THE DRAGON'S DEMISE
How did Bruce Lee die? Cause of death revealed
The Hong Kong star remains the greatest icon of martial arts cinema
BRUCE LEE died more than 50 years ago, but The Dragon left an indelible mark on the world.
However, the mystery surrounding the death of martial arts legend appears to have been solved in a tragic theory by doctors.
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How did Bruce Lee die?
Lee died a month before the release of the iconic martial arts movie Enter the Dragon, which secured his place as a Hollywood icon.
He had finished filming the movie in Hong Kong and was working on the post-production process.
The actor collapsed suddenly during one of the film's dubbing sessions on May 10, 1973.
He was then rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with cerebral edema, a condition when fluid builds up around the brain.
More about Bruce Lee
Doctors prescribed him with medication to reduce the swelling, but this was not the last of the health complications that would lead to his death.
On July 20, 1973, Lee was in Hong Kong meeting producer Raymond Chow to discuss the making of a new film.
While visiting the apartment of Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress who later admitted to having an intimate relationship with Lee, he complained of having a headache.
Ting gave him the painkiller Equagesic as a remedy.
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Lee then took a nap, but never woke up.
Ambulances were called, but they declared that the household name was dead on arrival, at age 32.
Bruce Lee shows the incredible of speed of his Kung Fu moves in archive video
To avoid a scandal, producer Raymond Chow told the Hong Kong press that Bruce died at home with his wife, Linda.
When this was found to be false, the Chinese media exploded with rumours and conspiracies surrounding Lee's death.
What caused Bruce Lee's brain to swell?
His death was initially attributed to an allergic reaction to the painkillers he had taken, and was deemed as "death by misadventure" by doctors, a term used to describe a death caused by a risk that was taken voluntarily.
But doctors now believe he may have died from drinking too much water after they reviewed the evidence - saying he is likely to have suffered from hyponatraemia.
A team of experts wrote in the : “In other words, we propose that the kidney’s inability to excrete excess water killed Bruce Lee.”
Hyponatremia indicates an abnormally low level of sodium in the blood which is essential for fluid balance.
This imbalance leads to swelling in body cells including brain cells.
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According to the study, Lee possessed multiple risk factors for hyponatremia.
His habits included consuming large amounts of liquid and using cannabis, which heightens thirst, alongside other factors that impair kidney function like the consumption of prescription drugs and alcohol.
However, there are still people who believe he was killed by the "Chinese Mafia" or by his mistress Betty Ting Pei.
Did Bruce Lee go into a coma?
Lee fell into a coma after taking the painkiller and subsequently died.
According to the research, the Wing Chun artist had done a lot of things that messed with the normal water-balancing mechanisms in his body including high chronic water intake and going on a juice diet.
That set him up to be more sensitive to hyponatremia.
This can cause symptoms such as nausea, headache, cramping, confusion, fatigue, seizures and in severe cases coma from rapid brain swelling.
Is Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story a true story?
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a biopic released in 1993 that charts Bruce Lee's career until his death.
While the film enjoyed success, it has been met with criticism and speculation for its inaccuracies regarding Lee's death
It suggests a family curse plagued the Lee family and proposes that the American name Bruce was given to him at birth to ward off evil.
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In fact, Bruce was the name suggested to Lee's mother at the time of his birth.
The film portrays Lee fighting a demon from his dreams, but this has no factual basis.
Other details of Lee's life have also been dramatised, such as a suggestion that Lee grew up in poverty.
His family was actually quite wealthy.
Lots of the fights, including Lee's fight with Wong Jack Man Fight and his fight on the set of The Big Boss, never actually happened.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Lee will be featured in season two of the BBC Two documentary A Life in Ten Pictures, which profiles famous stars through iconic photography.
Catch Bruce Lee: A Life in Ten Pictures on BBC Two on Thursday, March 28 at 9pm.
Bruce Lee's filmography
Bruce Lee made his first big-screen appearance as a newborn baby in the Hong Kong drama Golden Gate Girl.
Lee was then offered a breakthrough role in The Birth of Mankind (1946),
For this minor melodrama the child actor played a young runaway who eventually turns to petty crime before being hit by a truck.
He was often typecast as a streetwise kid in his early years including in his next film Wealth is Like a Dream (1948).
In 1950, director Fung Fung adapted the popular comic The Kid by Yuen Po-wan and cast Lee in the lead role.
The young star received widespread praise for his portrayal of the main character and the film was a commercial success.
His father, also an actor, credited the movie with giving Lee his name Li Xiao-long (Little Dragon Li).
After a short hiatus due to his alleged unruly behaviour in school, Lee returned to act in The Beginning of Man in 1951.
He became a familiar face working for a leftist group of filmmakers called the Union Film Enterprises (UFE).
Between 1953 and 1955 he appeared in 10 of UFE’s films, which included films with dramatic titles like An Orphan’s Tragedy, In the Face of Demolition and A Mother’s Tears.
The most significant of these films was A Guiding Light (1953).
Unfortunately, UFE disbanded after three years and Lee only performed in five films throughout the next five years.
Before his parents eventually sent him to America, he starred in one of the best films of his career, The Orphan (1960).
The film shattered box office records and became the first Hong Kong film to gain international fame after being shown at the Milan Film Festival.
He was then known for acting as sidekick Kato in The Green Hornet TV series between 1966 and 1967.
After taking on a number of positions as action director, he finally got his big break with The Big Boss in 1971.
The film was an instant success, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in Hong Kong.
That was until Fist of Fury was released in 1972.
In the same year, he was the producer, director, action director, and screenwriter for The Way of the Dragon.
His final movie before his untimely death was Fist of Unicorn in 1973.
Three movies were released posthumously including Enter the Dragon (1973), Game of Death (1978), and Game of Death II (1981).
A compilation of episodes from The Green Hornet show were edited together and released as a feature film in 1974.
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