee's mysterious death.

‐ Hey, Robert.
‐ Hey, Philip!

‐ His old school friend,
Philip Chan,

a Hong Kong police detective

during the city's most
volatile decade, the 1970s.

Chan investigated murders,
gangland feuds,

and Hong Kong's
most high‐profile cases.

‐ I remember
there was one time,

he solved a hostage situation.

He was able to get all
the hostages out and all that.

He became a hero.

I know you are
a stand‐up person,

and you have done
a lot of investigations,

and I trust you, okay?

So, Philip‐‐
so if you can really help me

to come up with some good,
solid information,

I would really thank you
so very much.

‐ Do you think
there was foul play?

‐ You know, good question.

You know,
I would sure like to find out.

♪ ♪

‐ The Hong Kong authorities
keep the official records

of any mysterious death
out of the public domain,

but Chan thinks these files
could provide vital clues.

‐ I still have to get into
the official record,

the coroner's inquiry.

‐ Right.
‐ But I cannot get it myself.

I need your authorization
as a member of his family.

‐ Yes. I'll be more than happy
to do that.

‐ Okay, okay, Robert,

I think I would be
very happy to help you.

‐ Thank you.

‐ The memory of a great hero,

your beloved brother‐‐

I'm very interested,
and I will help.

‐ Thank you, Philip.
I really appreciate that.

You're very kind, really.

From the bottom of my heart,
really, thank you.

‐ Okay.
So please wait for my call.

‐ I will.
‐ All right?

♪ ♪

‐ As Bruce Lee passed away
in Hong Kong,

Philip Chan will center his
investigation in this city.

♪ ♪

His first step
is to reconstruct the day

Bruce Lee died.

He starts with veteran
journalist Robert Chow.

♪ ♪

‐ Come on in, come on in.

‐ Sorry to interrupt.

‐ No, no, no, no.

♪ ♪

‐ In 1973,

Robert Chow was an editor
of one of Hong Kong's

most popular English language
newspapers, "The Star."

‐ Now, how did

Bruce Lee's death
come into your notice?

‐ It was on a Friday night,
you know, the 20th,

I think it was around about
11:00, 11:30 that night.

Now we had stringers
at hospitals.

‐ "The Star" relied
on freelance journalists,

known as stringers,

who prowled Hong Kong

searching for
breaking news stories.

‐ And the stringer actually
went to the police desk

in the hospitals.

So they did confirm that
Bruce Lee was hospitalized,

and he was dead on arrival.

And then everybody went mad
and, you know, crazy,

and we all followed that up.

That was how
the story came about.

‐ Knowing that the press
had the story,

Bruce's business partner,
Raymond Chow,

releases a statement,

claiming Bruce collapsed
at his family home

while walking
with his wife Linda.

It is a story
that soon unravels.

‐ It was about two days later
that the news came out that,

you know, Bruce Lee
didn't die in his home

as Raymond Chow
claimed he did, right?

This is actually the telex

that says where
Bruce Lee was actually found.

♪ ♪

Ambulance number A43

was summoned
to Beacon Hill Road,

second floor, flat A2.

A 32‐year‐old man was taken
to Queen Elizabeth hospital,

and he arrived at 2300 hours
that night‐‐

certainly
not Bruce Lee's home.

‐ This apartment
on Beacon Hill

is the home of 26‐year‐old
actress Betty Ting Pei.

It is here that Bruce Lee
is found unconscious

and not breathing in her bed.

The pair were reportedly
having an affair.

♪ ♪

‐ Why do you think
Raymond Chow lied?

‐ What Raymond Chow wanted
to do was to protect Linda.

You know, it's bad enough
your husband dies suddenly,

and even worse was that
he was actually in bed

at his girlfriend's place.

♪ ♪

‐ Raymond Chow told the press
that Bruce Lee had collapsed

at home with his wife
to try to cover up the affair.

♪ ♪

And this turns this
into the biggest scandal

Hong Kong has ever seen.

♪ ♪

‐ Because of Raymond Chow's
deceit,

the death of Bruce Lee
is shrouded in mystery

from the very beginning.

‐ The immediate thing
the public learns

is that they had‐‐were lying
about where Bruce Lee died,

and so their assumption,
quite naturally,

is what else
did they lie about?

Maybe they lied about
how he died.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ In Hong Kong, former police
detective Philip Chan's

re‐investigation into
Bruce Lee's death is underway.

♪ ♪

He has discovered that
from the very beginning,

the martial arts
superstar's passing

was shrouded
in deceit and lies.

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce Lee didn't die
at his home, you know,

as Raymond Chow claimed he did.

♪ ♪

‐ Nearly 50 years
after the event,

a myriad of rumors
and theories

still swirl around
Bruce Lee's death.

But with the help of
Bruce's brother, Robert Lee,

Chan has obtained documents
which might contain the truth.

‐ In this envelope
are Bruce Lee's death files,

official documents from the
court inquest into his death.

These documents would include
his autopsy reports,

toxicology report,
statements from witnesses,

police officers,
and medical officers.

‐ The Hong Kong government
has never publicly

released these records.

♪ ♪

At his office,
Chan scours the evidence.

♪ ♪

‐ I'm looking
for inconsistencies

and for any decision which
would be strange, dubious,

and worthy of
my further investigation.

‐ He creates a timeline
of the day Bruce Lee died.

♪ ♪

On July 20th, 1973,

Bruce arrives at the home
of his alleged mistress,

Betty Ting Pei, at 5:00 p. m.

But he isn't alone.

With him is Raymond Chow,

Bruce Lee's business partner
and producer

on the film
"Enter the Dragon."

‐ What I'm interested in
is understanding

what Betty Ting Pei,
the actress,

and Raymond Chow
say happened

in the apartment that night.

♪ ♪

‐ According to both witnesses,
the three sit down

and discuss the script
for Bruce's planned follow‐up

to "Enter the Dragon,"
a film called "Game of Death."

♪ ♪

At 7:00 p. m.,
he complains of a headache.

♪ ♪

Betty gives him a painkiller
which contains aspirin.

Bruce goes to sleep, and
Raymond heads off for dinner,

leaving just Bruce and Betty
at the apartment.

♪ ♪

At 9:30, Raymond calls
to check on Bruce.

Betty says
she can't wake him up.

‐ Bruce!

‐ Now, if you found somebody
in your bed unconscious

and unresponsive,
what's the first thing you do?

You dial 999,
call an ambulance.

But that's not what happened.

♪ ♪

‐ Raymond tells the police he
rushed back to the apartment

and rang
for medical assistance,

but not for an ambulance.

‐ He called his personal doctor
about 20 times,

and there was no answer.

Then he called Betty's
personal doctor.

♪ ♪

‐ Ten minutes later,
Dr. Eugene Chu arrives...

♪ ♪

And finds Bruce
is not breathing

and there is no heartbeat.

He tries CPR,

but can't revive him.

♪ ♪

It's Dr. Chu who finally
calls the ambulance.

