50 Years Later, Experts Reveal A Surprising New Theory About Bruce Lee's Death

Bruce Lee is considered one of the most influential martial artists the world has ever seen. Even the best-trained and most dedicated martial artists can't hold a candle to the kung-fu master. Lee's focus on mind, body, and spirit made him the greatest film fighter alive. However, the details surrounding his death are riddled with dark conspiracies and surprising theories. But in November 2022 a new study revealed what really happened.

A mysterious rise and fall

The report comes an astonishing 49 years after Lee passed away, proving that his remarkable legacy has lived on long after his untimely death. After all, Lee rose to worldwide fame in the 1960s when he began appearing on U.S. TV and then later in a number of hugely successful films. But after his biggest hit, Enter the Dragon, had been filmed and was all set for release, a terrible tragedy occurred.

The untimely death of a star

These are the facts that have been widely reported: on July 20, 1973, Lee took a prescription painkiller called Equagesic to try and quash a minor headache. Soon after going to rest, Lee fell into a coma, and attempts to revive him were ultimately unsuccessful. Bruce Lee was dead at the age of just 32. But many questions remained.

Looking for answers

How could a man at the very pinnacle of good health have passed away so suddenly and at such a young age? Coroners and pathologists from across the globe attempted to figure it all out. The conclusion at the time was that Lee had a sensitive response to an ingredient in Equagesic. This had then apparently caused a swelling of his brain. But this claim did not satisfy a mystified public — and people have been searching for answers ever since.

The timeline of a death

Most people consider the beginning of the end for Bruce Lee began on May 10, 1973 — two months before his death. This was when the actor collapsed while recording dialogue for Enter the Dragon. He was apparently suffering from headaches and seizures so he was sent to the hospital. The doctors there diagnosed cerebral edema — the same thing that happened when Lee died in July.

The day of the death

On the day of Lee's death, he had a meeting with movie producer Raymond Chow to talk about Game of Death — the film Lee had been making before and after Enter the Dragon. After this meeting, Lee and Chow went to see actress Betty Ting Pei at her home to talk about the Game of Death script. Chow later left — and then Lee started to get a headache.

Equagesic is administered

Ting was apparently the one to give Lee the painkiller Equagesic. Lee also took the opportunity to try to go to sleep. But, as we know, Lee didn't wake up from his nap. Chow later returned to Ting's home and tried to get Lee up. A doctor was also called — but no attempts to wake Lee up worked. And when Lee was sent to the hospital, he was announced dead on arrival.

The diagnosis

The autopsy report said that Lee's brain had been 13 percent bigger than usual. The painkiller Equagesic was also found in Lee's system. But the official ruling for Lee's cause of death was "death by misadventure." An inquest later revealed that it was likely brought on by an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients of Equagesic. But none of this satisfied some members of Lee's fanbase — and rumors started to swirl.

Cursed?

One wild theory was that Lee had somehow been cursed to die at a young age — and that the star had long said that he feared as much. The curse theory became more popular after Lee's actor son, Brandon, died at the even earlier age of 28 on the set of The Crow in 1993. But as other members of Lee's family are alive and well, this has been widely dismissed.

Murder victim?

Another possible explanation was that Ting gave Lee the painkiller with the intent of killing him. She apparently did this because the triads — or possibly just Chinese gang members, depending on the theory — wanted Lee dead. This would have been revenge for Lee not paying the triads for protection while making his movies. We can safely say that this theory has not been taken seriously. Others, though, are definitely more logical.

Drug-related?

During the autopsy, the medical professionals found cannabis in Lee's stomach. Could this have been to blame for his death? According to Donald Teare — the forensic scientist overseeing the Lee inquest — no. Teare went so far to say that it was "irresponsible and irrational" to say cannabis had anything to do with Lee's headaches and seizures. So that ruled out one popular theory... but not the others.

Heat stroke

Another theory was put forward by Matthew Polly in his 2018 Bruce Lee biography, Bruce Lee: A Life. His idea was that Lee's cerebral edema was a result of exhaustion and heat stroke. One reason Polly felt that this hadn't been considered in 1973 was that people didn't understand the condition as much back then. But there a second, more intriguing reason for his theory, too.

No sweat

"Several months before his death, Lee had an operation to remove the sweat glands from his armpits, because he thought dank pits looked bad on-screen," Polly wrote. "This reduced his body’s ability to dissipate heat." And that's why, Polly felt, Lee's body overheated on both May 10 and July 20 — eventually causing the cerebral edema. "A common finding in the autopsy of heat-stroke victims is cerebral edema," Polly claimed.

