Does Bruce Lee’s Game of Death Reveal What Really Killed Brandon Lee?

There are several eerie similarities in the circumstances surrounding the tragic & sudden deaths of  Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee. The Improbable explanations for the deaths of both Bruce and Brandon lend to conspiracy theories and further speculation that a curse was passed down from father to son.  This article will discuss some of that speculation but I want to focus on several undeniable and agreed upon facts that are very strange coincidences at the very least. In particular, there is an eerie link between a scene in one of Bruce’s movies and how Brandon was accidentally killed on the set of The Crow.

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Eerie Similarities Between the Deaths of Brandon & Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee & Brandon Lee

Neither Bruce or Brandon Lee lived to see the release of their biggest Films

These similarities are well documented and often referred to: not only did they both die unexpectedly at a young age, Bruce at 32, Brandon at 28, they were both filming their 5th feature film and they both died just before the release of the films that would make them huge stars. Neither lived to enjoy the success of their biggest films. Enter The Dragon in 1973 for Bruce and The Crow in 1993 for Brandon.

Bruce and Brandon Lee Grave

How did Bruce Lee Die?

Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973, while filming Game of Death, three weeks before the release of his biggest film, Enter the Dragon. Many rumors surround the death of Bruce Lee, including a hit by the Triads, a delayed reaction to a Dim Mak strike (AKA Death Touch) he had supposedly received in a fight earlier in the week, or a family curse that previously took his older brother and would eventually claim his son. To add to the folklore a mirror that was placed on Bruce Lee’s house to ward off evil spirits was blown away in a typhoon the day before his death. The official cause of his death was listed as cerebral edema (brain swelling) caused by a hypersensitive reaction to the muscle relaxant meprobamate in the painkiller Equagesic that he had taken for a headache.

Bruce Lee’s Wife Linda Lee Cadwell and Daughter Shannon Lee explain how Bruce Lee Died from “I AM BRUCE LEE”

How did Brandon Lee Die?

Brandon was killed on March 31, 1993, while filming the biggest film of his promising young career, The Crow. Many conspiracies also surround Brandon’s death. Officially it was determined that he was accidentally killed by the lead tip of a bullet that was unknowingly lodged in a gun that was then loaded with blanks and fired at Brandon during the filming of his death scene.  The unlikelihood and bad luck of the sequences that lead to this accident is easily chalked up to the family curse and/or conspiracy.

Here’s the scene used in the movie. It is not the actual footage of Brandon Lee of being shot- that film was not used. It is a re-shoot with a body double and digital effects to add Brandon’s face.

Does Bruce Lee’s Movie Game of Death Reveal What Really Killed Brandon Lee?

Now, this is the eeriest fact of all that I don’t hear much about. Again I am not saying there was any foul play or curse involved in either Lee’s death, but no one can deny the fact that in Bruce Lee’s movie Game of Death there is a scene that was shot in 1978 15 years prior to Brandon’s accident that would prove to be a premonition of Brandon’s death. Here’s the scene:

In Game of Death  Bruce Lee’s character is an actor. While filming a scene in a movie within the movie, prop guns are replaced with real guns and Bruce Lee’s character is shot and seemingly killed. He ends up not dying but pretends he is dead and comes back to seek vengeance on the bad guys who tried to kill him (which of course could mean, if you are into conspiracy theories, that Brandon may still be alive and he will punish those responsible for his death much as he did in The Crow! ;))

Brandon Lee in The Crow

The freakish nature and improbable series of events that lead to the accidentally shooting of Brandon Lee and the equally difficult to believe circumstances surrounding Bruce’s death makes it easy for people to create and believe any number of conspiracy theories and/or curses that seemed to take out both Father and son at similar points in their careers.  Add the fact that Brandon’s death seems to be eerily foreshadowed 15 years earlier in Bruce’s movie “Game of Death”  can make anyone wonder if these circumstances are just coincidence or some sort of curse as the 1993 movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story refers too?