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce doesn't get to
the hospital until 11:00 p. m.,

a full hour and a quarter

after he is first found
unconscious and unresponsive.

[somber music]

‐ Bruce Lee is officially
declared dead at 11:30 p. m.

♪ ♪

When the public learns
Bruce Lee died

in Betty's apartment,

she is seen
as a prime suspect.

‐ The Bruce Lee‐Betty Ting Pei
scenario

is like one of the classic
locked room mysteries,

which is that
Bruce, Raymond, Betty

are together
at Betty's apartment.

Raymond leaves.

Betty and Bruce are alone
in the apartment.

Bruce dies.

Seeing as Bruce is the one
that ended up dead,

Betty must be
the one responsible

'cause there
was nobody else there.

‐ Her lifestyle choices

further fuel
public suspicions.

‐ Betty Ting Pei
ran with a fast crowd

and was involved
in the darker aspects

of Hong Kong show business
and the underworld.

‐ There are death threats
against Betty Ting Pei,

and there were bombing threats
that occurred

where the bombers wrote
on the‐‐on the bomb,

"Betty Ting Pei knows
why Bruce Lee died."

‐ But she wasn't the only
person in the apartment.

Raymond Chow
was also in her home

on the night Bruce Lee died.

‐ Why was Raymond so slow
in giving Bruce

the medical help
that he needed so desperately?

♪ ♪

‐ Over the years,
questions have been raised

about his role
in Bruce Lee's death.

‐ Raymond's persona
as a shadowy figure,

as a bad guy,

as the untrustworthy element
in the equation,

it comes from
a very obvious scenario,

which was that
it was show business,

and Bruce handled the show,

and Raymond handled
the business.

‐ Raymond built up
his company, Golden Harvest,

from nothing
to being a leading studio

in Hong Kong's movie industry,
but in doing so,

he also built up
a reputation for ruthlessness.

‐ Raymond Chow was known
as the Smiling Face Tiger

because he would smile
to your face and nod

and agree to everything,
and then he would rip you apart

when you turned
your back to him.

♪ ♪

‐ Raymond and Bruce had made
three films before

"Enter the Dragon."

All three had broken box
office records in Hong Kong.

But in the months
before Bruce's death,

the two were openly
clashing over money.

‐ Bruce Lee was growing
in frustration

about what he perceived

as being the inaccurate
accounting,

and that he had not
had the money back

from his films
that he should've done.

He would just confront
Raymond and say,

"Okay, I'm seeing
in the trades

"the movie's made
this much money.

Where's mine?"

‐ In response,

Bruce had started
talking to other studios

about making films
without Raymond,

leaving Golden Harvest
in danger

of losing its golden goose.

‐ There's no studio who wants
to lose their biggest star

to some other studio.

And I think the situation
was even more extreme

for Golden Harvest,
because Bruce Lee

was such a dominant part
of their revenue stream.

Probably 80% of their revenues
was based on Bruce Lee.

So it was an existential threat
to have Bruce Lee leave.

♪ ♪

‐ Public suspicion
has continued

to swirl around Raymond Chow
and Betty Ting Pei.

But in 1973,

both were cleared
of any wrongdoing.

‐ Obviously,
the authorities didn't think

there was
any suspicious circumstances,

and there was no foul play,
but why did they rule that out?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ Former Hong Kong
police detective Philip Chan

has zeroed in
on two people of interest

in his investigation
of Bruce Lee's death‐‐

Bruce Lee's alleged mistress,
Betty Ting Pei,

and his business partner
and collaborator,

Raymond Chow,
owner of Golden Harvest Films.

‐ Do you think
there was foul play?

‐ I would sure like
to find out.

‐ With the aid of Bruce's
surviving brother Robert,

Chan's been able to get access

to previously
unreleased documents.

‐ This is a death certificate

issued by the Hong Kong
Register of Births and Deaths.

And there it states,
"The cause of death

was acute cerebral edema
due to hypersensitivities."

♪ ♪

‐ Cerebral edema
is swelling of the brain.

The authorities claim
it was triggered

by a hypersensitivity,
or allergy,

that Bruce Lee had
to the aspirin

in the painkiller
Betty gave him.

‐ Then we come to
"death by misadventure."

This means that the death is
considered to have been caused

by an accident,
which happened

because of a risk that
the person took voluntarily.

‐ The authorities decided
that Betty didn't know

Bruce would have a fatal
reaction to the tablet.

‐ Obviously, the authorities
didn't think there was

any suspicious circumstances
and there was no foul play.

But when did they come
to that conclusion?

Why did they rule that out?

‐ This official verdict is
based on one big assumption:

the fatal swelling
of Bruce's brain

was caused by the aspirin
in the painkiller.

♪ ♪

But does the evidence
back this up?

♪ ♪

Chan is on his way
to the office

of one of Hong Kong's foremost
forensic pathologists,

Dr. Philip Beh,

to review a key document
in Bruce Lee's

death files‐‐the autopsy.

‐ Hi, Philip.
‐ Hello.

Thank you for having me.

‐ No, not at all.
‐ Yeah.

Well, I brought some documents
relating to Bruce Lee's death.

‐ Okay.
‐ The first thing I would like

to find out
is about the cerebral edema.

‐ Mm‐hmm.
‐ I know, in layman terms,

it means
a swelling of the brain.

‐ Yeah.
‐ But how does it kill you?

‐ Oh, it's simple.
Let me show you.

♪ ♪

The brain fills up

almost all the space
in the skull.

There's very little
spare space.

As soon as the brain swells,
where is it gonna go?

There's nowhere to go.

♪ ♪

Now, this is
the underside of the brain.

This is your brainstem.

This controls your breathing.

And this is exactly sitting
against the bone here.

So when this brain swells,

it's pushed down,

and that brainstem
gets crushed.

So you can't breathe.

And when you can't breathe,
of course you will die.

♪ ♪

Okay, so this is
the autopsy report.

♪ ♪

‐ If Bruce's fatal cerebral
edema really was caused

by an allergic reaction,

Dr. Beh would expect the
autopsy to note skin rashes

and swelling across many parts
of Bruce's body.

♪ ♪

‐ No description of swelling
of the eyes,

of the lips,

or of the tongue.

No mention that there was
any skin rash, okay?

And...

if you‐‐yep, here it talks
about the respiratory system.

So the airways‐‐
there's no swelling.

So nothing‐‐
there's nothing here

that would suggest to us
that Bruce Lee

had a allergic reaction
that would kill.

♪ ♪

‐ Basically what you're saying
is that Bruce Lee did not die

because of this taking aspirin.

‐ Personally, if you ask me,
I don't think so.

The autopsy report
shows no evidence

that there was
a allergic reaction.

‐ In 1973,
the authorities misinterpreted

the evidence in the autopsy.

The fatal swelling
of Bruce Lee's brain

must have been caused by
something other than aspirin.

‐ So what's the latest?

‐ I've talked to one of
the top forensic pathologists

in Hong Kong,
and, well, he told me

that there wasn't‐‐you know,
wasn't a shred of evidence

that your brother died
of an aspirin.

