The legend of Bruce Lee is one of the more unique account of Hollywood success. What makes Bruce Lee's achievements so successful is the incontrovertible fact that he truly did overcome all sort of adversities and obstacles to realize stardom that was apparently evasive to him. As a martial arts instructor to the stars, one of Lee's most famous clients was Steve McQueen. McQueen was a major global star coming off the achievement of 'Bullitt ' and in a training routine with Bruce Lee, Lee asked McQueen if he would help open a door in Hollywood. McQueen arrogantly said no and did so in a dismissive attitude. Essentially, McQueen claimed "Why should I let you ride my coattails?"

The majority of folks would have been broken down and dejected over the obvious dismissive betrayal but Lee let it be known he would not be discouraged. He discussed to others he would be a much bigger star than McQueen ever was.

Today, both men have passed on and the legend of Bruce Lee has far surpassed the slightly forgotten career of Steve McQueen.

The life and career of Bruce Lee truly took off when the film 'Enter The Dragon ' earned over $10 million in a single month - a staggering sum in 1973. The film made Lee a giant worldwide star and, with Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery, he was considered one of the Fathers of the modern action film genre.

Sadly , this success was posthumous. Lee had passed just prior to the release of 'Enter The Dragon'. Films he had made in HK in 1971 and 1972 would be released after the US premiere of 'Enter The Dragon'. The double feature of 'Fists Of Fury ' and 'The Chinese Connection ' would earn over $50 million in North America and Europe.

Yes, Bruce Lee was a huge box office draw as there simply wasn't any one else in the movie industry like him. He was a superhero come to life which helped 'Enter the Dragon ' draw in massive audiences of children on matinee showings. This was ironic considering the film carried an R Rating at the time.

Through the lens of history, many will have a hard time believing that Bruce Lee ever had a complicated time in becoming such a star considering all his gifts. The truth of the case is Hollywood was leery of putting an Asian actor in a lead role. This is the reason why he was turned down for the David Carradine role in the TV series 'Kung Fu'. Warner Bros. TV didn't think an Asian star would be accepted in a lead role in American television.

Bruce Lee proved his critics wrong and did so ever since his youth.

Lee was a notoriously hyperactive child who was considered "incorrigibly bad" and subject to fighting. His father felt that enrolling him in self-defense skills lessons would be good for him. Lee dunked himself in the study of Wing Chun southern kung fu at Yip Man's kwoon (school) in Hong Kong. Reputedly this calmed him down rather that he was disciplined enough to work as a kid actor in HK films. Actually, this is where the seeds of being a film star blossomed.

Highly curious Bruce Lee studied as much as he could about varied forms of Chinese self-defense skills until coming to America in 1959.

Lee moved to Seattle where he began to teach kung fu to non-Chinese students...something that did not sit well with most masters. Ultimately, Lee moved to Oakland where the legend of Bruce Lee took another turn. He was challenged by a fellow kung fu consultant due to Lee's teaching non-Chinese kung fu. Lee won the fight but felt it took too long and that he was too winded in the aftermath. This led on to him developing a new self-defense skills approach dubbed Jeet Kune Do, The Way of the Intercepting Fist. This new strategy eschewed the conventional idea of learning a martial-arts style and, instead , mixed kung fu, boxing, and fencing to substantiate a much more organic and fluid form of private combat. Such a fluid nature not only made for a high quality self defense system; it also helped form the basis for a uniquely appealing theatrical style that was developed for demonstrations and films.

Bruce Lee at last got bit by the acting bug once again and that led on to his landing the role of 'Kato' in the 'Green Hornet' series. The successfulness of the 'Green Hornet' in syndication in HK ultimately led on to a production deal overseas which finally led on to the green light for Enter the Dragon in the US.

Sadly , Bruce Lee would die at the age of 33 after a serious allergenic reaction to a prescription led straight to cerebral swelling. As he passed on from this world, he would enter the annals of pop culture history because of his dazzling accomplishment in life.

Today, the legend of Bruce Lee is still as strong as ever as he has risen to worldwide fame as a martial-arts icon and all time great action movie star.