Was Brandon’s death really an “accident”, did the ultra healthy Bruce Lee just up and die one night because he had an allergic reaction to a headache medicine? I say yes to both, but you never know… What do you think?

Unsolved Mysteries had a very interesting episode that examined how Bruce & Brandon Lee really died. YouTube keeps taking the video down, so if the video below is not working just go to YouTube and search “Unsolved Mysterious Brandon Lee”

This article was adapted from an original article I first wrote in 1996 then modified again for The Bruce Lee Tribute to First Dragon on The  Last Dragon Fan Tribute Site.

Brandon Lee Could Have Been Neo in The Matrix?

The Matrix came out March 31st, 1999 on the 6th anniversary of Brandon Lee’s death. Apparently, the Wachowski brothers (now sisters) created the movie’s hero, Neo, with Brandon in mind. He would have been perfect for the role. Unfortunately, Brandon died tragically on the set of the movie ‘The Crow’ so we will never know. Keanu Reeves did an amazing job and we got one of the greatest and most original action/sci-fi movies of our time but I am still left wondering what could have been…

Brandon Lee Rapid Fire T-Shirt by SCL57
Brandon Lee Rapid Fire T-Shirt by SCL57

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50 thoughts on “Does Bruce Lee’s Game of Death Reveal What Really Killed Brandon Lee?

  1. My feelings on this is, we all know who did it! Im not going to fake the funk! The devil is a serial killer, a terrorist,a monster, an animal ! An angel pretending to be a GOD! I caught a few clips with bruce lee and brandon lee. They both spoke well, smart and out spoken. And looked good on screen. They both should be ali

  2. I believe that the triads killed both bruce lee and his son. Bruce lee may have wanted out of the movie industry in Hong Kong. If you watch the movie called the Dragon about bruce lee. In one part bruce tells his producer that he wants out, and the producer tells him you know who is involved in this or something about funding, and that he can’t back out of it. The triads had funded the movies that he starred in, which we all know that never happened in Hollywood with the mafia right. I heard from someone at my job who is from hong kong, that the woman that was with him on the night of his death owed the triads a lot of money. He told me that his mother family new a family member of that women, and that his mother found out what had happen with her. The woman with bruce lee owed the triads a lot of money. and that after bruce lee’s death that the women married a big boss in the triads. The story from Brandon lee goes that he wanted to find his father’s killers, I had read this somewhere can’t remermber where. So the triads got rid of him so that they would not become exposed by him, feel sorry for him he wanted to do the right thing in life.

      1. me too, I agree with this theory. There are always evils in human society where powers, money and wealth , well known and popular is the roots causes envy and jealousy. The majority of people is bad more than good. Hidden in the dark, any evil strikes hardly to revealed. For movie stars, they are not the types of politicians or high rank officers that detectives must work at best to figure out or 20 years after, times gone by these movie stars eventually will be forgotten or no one bothers to find out about their deaths.

        Jealousy causes hate crimes, a root of evil in humans. This word is only exists between human world, but not be seen in animals interactions. irony we are the one proud of our human species but act worst than animals when it comes to jealousy.

        The reason for Bruce Lee die of a painkiller seems does not make any sense to me. As I believe at that age he probably has taken some painkiller before why did he not know that he is allergic to aspirin? is that one pill of aspirin can kill him? if that is small doze is the reason, he must has be informed by so many doctors warning before. (so this is out of the reasonable answer)

        Unless that woman has a reason to give him a deadly pill? (as a triad theory) It could be she liked Bruce Lee as a lover but being jealous with his western wife.

        Some people assumed Bruce Lee killed by over doses of drugs,but as an Asian, watching the legend of Bruce Lee at the old times, I do not believe he had drug problem, due to his long Kong Fu Practice in such a disciplinary Chinese culture Bruce Lee did not likely had drug problem like western actors and actress now a day. Yes, Michael Jackson, and Marilyn Monroe had drug problems, but definitely not Bruce Lee.
        Yes, I think both Bruce Lee and Brandon were purposely killed by bad people, the problem is no one bother to find out the truth of this terrible mystery.

        in Asian Proverb, we have an expression : “Beauty and Talent usually not live for long, their destiny was cut short on earth” This turns out to be true so often .