‐ Okay.
‐ So yeah.

‐ So what‐‐

‐ So we have to cover
the other angle.

One of the first things
that I would like to look into

would be foul play.
‐ Mm.

‐ During those months,
in maybe May,

June, or July,

did he tell you any stories
about any encounters‐‐

you know, unusual encounters,

like fights
or, you know, challenges?

And physically,
did he bear any signs

or anything that was‐‐
that was unusual?

‐ He did mention that,
you know,

he was challenged
by one person on the set.

You know, he actually walked
up to Bruce during a break

and says that, you know,

"Well, Bruce Lee, you know,
I've seen action fighting,

"you know, your heroism
on the silver screen,

"but I don't know
how well you can do,

I mean, in life‐‐person."

‐ Mm.

♪ ♪

‐ The Hong Kong film industry
in the 1970s

was notoriously
rough and violent,

and Bruce Lee reportedly
did make enemies,

some with connections to
the city's seedy underworld,

‐ In 1970s,

Hong Kong is not
the Wild West.

It was the wild east.

♪ ♪

‐ In 1973, Bruce Lee died
from swelling of the brain.

The authorities ruled
this was caused

by a fatal reaction
to aspirin.

But a leading
forensic pathologist

has cast doubt
on this verdict.

‐ The autopsy report
shows no evidence

that there was
a allergic reaction.

‐ Basically what you're saying
is that Bruce Lee did not die

because of this taking aspirin.

‐ I don't think so.

‐ If aspirin didn't cause
the deadly swelling

of Bruce Lee's brain,
what did?

Could the answer lie
in Bruce Lee's past?

♪ ♪

Growing up in Hong Kong,
Chan remembers hearing stories

about Bruce Lee's legendary
love of violence and fighting.

♪ ♪

Bruce Lee's mother gave birth
in San Francisco at 7:12 a. m.

on November 27th, 1940.

According
to the Chinese Zodiac,

Bruce was born in the Hour
and the Year of the Dragon.

♪ ♪

‐ The dragon represents
the pinnacle of power,

and the sort of myth,
the legend of Bruce Lee

is really bound up with
this symbol of him as a dragon.

‐ From childhood, Bruce lived
up to his birth sign.

He was infamous
for his fiery temper.

‐ Oh, yeah. Don't cross Bruce.

‐ But it was Bruce's
short fuse that led him

to the martial arts skill
which made him famous.

♪ ♪

Bruce Lee's family moved back
to Hong Kong in 1941.

Growing up in the city
in the 1950s,

Bruce studied Wing Chun,

a style of closeup fighting
that uses quick arm movements

and powerful kicks
to defeat opponents.

‐ Pa‐ta, pa‐ta.

‐ He learned this skill
alongside this man,

Chan Chee Man.

Their teacher
was a kung fu legend.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ In recent years,

the Grandmaster Ip Man
has risen to mythical status,

even spawning a series
of movies about his life.

[gentle Chinese string music]

But much of his fame

comes from one very naturally
gifted student,

Bruce Lee.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ Then a British colony,
Hong Kong was rough, chaotic,

and flooded with refugees
fleeing communist China.

Bruce found this
the ideal place to show off

his natural skills
and vent his anger.

♪ ♪

In crowded Hong Kong,

students from rival
kung fu schools

staged bloody challenge fights

wherever they could
find space.

♪ ♪

‐ When he was seven years old,

Carmel Chow became one
of a small number of people

to have witnessed Bruce Lee
fighting for real.

♪ ♪

‐ There's only one fight
which I saw myself,

which is up the rooftop
of this building.

♪ ♪

I begged my brother to take me
up, you know, to watch.

He didn't want me to go there,

because obviously
it wasn't suitable for me,

but I insist
that he took me there.

‐ Even though he was only 17,

Bruce was an old hand
at these challenge matches.

‐ Let's go to the rooftop now,
where the fight took place.

♪ ♪

Fight happened here.

Bruce came up with his mates,

yelling, shouting.

So when the guy says "ready,"
and they start the fight.

‐ [shouting]

‐ And within minutes,

the other guy was been
knock off, been hit badly,

and Bruce walk away
within no time.

So it happened very quickly.

And I saw the other guy
lying somewhere here, I think,

with blood in his face,
really badly injured,

his whole‐‐
bashed about by Bruce.

♪ ♪

‐ I think he came back
with a black eye.

It was the first time
I saw Bruce with a black eye.

And I say,
"Wow, what happened?"

He said, "You know,

"I got a black eye,
but you know what?

"My opponent,

he lost a lot of teeth,
you know, from the fight."

[chuckles]
You know?

"So I know I won."
[laughs]

♪ ♪

‐ Martial arts did prove
a perfect release

for Bruce's temper,

but his love of fighting
also landed him in trouble.

‐ Around 1958,

as Bruce was involved
in so many fights,

you know, he was being observed
by the police.

♪ ♪

[laughs]

‐ He said, you know,

"If your son gets involved
in another fight,

we'll definitely, you know,
take him to jail."

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce's parents
took radical action,

sending the 18 year old
to the United States

with just a $100
in his pocket.

♪ ♪

But as this footage
from 1965 reveals,

Bruce gets his big break
in Hollywood

because of the talents
he learned

on the rooftops of Hong Kong.

‐ What's interesting
about Bruce Lee,

when you see him
in that screen test,

is he's got this real charisma.

They ask him to show
some punches and kicks,

and he grabs this, like,
60‐year‐old cameraman...

[punch whooshes]
And has him stand there

while he throws these punches

that are faster
than the eye can see,

but, like, millimeters
from the man's face.

[kicks whooshing]

No one had ever
seen this before.

So this is the break
that he needs

to launch his sort of
Hollywood career.

♪ ♪

‐ It is this
spellbinding display

that lands Bruce
his breakout role

as the Green Hornet sidekick
and driver Kato.

‐ Each week, ride with Kato
and the Green Hornet

on their relentless fight
against crime.

‐ But despite
his star billing,

Bruce is treated
as a second‐class citizen.

‐ He didn't want to play
the part of Kato, initially.

He had to play the house boy
to a white guy.

‐ I'm with you, boss.

‐ He was telling me
how disappointed he was,

you know, not being used
as the main character.

But I guess back in the '60s,
you know,

there's still discrimination
going on.

‐ Kato strikes with
the deadly art of kung fu.

‐ He was paid the worst
of any of the actors,

even though he was
the second lead in the show.

He got paid half
of what the secretary,

who had no lines on
"The Green Hornet," got paid.

The ratings start off
pretty good,

but then they take a nosedive
and it gets canceled.

♪ ♪

‐ After just 26 episodes,

Bruce's first taste
of U. S. stardom is over.

He is now another
jobless actor in L. A.

But as a non‐white male,
he finds it difficult to land

the lead roles
he feels his talent deserves.

‐ Back in '69, he only had
$50 left in the bank.

That's what Bruce told her.

So he decided that maybe
he should get a job

as a security guard.

