Sourcing Bruce Lee

Introduction Myths abound in the martial arts world. One of the most pervasive is the myth that the late Bruce Lee created the “Kung Fu” television series. Airing from 1972 to 1975, this show on the ABC network and produced by Warner Brothers starred the late David Carradine. Portrayed as a half-Chinese, half-American Shaolin monk, Caine wandered about the American west in the 1870s, helping people and standing up to injustice and repression. Each hour-long episode featured the Zen-centered kung fu expert searching for his half-brother while evading the pursuit of assassins and bounty hunters intent on returning Caine to China to pay for his killing of the royal nephew. In the following edited and augmented excerpt from Bruce Lee: A Life , authoritative Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly shares the true story of the creation of the Kung Fu program. The truth is more interesting than the myth, and readers who wish to learn even more about Bruce Lee are encouraged to read Polly’s