        The legend of Bruce Lee series makes me feel so sad for life. Admiration and regret, looking back at life, it is so short but when people live through life, they faced incredible challenge, once their dreams becomes true, there is no paid off for these celebrities.

    1. Brandon’s death definitely reeks of murder for its implausible ‘coincidences.’ I would agree that he would have wanted to find his father’s killers (if he was killed) … so his murder does add a ‘point’ the argument it was related to his investigating his dad’s death. Similar to John Kennedy Jr. who was purported focus was to expose his father’s killers. With his own magazine and rising star, you can imagine the rest. His airplane ‘crash’ also is very suspicious. On the Triad involvement in the film industry in HK, I don’t know if they funded Bruce Lee’s films, either directly or through shield companies. We do know that when they openly approached him, giving him blank check, he laughed in their faces. Don’t forget the infamous ‘hash brownies’ that he ate, supposedly from the most potent Nepalese hash. Not only alone would it be dangerous, it would be ‘easy’ to lace with poison. In his first collapse a month prior to his death, the emergency physicians treated him as a possible poison victim. Btw, a former Golden Harvest executive was a witness to the ‘closed secret’ fight that Bruce had with a challenger; there were about 20 witnesses, including a HK police senior man, who arranged the fight. I would think that that man had access to the investigation of Lee’s death. Note that when he died, a detective said they were initially approaching it as a possible murder; but this was quickly hushed up. I would hope that Lee’s police friend has recorded his account, and that a journalist actually interviewed him. Robert Lee, Bruce’s brother no doubt knows of these things if they are true; I would suggest he write under a pseudonym.

          1. Blanks can kill you, before you spout bullshit, know your facts…maybe you are too young to remember this:
            On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of Cover Up were filming the seventh episode of the series, “Golden Opportunity”, on Stage 17 of the 20th Century Fox lot. One of the scenes filmed that day called for Hexum’s character to load bullets into a .44 Magnum handgun, so he was provided with a functional real gun and blanks. When the scene did not play as the director wanted it to play in the master shot, there was a delay in filming. Hexum became restless and impatient during the delay and began playing around to lighten the mood. Apparently, he had unloaded all but one (blank) round, spun it, and, apparently simulating Russian roulette with what he thought was a harmless weapon, at 5:15 p.m., he put the revolver to his right temple and pulled the trigger.[5]

            Hexum was apparently unaware that his actions were dangerous. Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body should it strike at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At a close enough range, the effect of the powder gasses is similar to a small explosion, so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.[1][6]

            Hexum was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds.[6] On October 18, six days after the accident, Hexum was declared brain dead. With his mother’s permission, his body was flown to San Francisco on life support, where his heart was transplanted into a 36-year-old Las Vegas man at California Pacific Medical Center.[7] Hexum’s kidneys and corneas were also donated: One cornea went to a 66-year-old man with cataracts, the other to a young girl. One of the kidney recipients was a critically ill five-year-old boy, and the other was a 43-year-old grandmother of three who had waited eight years for a kidney. Skin that was donated was used to treat a 3½-year-old boy with third degree burns.[8] Hexum’s body was then flown back to Los Angeles. He was cremated at Grandview Crematory in Glendale, California, and a private funeral was held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean, near Malibu, California, by his mother.