But Linda said,
"No, no, no, you can't.

"You cannot do that.

"Because once you start
doing that,

"Hollywood will not use you
anymore,

because, you know,
you've really gone downhill."

♪ ♪

‐ But there is opportunity on
the other side of the Pacific.

Raymond Chow offers Bruce Lee
a movie deal

with his new studio,
Golden Harvest, in Hong Kong.

‐ Bruce Lee very much
was worried

that he would make a movie
that was terrible.

And so he wanted control
over the script

and the martial arts
choreography in the movie.

And Raymond Chow said,

"I'll give you
whatever you want,"

because Raymond Chow
was desperate.

‐ Bruce jumps at the chance
to return to Hong Kong.

But could this choice
be linked to his death?

♪ ♪

Philip Chan
wants to understand

if Bruce Lee's short fuse

made him enemies
in 1970s Hong Kong.

♪ ♪

On his return to the city,

Bruce instantly struck up
close relationships

with his stuntmen,

socializing with them
both on and off set.

One of them was Ah Be.

‐ Ah Be.
‐ [speaking Chinese]

‐ When you did
"Enter the Dragon,"

you were very, very young.

How old were you?

‐ [speaking Chinese]

♪ ♪

‐ The Po‐Hing snooker club

was a place where movie stars
rubbed shoulders with members

of Hong Kong's organized
crime gangs, the Triads.

These mobsters controlled
much of the city

from nightclubs, bars,
and movie theaters,

to gambling, massage parlors,
and opiate.

They were infamous
for handing out brutal

and often fatal beatings to
anyone who stood in their way.

‐ In 1970s, Hong Kong
is not the Wild West.

It was the wild east.

♪ ♪

I mean, Sammo Hung,
who Bruce Lee had fought

at the beginning
of "Enter the Dragon,"

has a unique round scar

between his nose and his mouth.

And that's actually
the shape of a Coke bottle

that had been broken off

and then driven into his face
like that during a gang fight.

♪ ♪

‐ Hong Kong in the '70s
was rough and chaotic,

and this violent atmosphere
extended to movie sets,

where Bruce Lee seemed
wary of everyone.

‐ Actually, he lose control.

♪ ♪

‐ According to a close friend,

Bruce Lee was getting
into fights

in the months
before his death.

Could this be the smoking gun

Philip Chan
has been looking for?

A head injury sustained
in a fight

could fit
the fatal brain swelling

that claimed Bruce Lee's life.

But who would dare
take on Bruce Lee?

And who would have a motive?

One suspect‐‐
a director Bruce Lee

publicly quarreled with,
Lo Wei.

According
to multiple witnesses,

ten days before
Bruce Lee's death,

their feud turned violent.

‐ Bruce pulls out a knife,

threatens that if Lo Wei
says anything or does anything,

he's going to stick it
in Lo Wei's neck.

♪ ♪

‐ Former detective Philip Chan
has learned

from a personal friend
of Bruce Lee

that the film star was getting
into fights on movie sets

shortly before his death.

‐ A blow to the head
sustained in a fight

could trigger
swelling of the brain,

the known cause
of Bruce's death.

But who would want
to hurt Bruce?

In the past,

suspicion rested on
Bruce Lee's business partner

and producer,
Raymond Chow,

and Bruce's alleged mistress,
actress Betty Ting Pei,

but Chan has unearthed
another person of interest

who had a fraught
relationship with Bruce Lee:

the film director, Lo Wei.

‐ It's well‐known that
Lo Wei and Bruce Lee

had a long‐running,
often very public feud.

This feud had been running
like a soap opera.

‐ In 1971, Lo Wei was
the director on Bruce's

first martial arts film
with Golden Harvest,

"The Big Boss."

From the start, their
relationship was hostile.

‐ Lo Wei was an egomaniac,

and Bruce Lee
was an alpha male,

and they clashed,
as you would expect.

♪ ♪

‐ But "Big Boss" broke box
office records in Hong Kong.

In 1972, the pair reunited
to make a second movie,

"Fist of Fury."

The film is an even
bigger success,

but their relationship
deteriorates

to name calling
and sniping in the press.

‐ Lo Wei had done interviews
in the media where

he played down
Bruce's ability

and played up
his own directorial skill.

‐ Lo Wei thought Bruce Lee

was a snotty little
disrespectful actor

who wasn't giving him
enough face.

And Bruce Lee thought
Lo Wei was, you know,

a know‐nothing,
second‐rate hack

with too big of an ego and
unprofessional behavior on set.

And they both were probably
right about each other.

‐ Just ten days
before Bruce's death,

Hong Kong's
newspapers reported

that his feud with Lo Wei

had escalated beyond insults
and name‐calling.

‐ When I was digging through
all this material,

I found something very
intriguing that an incident

which took place
on the 10th of July, 1973.

Now, here's the headline.
It's in Chinese.

My translation.

A conflict broke out
between Lo Wei and Bruce Lee

during a screening
at the Golden Harvest Studio.

It almost developed
into a bloody incident,

but friends intervened.

Police had to be called
to the scene

to end
the "Film Studio Stomp."

That's what they called it.

‐ Bruce pulls out a knife,

threatens that if Lo Wei
says anything or does anything,

he's gonna stick it
in Lo Wei's neck.

Lo Wei then, having been
threatened with a knife,

calls the police.

‐ Lo Wei would have lost a
lot of face in that incident.

Would it have triggered
an act of revenge?

I cannot rule that out
as a possibility.

♪ ♪

I'm afraid I have
to put Mr. Lo Wei

as one of the key persons
of interest.

♪ ♪

‐ Supposedly,
Lo Wei had a dark side.

♪ ♪

In the late '70s,
he was contracted to direct

Jackie Chan's first films.

There was a falling out,

and Jackie refused
to work with him anymore.

According to Jackie,
Lo Wei sent mobsters

to intimidate him
until he came back on set.

In Hong Kong,
mobsters mean only one thing:

the feared and violent Triads.

♪ ♪

In the 1970s,
there were tens of thousands

of Triad gang members
in Hong Kong.

Coming into contact
with organized crime

was a fact of life
for the city's residents.

♪ ♪

And Lo Wei wasn't the only one
of Philip Chan's suspects

with alleged connections
to the mob.

Bruce was found unconscious
in the bed

of 26‐year‐old actress
Betty Ting Pei.

‐ Betty was running
with a fast crowd.

She was gambling.
She was drinking too much.

So that meant that Bruce
sometimes had to step in

and pick up the pieces
when stuff fell apart.

‐ Betty's fast lifestyle
reportedly drew her

into the seedy world
of the Triads.

‐ Betty had run up
a lot of debts gambling

and some Triad thug
was demanding she pay him back.

Bruce and Betty met this guy
and his henchmen

in some shadowy back street,

and the guy got paid by Bruce.

And he's being all cocky like,
"See, even the great Bruce Lee

has to pay big brother
so‐and‐so."