The latest explanation

This was the prevailing theory going into 2022, but people are still eager to find the definitive answer to Lee's mysterious death. In November 2022, after all, a new theory appeared in an issue of the Clinical Kidney Journal. It turned out that researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain had examined all of the available information — as well as a variety of possible explanations — and drawn an entirely new conclusion.

Too much water

“We propose that the kidney’s inability to excrete excess water killed Bruce Lee,” the researchers wrote. “Ironically, Lee made famous the quote ‘Be water, my friend’ — but excess water appears to have ultimately killed him.” Specifically, the researchers put the cause of death down to hyponatremia — which is where a person doesn't have enough sodium in the blood because of too much water in the body.

At risk

These scientists said that Lee was pre-disposed to hyponatremia because of lifestyle factors such as his famously high liquid consumption, his use of marijuana and prescriptions, and his history of kidney injury. “In conclusion, we hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is mainly a tubular function,” the researchers revealed.

A sad demise

“This may lead to hyponatremia, cerebral edema, and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine, which is in line with the timeline of Lee’s demise,” the study concluded. The researchers also took the time to dismiss Polly's theory of heat stroke — and they ended their report with a warning to the public.

A health warning

"There is a need for a wider dissemination of the concept that excessive water intake can kill," the researchers wrote. "The fact that we are 60 percent water does not protect us from the potentially lethal consequences of drinking water at a faster rate than our kidneys can excrete excess water." It's also worth noting that the scientists came to their conclusions after studying "past personal history potentially relevant to the cause of death."

Impressive specimen

And Lee's past physical history was definitely noteworthy. His astonishing fitness levels and his astounding physical feats were nothing short of legendary. These included having a striking speed of five-hundredths of a second and the ability to do push-ups with two fingers. Lee was also a multi-talented performer and an acclaimed dancer. He practiced the latter regularly and even emerged victorious in the Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship dancing competition in 1958.

Yip Man

But more importantly for his future career and fame, Lee acquired another burning passion in his youth alongside dancing and acting. That passion was, of course, martial arts. It began when Lee was 13 and he met a teacher called Master Yip Man, who subsequently taught him the martial arts style of Wing Chun over a five-year period.

Boxing champ

Lee and Yip Man’s warm relationship would continue throughout their lives and Lee regularly visited his teacher in later years. But the star didn’t just shine in Wing Chun; he also had a clear talent for boxing. While at high school, Lee would emerge victorious over an English student in an interschool competition using the orthodox rules of the sport that banned kicking.

Life changing moments

Lee later majored in drama at university and spent much of his time there writing numerous essays about martial arts. He had also been teaching a style of self-defense which he called Jun Fan Gung Fu in Seattle for several years by this point. And it was through these classes at the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute that he would meet a University of Washington student called Linda Emery in 1963.

Happily ever after

Emery first heard of Lee when he gave a guest lecture on Chinese philosophy at her high school in Seattle. Then, after some persuasion from a pal, she decided to sign up for martial arts lessons under Lee’s tutelage. The pair soon fell in love, and within a year they were married. Their first child, Brandon, arrived in February 1965.

Finding his way

Lee was by now concentrating fully on martial arts — putting any acting or dancing dreams he had firmly on the shelf. In 1964 he handed control of the Seattle school to his assistant instructor Taky Kimura. Lee subsequently relocated to Oakland, where he founded his second institution with James Yimm Lee. And it was here that an arranged fight with a fellow martial arts supremo called Wong Jack Man would shape the former’s path.

Creating his own style

According to Lee, a number of people in the Chinese community were angry at him for allowing non-Chinese students to take his classes. The ultimatum was that the star would stop teaching non-Chinese people if he lost the fight with Wong Jack Man. Lee subsequently rose to the challenge and pinned his opponent down. But, according to the martial artist’s official website, his difficulty in winning the showdown using Wing Chun techniques led him to develop his own form of kung fu known as Jeet Kune Do.

Making an impression

Then in August 1964, the esteemed don of American Kenpo, Ed Parker, invited Lee to the First International Karate Tournament. The event was taking place in Long Beach, California, and Lee provided the watching public with an electrifying, half-hour-long demonstration of his martial arts skills. Dressed all in black, Lee disseminated his personal philosophy and demonstrated his remarkable speed and power.

Turning a corner

Here, he showed the two-finger push-up and unleashed his ferocious one-inch punch, which sent an unfortunate volunteer sprawling into a chair. Richard Bustillo, a boxer and martial artist who attended the event, told Press-Telegram in 2014, “He just blew everyone away. When he spoke, the whole auditorium was quiet. You could hear a pin drop.”