            Hexum’s death was ruled accidental.[9] His mother later received an out-of-court settlement from 20th Century Fox Television and Glen A. Larson Productions, the production team behind Cover Up.[1]

            The episode on which Hexum had been working was broadcast on November 3, 1984, two weeks after Hexum’s death. Cover Up continued production without Hexum’s character. Three weeks later, on November 24, Antony Hamilton was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team.[10] Hexum’s character, Mac, is noticeably absent, said to be on another mission. At the end of the episode, Jack breaks the news that Mac has been killed on the other assignment and would not be coming back.[11] As the tears flowed, the camera panned back, and a memoriam written by Glen Larson appeared onscreen:

            “When a star dies, its light continues to shine
            across the universe for millenniums.
            Jon-Erik Hexum died in October of this year…but the lives he touched will continue to be brightened by his light
            …forever…and ever.”

  3. The family was cursed in the previous generation i.e they lived under a generarional curse which claimed the lives of father and son

  4. It’s all a massive cover up that in years to come will come out….. wait and see!!!! Some right nasty mofos are sitting on a huge secret somewhere. I hope Bruce and Brandon are like a couple of bouncers outside the pearly gates just waiting ……….. waiting………..waiting……..

  5. He was murdered and so was brandon..bruce went to hospital after passing out on set..obviously been poisened..triad gangs apparantly tried to extort him but he said no..and the secret asian martial arts guys wasnt happy with him teaching sacred art on tv so i think some powerful people within them groups conspired together to kill him and with his son doing the same thing killed him too in a very clever way. Why can noone see he was killed..stop the curse bollocks he was murdered and its so sad people just think both were accidents

  6. They did not get murdered. They both sacrificed their life so that the Chosen 1 from the Matrix culd be the ultimate martial artist and if they were murdered, they will become legends as a gift and the murderers will be tortured in hell for eternity. I could live with that. God will give them Justice.

    1. I think you watch to much fantasy
      Chosen 1. More like just 2 strange an tragic coincidence Bruce was also using electric acupuncture to keep his muscles relaxed between movie scenes I don’t know what caused his head aches but I can tell you what I think. I really believe that his training is what killed him he just never really stopped training even after training for hours with other people like Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris saids that him and Bruce was training for about 2-3 hours afterward they go inside his wife brings Chuck some tea Bruce gets on the floor and start doing crunches and sit ups. So even after training he didn’t rest muscles need to rest you can build up muscles around your heart you can develop. Really painful mind Grans an head aches he was taking pain meds for head aches. The average person can train up to 5 hours maybe 7 if you hydrate with rest breaks in between each hour Bruce Lee training was most like 10-11 hours starting very early he also trained.

      For though’s that like to criticized everything please don’t it’s not cool.

      1. 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. This reduced his body’s ability to dissipate heat. Ten weeks before his death on May 10, Lee walked into a tiny dubbing room to re-record dialogue for Enter the Dragon. The engineers turned off the air conditioner to avoid having its noise ruin the soundtrack. After about 30 minutes in this sauna-like room, Lee fainted and started convulsing. He was rushed to the hospital and nearly died from a cerebral edema. The doctors diagnosed and treated it in the nick of time.

        None of them realized his collapse was most likely due to heat stroke, one of the most common killers of young athletic men in the summer months. In the United States alone, an average of three high school and college football players die every year of heat stroke. A common finding in the autopsy of heat-stroke victims is cerebral edema. “A person who has suffered one heat stroke is at increased risk for another,” says Dr. Lisa Leon, an expert in hyperthermia at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. “Patients experience multi-organ dysfunction during the hours, days and weeks of recovery, which increases the risk of long-term disability and death.”

        According to records at the Hong Kong observatory, July 20, 1973, was the hottest day of the month that year in tropical Hong Kong. The oppressive heat was weighing heavily on Lee and Chow. “Bruce wasn’t feeling very well,” Chow told me, revealing details never previously reported. “I wasn’t feeling very well either. I think we had some water, and then he was acting.” In Bruce’s bubbling enthusiasm over Game of Death and Lazenby’s potential participation in it, he jumped up and began performing scene after scene. “He was always very active,” Chow told me. “In telling the story, he acted out the whole thing. So, that probably made him feel a little tired and thirsty. After a few sips he seemed to be a little dizzy.”