And in response,
Bruce takes out a Coke can,

takes a finger,
stabs it through the can,

and the carbonated
beverage sprays

all over henchman number one,
and Bruce throws that down,

gets in the car,
and he and Betty leave.

♪ ♪

He was not intimidated
by anybody.

And he felt,
as he famously said,

"To tell you the truth, I could
beat anybody in the world."

♪ ♪

‐ Could disrespect
for the Triads

or a feud with Lo Wei
have made Bruce Lee a target?

Through his contacts
in the movie industry,

Chan has received a previously
unheard audio recording

of a retired actor

who Chan knows had connections
to the criminal underworld.

‐ [speaking Chinese]

‐ The actor claims the
official verdict is wrong‐‐

Bruce didn't die
in Betty Ting Pei's apartment.

‐ [speaking Chinese]

♪ ♪

‐ Chan knows
from years of experience

that brutal beatings fit with
the Triads' modus operandi.

But would the organized
crime gangs

really have targeted someone
as high‐profile as Bruce Lee?

by talking directly
to a self‐confessed Triad.

‐ [speaking Chinese]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ In his investigation
into Bruce Lee's death,

Philip Chan has unearthed
a new lead.

♪ ♪

‐ A recording that alleges
Bruce was beaten to death

by Triads with metal bars.

Chan has discovered

Bruce had reportedly
clashed with the mob.

‐ Bruce takes out a Coke can,
takes a finger,

stabs it through the can,

and the carbonated
beverage sprays

all over henchman number one.

‐ And ten days
before his death,

Bruce had threatened
director Lo Wei,

a man with suspected links
to the criminal underworld.

‐ Bruce Lee got into
Lo Wei's face

and essentially
physically threatened him,

if he talked smack
about him to the press.

♪ ♪

‐ In the 1970s,

organized crime activity
in Hong Kong

was centered in the seedy area
of Mong Kok.

Philip Chan was a detective

trying to keep law and order
in this neighborhood.

He knows Triads are secretive
and rarely speak in public,

but he has convinced
a former gang member to talk.

Today, Chan Wei Man
is a wine importer.

♪ ♪

In the 1970s,

he was a martial arts
film star in his own right.

He had learned
his fighting skills

as the personal bodyguard of
one of the most feared Triads,

the heroin kingpin
Fat Boy Kwun.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ As an actor, Chan Wei Man
worked with both Bruce Lee

and his arch enemy,
the director Lo Wei,

a man with a known
connection to the Triads.

Philip asks about
the altercation

Bruce Lee had with Lo Wei just
ten days before his death.

‐ We're told that Bruce Lee
went into Lo Wei's office

one day and brandished
a spring knife

and threatened to beat him up.

Did you know about this?

♪ ♪

‐ According to Chan Wei Man,

Lo Wei brushed off
this altercation

as nothing more
than a clash of egos.

He is adamant the director
had nothing to do

with Bruce Lee's death.

But how about
the infamous Triads?

‐ Since Bruce Lee was
such a great fighter,

would any Triad
who wanted to advance

want to challenge him?

And if you defeat Bruce Lee,

you immediately
make yourself famous?

You rise from the ranks?

♪ ♪

‐ A man at the very heart
of the Triads is categorical

that the gangs had no interest
in harming Bruce Lee.

His status as an idol
and symbol of power

to Chinese people
around the globe

meant he was untouchable.

Philip Chan is aware this
is only one man's opinion,

but he knows it is in line
with the information

in Bruce Lee's death files.

‐ The Triads are renowned
for carrying out

violent beatings and attacks.

But could Bruce Lee
have succumbed to this?

♪ ♪

One thing I would expect to see
is, if a person is attacked,

he would raise his arms
to defend himself

and deflect the punches.

That would surely leave
bruise marks on his arms.

♪ ♪

Here's the autopsy report.

First of all,
on the very front page,

it says there are
no signs of injury.

This is vital evidence.

Then, further down here,

it notes that his scalp
is free of bruising

and his scalp shows
no evidence

of fracture or injury.

It says Bruce Lee's ribs
are not fractured.

Now none of this is consistent
with a violent attack.

I have to conclude that
there's no evidence to suggest

that Bruce Lee was ambushed
and attacked by the Triads.

♪ ♪

‐ It is time for Philip
to share this new information

with Bruce's brother Robert.

‐ Hey, Philip.

‐ Hi. Time for an update.

‐ Okay.

‐ You remember our old friend,
the Triad guy Chan Wei Man?

‐ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

‐ I tend to believe
his analysis

that Bruce wasn't

involved in any Triad attack

or any Triad ambush

or any Triad animosity at all.

‐ That's good to hear.

‐ 'Cause he was well loved
by the Triads.

‐ Yes, yes.

‐ So we can cast those things
aside, you know,

when it comes to foul play.

‐ But Robert isn't satisfied
that murder can be ruled out.

A friend who worked
at the funeral parlor

that prepared Bruce Lee's body
noticed a strange detail.

‐ Well, come to think of it,
I mean,

I met one
of our family friends,

whose family owned
the funeral parlor

that Bruce's service
was carried in.

And she told me that,
you know,

she noticed that
his nails were black.

‐ Were Bruce Lee's
black fingernails

a sign of foul play?

It matches a popular theory
of how Bruce Lee died,

but one that has
never been proven.

‐ One possibility is that,
you know, he was poisoned.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ Martial arts superstar
Bruce Lee died

from swelling of the brain.

The official verdict:

it was triggered by an
allergic reaction to aspirin.

But a new investigation

by former police detective
Philip Chan

has raised doubts.

♪ ♪

‐ Basically what you're saying
is that Bruce Lee did not die

because of this taking aspirin.

‐ The autopsy report
shows no evidence

that there was
an allergic reaction.

‐ Now Bruce's brother Robert

has brought up
an alternative possibility.

‐ Bruce's fingernails
were black.

I said,
"Why could that possibly be?"

He said, "One possibility

is that, you know,
he was poisoned."

‐ Some poisons starve
the victim of oxygen,

which can lead to blackening
of the fingernails.

And poisons can trigger
swelling of the brain,

the cause
of Bruce Lee's death.

But this information
is from one witness

who saw Bruce's body
at the funeral parlor in 1973.

Chan searches Bruce Lee's
death files for other evidence

that Bruce Lee was poisoned.

He finds a potential clue
in a statement

by Bruce Lee's business
partner, Raymond Chow.

‐ This is on 10th of May, 1973,

just ten weeks
before his death.

♪ ♪

Raymond Chow describes
how one of his workers

rushes into the room

and tells him that Bruce has
collapsed in a sound studio.

♪ ♪

‐ Raymond describes Bruce
struggling to breathe,

pale, drenched in sweat,
and convulsing.

♪ ♪

‐ He then rings the doctor and
orders four of his employees

to carry Bruce Lee
into his own car.

Then he drives him
to the Baptist Hospital.

♪ ♪

And here, we have exhibits
eight and nine...

♪ ♪

Police statements
from two doctors.

♪ ♪

‐ In these statements
from 1973,

the doctors described Bruce
as completely unresponsive

and showing
little sign of life.