Hollywood history

In the audience on that day was a renowned celebrity hairstylist called Jay Sebring. And, mesmerized by Lee, he passed on the star’s details to the Hollywood producer William Dozier. Intrigued, Dozier got hold of a recording of Lee’s exhibition, and he was also floored by what he saw. Dozier then contacted Lee to offer him a screen test in L.A. And the rest, as they say, is history.

A fork in the road

Lee’s path to worldwide stardom didn’t happen right away, however. By early 1965, he had a major decision to make. Lee could persist with his martial arts teaching and the continual nationwide expansion of his schools, or he could try his luck in TV and film. Lee subsequently decided to become an actor at this time and use his platform to showcase his love for martial arts.

His first roles

He landed several parts in both movies and television shows — including a co-starring role in the 26-episode run of The Green Hornet. The performances on the program showed off his fighting prowess and endeared him to American audiences, and he also appeared as the same character in a crossover episode of Batman.

Times were tough

But despite his notable work in The Green Hornet and a number of other shows, Lee and his family found it hard to get by in the late 1960s. The star — whose daughter Shannon was born at the end of the decade — gave private schooling in Jeet Kune Do to supplement his acting income. He didn’t teach just any ordinary Joe, however. His pupils included Hollywood actors such as James Coburn and Steve McQueen.

An injury

However, Lee badly injured his back lifting a 125-pound weight during a morning workout in 1970. Tests found he had damaged the fourth sacral nerve, and he was bedridden for half of a year. Doctors doubted he’d be able to do martial arts ever again, but they underestimated the iron will of Lee. Nevertheless, Lee would still suffer pain due to the incident in his final few years.

Hong Kong star

During his recovery period, Lee traveled back to Hong Kong with his son Brandon. And while there, he met with the movie producer Raymond Chow, who talked him into starring in two films for the studio Golden Harvest. Lee said yes, believing that if he could become a major star in Hong Kong it would soon lead to an increased profile and success in the U.S. And as it turned out, he was completely right.

Breaking records

In 1971 Lee flew to Thailand to film the martial arts flick The Big Boss, and it later became a huge hit in Hong Kong — smashing box office records. The movie perfectly welded Lee’s Jeet Kune Do flexibility with his natural charisma and flair for the dramatic. Lee soon became a major star attraction in Hong Kong and subsequently moved his family there in September of that year.

The Way of the Dragon

Soon after moving to Hong Kong, Lee began shooting for the final movie in his contract with Golden Harvest. That film would be Fist of Fury, and it surpassed the record-breaking success of his previous outing at the box office. Still, some U.S. critics were left unimpressed. Lee’s standing was so big in Hong Kong by now though that he could begin to call all the shots with regard to his films. So he duly set about setting up his own production company with Raymond Chow and began writing his own screenplay. That script would become The Way of the Dragon.

Enter the Dragon

The hugely successful film turned out to be Lee’s breakthrough moment. A co-production was soon agreed upon with Warner Bros. and it became a turning point in the Cantonese film industry, too. As a result, the team set to work on a new hit: Enter the Dragon. But we know all about the tragedy that would befall Lee before the release of this film.

Rumors begin

In 1994 an explosive biography of the star was released. Written by author Bruce Thomas, the book was the product of four years of painstaking research and interviewing that aimed to get a clearer and more truthful picture behind the exalted legend. Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit: A Biography contained several juicy revelations for his fans to digest. And one of them was the astonishing story of how Lee was passed over when the U.S. military was recruiting for the Vietnam War.

U.S. Army draft

According to the book, Lee received a call to take a physical exam to be drafted into the U.S. Army in 1963 after he returned to Seattle. At the time, the U.S. was embroiled in Vietnam, where it was supporting the South in its war with the communist-run North. But the exam would make a surprising finding that ultimately stopped Lee from serving.

Physically unacceptable

Chuck Norris once said, "[Lee] had muscles on muscles. No one ever trained as fanatically as Bruce. He seemed to train 24 hours a day." Yet the stringent U.S. armed forces would not admit him — because Lee had an undescended testicle. He was, as Thomas wrote in the book, considered to be “physically unacceptable.”

Unsuitable for the job

Interestingly, Thomas made the case in the book that Lee would have been unsuitable anyway. He wrote, “If Bruce Lee was unsuited for work as a waiter, then he was hardly cut out to be a soldier. He probably would have been court-martialed within a week of being inducted into the Armed Forces. Not only did he hate routine and regimentation, but his temper was balanced on a hair-trigger.”