They diagnose him
with swelling of the brain,

the same condition that kills
him just ten weeks later.

♪ ♪

‐ As one doctor
generally remarks,

"He was very close to his
death medically on that day."

Now that sounds like
a very serious condition.

♪ ♪

‐ The doctors inject
a drug called Mannitol,

which reduces the swelling
and saves Bruce's life.

The medic suspect
the swelling of Bruce's brain

was triggered by toxicity
or poisoning from drugs.

♪ ♪

‐ Now this is intriguing.

Bruce cheated death once.

But on the second occasion,
he wasn't that lucky.

♪ ♪

‐ Within a ten‐week period,
he has two collapses

and one near‐death experience

and one fatal experience
from cerebral edema.

So my logical conclusion

is those two things are linked.

And if you want
to understand the reason

he died on July 20th, 1973,

you need to look more closely
at what happened

on May 10th, 1973,
ten weeks earlier.

And if you can explain
what happened that day,

you can explain
why Bruce Lee died.

♪ ♪

‐ A poisoning link between
the two events

was investigated in 1973,

and the spotlight fell
on one illegal drug.

♪ ♪

Cannabis was found
in Bruce's autopsy.

And as
official records reveal,

he admitted
to eating some

moments before he collapsed
on May 10th.

♪ ♪

There is no known medical link
between cannabis

and swelling of the brain,

but could this lethal
condition have been caused

by something else in
the marijuana Bruce consumed?

‐ I think the question is,
was his cannabis in some way

tainted on those two
special occasions?

And if it was tainted,
was it somebody

had intentionally tainted
the cannabis to hurt,

to weaken him,
or even to kill him?

♪ ♪

‐ Chan returns to
forensic pathologist Dr. Beh

to see if there was anything
in Bruce Lee's autopsy

that points to poisoning.

‐ So this is
the toxicology report.

They look for alcohol,
in case he drank a lot.

That wasn't there.
Morphine, we know.

Morphine is common in heroin.

They found nothing.
‐ Mm.

‐ They did a lot
of other tests.

Heavy metals,

so quite a common sort of way
of poisoning people,

and particularly,
arsenic is one.

Lead would be another one
that's common, okay?

Those weren't found.

‐ So can we say
conclusively

that there's nothing
in the autopsy which suggested

that there was administering
of poison on Bruce?

‐ A lot of the poisons that you
feed someone are irritants.

So the stomach
would show bleeding,

or they might be vomiting
or having diarrhea.

So we're not seeing that.
We're not getting that history.

‐ There is no hard evidence

that Bruce
took poisoned cannabis

or that he was killed
by any toxic substance.

‐ Everything that we have in
terms of the toxicology report,

the autopsy report,

the way Bruce
was supposed to have died

doesn't support,
really, poisoning.

♪ ♪

‐ Previously, Chan had
ruled out a physical attack

as the reason
why Bruce Lee died.

Now, he has eliminated poison.

With no evidence of foul play,

he can exonerate his
three suspects in the case:

Bruce's business partner,
Raymond Chow,

his alleged mistress,
Betty Ting Pei,

and the director of his first
martial arts movies, Lo Wei.

But if Bruce Lee
wasn't murdered,

and if he wasn't killed by an
allergic reaction to aspirin,

why did he die
at just 32 years of age?

Could the answer
to this mystery

lie with Bruce himself?

Could he have been
secretly suffering

from a medical problem?

And could it have been
self‐inflicted?

‐ I was rather shocked
to discover

Bruce had had
his sweat glands removed.

♪ ♪

‐ In his investigation
into the death of Bruce Lee,

Philip Chan has eliminated
the official verdict

that he died from an allergy
to the aspirin in a painkiller

and he has found no evidence

that Bruce Lee
was a victim of foul play.

‐ Everything that we have,

in terms of the toxicology
report,

the autopsy report,

doesn't support,
really, poisoning.

‐ Now Chan is returning
to an event that happened

ten weeks before
Bruce's death.

On May 10th,

Bruce collapsed because
of swelling of the brain,

the same condition
that claims his life in July.

On the first occasion,
his life is saved

by fast‐thinking doctors.

♪ ♪

Bruce jetted to Los Angeles
for a full medical checkup.

While in California,

he visited
his younger brother Robert.

‐ When he came back to L. A.
in May 1973,

did he mention about
his condition in the hospital

and the emergency of that
situation that particular time?

‐ No, I mean,
he just‐‐he just brushed

all those details aside
because

to him, I mean‐‐you know,

he said that, you know,
it was no big deal, you know?

‐ Bruce Lee may have told
his brother it wasn't serious,

but according to the doctors,
he had stopped breathing

and was extremely
close to death.

Why would he pass off
this episode so lightly?

‐ If he had a health problem,
let's presume,

would he be the kind of person

to just keep it within himself
and not tell anybody?

Or would he confide
into anyone at all?

‐ You know, he‐‐
okay, first of all,

his pain threshold
is pretty high,

because I remember
he was shooting "Marlowe,"

one of the movies that he was
doing with James Garner,

and in between shots,

he was showing people
his flying kick.

And one‐‐
I mean, some muscles

pulls one of the ribs,

and it broke the rib, okay?

So they took him
to the hospital,

and lo and behold,
I mean, come afternoon,

after lunch, he would‐‐

they were shooting again.
‐ Mr. Marlowe.

‐ He would bear the pain and‐‐

‐ Oh, yeah, yeah.

Anything, he can just,
you know, continue doing,

he'll do, you know?

‐ Mm.

‐ If Bruce Lee
had a history

of ignoring
medical issues,

was he keeping
a condition secret

that caused his collapse
in May

and led to his death
ten weeks later?

‐ As purely as an exercise
in logic, you would say

he collapsed in May,
he died in July.

What links these two events?

♪ ♪

‐ Could there
be a clue in the task

Bruce was doing on the day
of his first collapse?

‐ What happened on May 10th
is that Bruce Lee

was redubbing lines
from "Enter the Dragon."

This day was
the hottest day of May

in tropical Hong Kong summer.

And they turned off
the air conditioning,

and people there describe the
room as becoming like a sauna.

So while Bruce Lee
is doing these lines,

he starts to feel dizzy.

He needs to take a break.

He walks out of this
superheated room.

He goes to the bathroom,

and he ends up collapsing
on the floor.

♪ ♪

‐ Did he collapse
because of something

he'd done to himself?

♪ ♪

‐ Once I looked at May 10th,

I was rather shocked
to discover

that six months earlier,

on November 15th, 1972,

Bruce had had
his sweat glands removed.

♪ ♪

‐ There was
no medical reason

for this
extreme surgery.

Bruce had the sweat glands
removed from his armpits

because he was
a perfectionist.

‐ He had been doing all these
martial arts scenes

with his shirt off,

and they kept having to kind of
wipe him down between takes.

And he was like‐‐he went
to the doctor and said,

"Can you do anything
about this?"

And they said,
"Well, actually,

we can remove
your sweat glands."

♪ ♪

‐ The sweat glands
is a symptom

of that idea
of, like, you know,

"If I need to achieve a goal,
I don't mind what it costs.

"I don't mind what's involved
with it.

"I'm going to do it.

"If nobody else has done it,
that's fine.

I'm going to be
the first one."

‐ Did Bruce's decision

to have the sweat glands
removed from his armpits

leave him unable to control

a critical
biological process‐‐

regulating
his own body temperature?

Bruce's collapse on May 10th
bears the classic hallmarks

of a medical condition
that can be fatal.

‐ There's certain symptoms
of heatstroke

that are common throughout.

One is faintness, dizziness,

headache, collapse, convulsion,

and cerebral edema.

♪ ♪

‐ But how about
on the day he dies?

Does he have symptoms
on July 20th?

‐ He is at the apartment
of Betty Ting Pei

on a day which, when
we look back at the records,

was the hottest day
of the month of July.

And when I spoke
to Raymond Chow,

Raymond Chow said that
Bruce Lee had been

demonstrating kung fu scenes
from his upcoming movie.

And at a certain point,

Bruce complained
to being dizzy

and feeling like
he had a headache.

Betty Ting Pei gives him
one of her pain medications.

♪ ♪

He takes it, he lies down...

♪ ♪

And he never
gets back up again.

♪ ♪

‐ On the day he dies,

Bruce does have some symptoms
that match heat stroke,

which can cause
fatal swelling of the brain.

♪ ♪

Could this explain
Bruce's sudden death?

♪ ♪

Chan returns
to the office of Dr. Beh

to scour the autopsy
for other evidence

that Bruce died
from heatstroke.

♪ ♪

‐ Interesting question.

Let me answer the sweat glands
first, okay?

Your armpit sweat glands,
or auxiliary sweat glands,

they're not that important.

Because we have sweat glands
all over our skin,

for temperature control,
they are not critical at all.

♪ ♪

‐ Humans lose most heat
via the sweat glands

on their chest and back.

Our armpits play
virtually no role

in regulating
our body temperatures.

‐ I don't think that surgery
is important.

But to be sure, if we look
at the autopsy report‐‐

and here, we have it‐‐

here, it talks about
the microscopy of the kidneys.

So it's looking down
the microscope,

looking at the kidneys.

One of the things
with heat‐related deaths

is that your muscles‐‐
the cells die.

The protein in the muscles
actually would leak out

and get into your bloodstream,

and this protein actually
will clog up your kidneys.

But it's not that.

The histology
of the kidney here

is entirely normal.

‐ The autopsy contains

no evidence
of kidney damage,

meaning heatstroke
can be ruled out.

But Chan has uncovered
that Bruce had a history

of hiding medical problems.

Maybe there was
another health issue

that the martial arts
superstar was keeping quiet.

♪ ♪

Could there be clues
hiding in plain sight

in this fight scene
from "Enter the Dragon"?

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce had lost
even more weight

and looked significantly
skinnier in that footage,

which was the last thing
Bruce ever shot.

‐ [high‐pitched grunt]

♪ ♪

‐ Just a few months
before his death,

Bruce Lee was filming
"Enter the Dragon."

Some have said the final scene

filmed in the movie
holds clues to his death.

‐ From the photographic record
that we have,

and the film record
that we have,

Bruce maintained
a certain fighting weight

throughout the bulk
of the shoot

of "Enter the Dragon,"
where he was ripped up, cut.

Well, if you look at him

in the underground
fighting chamber,

when he fights
with all the guys underground,

you just see every part
of his physique

popping out
against that black background.

‐ A month after
filming has finished,

studio executives
watch a screening,

and agree they want
to see more of Bruce

at the beginning of the film.

‐ So they decided to pay
for the fight sequence

between Bruce Lee
and Sammo Hung,

which was the last thing
shot for the film,

the last thing Bruce ever shot,

that we know of,
in this lifetime.

And by the time
they came to shoot it,

Bruce looks significantly
skinnier in that footage.

♪ ♪

‐ Philip Chan wants to know

if this
is a trick of the camera,

or if Bruce Lee
really had lost weight,

and if so, could this be
linked to his sudden death?

♪ ♪

[elevator dings]

♪ ♪

Bruce Lee was famous
for making strong friendships

with his stuntmen.

One who appeared
in many of his films,

including the last scenes
Bruce ever shot,

is Yuen Wah.

‐ [speaking Chinese]

‐ Yuen Wah was Bruce's

stunt double
in "Enter the Dragon."

♪ ♪

‐ Unlike Bruce,
Yuen trained in Chinese opera,

which placed emphasis
on acrobatics.

His superior tumbling skills
are apparent

in "Enter the Dragon,"
if you know where to look.

♪ ♪

‐ So this, they shot
the opening scene

at the end of the shoot.

♪ ♪

‐ The finished movie is edited

so it looks like Bruce does
everything in the scene.

But according to Yuen Wah,
that wasn't the case.

[laughs]

‐ This wasn't
the only time in the scene

that Yuen Wah
doubled for Bruce Lee.

‐ [grunting]

‐ It might look like
a piece of Bruce Lee magic,

but it isn't totally
of his own making.

♪ ♪

‐ Did you see anything very,
very different in his physique

and his mentality compared
to the beginning of the shoot?

‐ [speaks Chinese]

♪ ♪

‐ Chan has confirmation‐‐

Bruce Lee did lose weight

during the last months
of his life.

Yet, Yuen Wah doesn't think

this signaled
a physical health problem...

♪ ♪

‐ But was the result of Bruce
overstretching himself.

♪ ♪

‐ He believes the stress
of trying to make

"Enter the Dragon"
a success

was the root cause
of Bruce's weight loss.

‐ Well, he was already
getting into his thirties,

and perhaps if we wanted

to read something
more poetic into it,

he had a sense
that time was running out.

I think he was driven
and obsessive and‐‐you know,

and utterly committed,
day‐by‐day,

to achieving his goals.

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce's autopsy backs up
Yuen Wah's opinion

that the weight loss
was caused by stress

rather than
a deadly medical condition.

Bruce's heart is normal.

There are no signs of disease
or evidence of a heart attack.

All of his
other internal organs,

except his brain, are noted
as being in good shape.

There are no signs
of any disease

that could account
for Bruce's weight loss

in the last months
of his life.

♪ ♪

With this final
piece of evidence,

Philip Chan can discount
a medical condition

as the cause
of Bruce Lee's death.

He has already
eliminated poisoning,

a hit by the Triads,

and the official verdict

of fatal allergic reaction
to aspirin.

He is running out of options.

But could the mystery
of Bruce's passing

finally be solved
by a brand new theory?

‐ I wasn't expecting
that answer, but I accept it.

♪ ♪

‐ In "Enter the Dragon,"

Bruce Lee announced himself
on the world stage.

He brought martial arts
to a global audience

for the first time.

The movie is one of the most
profitable ever made

and proved
that a Chinese‐American

could be the hero
in a Hollywood film.

‐ For anybody who has felt
like they're the underdog,

Bruce is, like,
a hero in that respect,

because you could be like,
"Oh, wow, like,

"look at this 5'7" guy,

"who weighs maybe 120 pounds,

"beating up
all of these villains,

"and he's able to do it
with grace,

"he's able to do it
with dignity,

and he's able to do it
with a sense of style."

You're like,
"I can be that too."

And that's the power
of representation.

‐ As well as
breaking down barriers,

"Enter the Dragon" is one of
the most influential movies

in the history of cinema.

‐ When you watch a movie like
"The Matrix" or "Jason Bourne,"

what you see is
Bruce Lee‐type choreography.

It's high‐impact.
It's, like, hyper‐realism.

And yet it's grounded
in a certain kind

of messy reality.

It's bloody.
It's brutal.

It's not dance choreography.

All of our fight choreography
in the west

is Bruce Lee
fight choreography.

♪ ♪

‐ But cruelly,
Bruce never knew

of the movie's cultural
and financial success...

‐ One day he was alive
and well,

and he was being Bruce Lee,
and he was on the verge

of achieving everything
he'd ever dreamed of.

And the next, he just was gone.

‐ Leaving the people
of Hong Kong in disbelief

at the loss of their hero.

‐ They had read in the
newspaper Bruce Lee was dead.

They had to come to the funeral
to be absolutely sure.

It just didn't feel like
it could be possible.

And you see the massive throng
of crowds outside,

and then you see the mass of
people inside the funeral home

and you get
a sense of the loss

and a communal sharing
of grief.

♪ ♪

‐ Those who knew him
personally

struggled for answers.

♪ ♪

‐ There is one person who has
never fully come to terms

with Bruce's passing.

‐ After his death,
so many stories floated around.

I wish, you know,
somebody can really prove to me

the real truth.

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce's brother Robert
has asked his friend

and ex‐detective Philip Chan
to re‐investigate,

but he has struggled to find
a cast iron reason

for Bruce's death.

♪ ♪

Now he is returning to
forensic pathologist Dr. Beh,

who has spotted
something unusual

on the night
that Bruce Lee died.

‐ Now, as far
as the information I get

from all the documents
you have,

the Equagesic
that Betty gave Bruce...

♪ ♪

It wasn't something
that Bruce took regularly.

‐ Equagesic is the painkiller
Bruce takes

to combat a headache.

It contains aspirin,

but also another drug
called meprobamate.

‐ Realistically,
the discussion boils down

to the aspirin
and the meprobamate.

‐ In 1973,
the official verdict

was Bruce Lee was killed
by the aspirin,

but there is
no scientific evidence

that he reacted to this drug.

‐ Aspirin is so common.

Now, you know, people take it
for prevention of stroke,

for prevention
of heart attacks.

So that leaves us
with this‐‐with meprobamate.

‐ Meprobamate
is a tranquilizer,

which was very popular
in the U. S. during the 1950s.

Under the name Miltown,
it was prescribed to millions

as a reliever of stress
and anxiety.

But in recent years,

the drug has been banned
in numerous countries

because of its
harmful side effects.

‐ There are reports
of people having

idiosyncratic reactions
to meprobamate

and it possibly causing death.

♪ ♪

‐ These idiosyncratic
reactions

are hard to predict,

as they only happen
in a handful of people.

Dr. Beh thinks Bruce
was one of the unlucky ones.

‐ Meprobamate caused this
swelling of the brain

in Bruce Lee,
leading to him dying.

‐ So Bruce Lee was killed
by idiosyncratic reaction

to one tablet.

‐ Yep. Sadly.

♪ ♪

‐ This is a brand new theory.

Meprobamate has never
before been put forward

as Bruce Lee's killer,

but the emergence
of new scientific evidence

in the years since Bruce died
makes it a prime suspect.

Just as in 1973,

the conclusion
is that Bruce Lee's death

was a tragic accident,

his fate was sealed
the moment he chose to take

a single Equagesic tablet.

♪ ♪

‐ Would his death
be painless?

‐ Well, from what we know
of the scene,

the description was he looked
like he was in a deep sleep,

lying there,
you know, peacefully.

And probably, because
of the cerebral swelling,

he was unconscious.

So again,
probably no pain either.

♪ ♪

‐ For Chan, this marks
the end of the investigation,

but there's one more person
he needs to talk to‐‐

Bruce's brother, Robert Lee.

‐ Robert.
‐ Yes.

‐ Are you ready
for my conclusion?

‐ Yes.

♪ ♪

‐ Okay.

First of all,
I would like to tell you

that your brother didn't die
of an allergy to aspirin.

♪ ♪

And there was no evidence
of Bruce

being the victim of foul play.

Now,

despite
your brother's reluctance

to reveal medical problems
to you or anybody else,

you know, I can't find a link
between a medical condition

and his death at all.

Actually,
we left no stone unturned.

‐ Okay.

‐ I returned to what happened
on that‐‐

on the night
of 20th of July, 1973.

The only thing
out of the ordinary

was that he took that‐‐

that one single tablet
of Equagesic, okay?

It contains aspirin,
but aspirin

isn't the only thing
in that drug.

There's another chemical
called meprobamate.

Now, in recent years,
medical findings

have discovered
that this particular element

could have a fatal effect
on some patients,

although it wasn't known
at the time.

The conclusion that I reached,
therefore,

is that your brother

seem to have reacted
to meprobamate,

and this was the only thing
that killed him.

So it was
a very tragic accident.

♪ ♪

‐ Well...
[sighs]

I wasn't expecting
that answer, but...

coming from you, I accept it.

I accept it.
‐ It's very unfortunate.

I can‐‐
I can share your feelings,

now that we've‐‐we've been
involved in this for a while.

And at least we can get
a lot of the other

so‐called mysteries
out of the way

and do him
the justice he deserves.

But I can tell you one thing‐‐
there was no pain.

He passed away peacefully.

‐ Yeah. Yeah.

Thank you.
Thank you, Philip.

I was expecting
to get an answer

that will make me
fall off my chair.

But instead, it didn't,

but I felt good
and peaceful about it,

because I was hoping

that it will not be foul play,

that it will not be some freak,

weird person
trying to kill Bruce.

You know, this so solid

and scientific an answer
that I can really accept.

♪ ♪

Bruce passed away
when he was 32 years old

when he was at the prime,

at the peak of his physique,

and at the peak
of his intelligence.

And he did something
that nobody can achieve.

And I think I have closure now.

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce will always be with us.
‐ Yep.

He will always be with us.
Yep, that's right.

[sighs]

♪ ♪

‐ Bruce Lee's death has always
been surrounded by mystery

and subject
to wild conspiracy theories.

Now this investigation
has forensically searched

through the evidence and
arrived at a new conclusion.

After almost
five decades of hurt,

Robert Lee finally has
an answer for how his brother,

the greatest martial arts
movie star of all time,

really died.
[all shouting]

Thank you for watching

"History's
Greatest Mysteries."

♪ ♪