        At this point he complained of a headache, a common symptom of hyperthermia, took the pain medication Betty offered him and went to lie down. Unlike on May 10, no one suspected anything was wrong and he died before anyone could get him to a hospital to treat him for the cerebral edema—which is retrospect seems clearly to have been caused by heat stroke.

        https://www.history.com/news/bruce-lee-death-mystery-solved-sweat-glands

        Yes. It would be amazing if they both faked their deaths and one day reappeared.

        However, if it turns out that (tragically) they were both murdered. Then the murderers will pay by going to hell.

        At least we had Bruce and Brandon for a short precious time for which we are eternally grateful.

        Both Bruce and Branden knew that “Life After Death” is real. That the soul is immortal. We ALL live on after death.

        We may all one day meet again.

  7. Why did we wonder in the first place about each Lee’s death when they happened? Both these men were not mediocre martial artists/actors with dumb, codependent, fanatical followers that needed to fabricate a legend out of thin air. These two men were truly, simply extraordinary in their own right, each in their own way despite similar lives and deaths. None had an elaborate propaganda machine behind them that still profits very highly from their achievements. They were very assertive, determined. courageous, protective and humble all at the same time, an authentic manly fusion very needed today in our stupid, softy-soft, over-tolerant, over-feminized, fanatical society. They were killed, period. Who did? The Chinese Triads, witches, curses, narrow minded Kung Fu teachers, envy, all of the above, none of the above? What I get from them is that it’s very much worth to live an extraordinary life whether you get killed early by your enemies, called an intolerant hater, thrown poop at you, legally hounded, slandered or crucified.

    1. Our society was not “over-feminized.” It was and is under-feminized. The true definition of feminism is that women are to be treated and thought of with equal respect opportunities, etc to men. As in, equal rights and treatment. Bruce would have been a feminist, as femininity movement for women is the same energy, human rights and freedom that Bruce Lee fought and stood for. Stop hating women. Bruce Lee would have cut you down your ignorance and arrogance with one joke.

  8. I was under the impression that Bruce somehow was an internal agent for the CIA to infiltrate the Triads working the drugs and narcotics out of East Asia.. Brandon who many have said tried to uncover the truth behind his fathers death and became to close to the truth…either uncovering a plot by the Triads or the CIA themselves. either way he got too close and was removed from the situation .Sad that two amazingly gifted individuals should end up in the same mysterious way …very bizarre

  9. When my time comes to die I will die at the exact second no soooner and no later. Death has a million or more excuses, methods or ways of getting all of us. If it is murder, accident or even suicide that is just an excuse for Death to make us die at that very moment. When I have to go I got to go from this world, no if’s and but’s.

  10. The author of this article has no credibility. Bruce died in 1973 so how could he shoot a movie in 1978,15 yrs before Brandon died? What’s amazing to me is that nobody pointed this out already. Then again after reading all the comments, the lack of rational thought doesn’t surprise me!

    1. Yes there certainly are some interesting comments here! Gotta Love the Internet! 🙂 I can see how it would seem odd to you knowing that Bruce Lee died in 1973 but nobody points it out because the movie “Game of Death” was released after Mr. Lee died. It was made with footage Bruce shot back in the early 70’s. They only used about 20 mins of the actual Bruce Lee footage. The rest was shot with stand-ins and edited shots of Bruce from his other movies. They also use footage from his real funeral after he fakes his death in the movie.

      Thanks for checking out the article and for taking the time to comment!

      Peace,
      The Author

    2. My dad worked for Ruby Chow and Bruce Lee lived above her restaurant. My dad and Bruce Lee used to talk all the time and the Asian gang (no specific names can be mentioned ) did murder Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee

  11. They both were exceptional meb that made huge impacts in a very short time but the lesson here is even superman can die so while were here if even only for a flash make am impact go big love those around you and make the world a product of you dont be a product of it god bless bruce and brandon and the friends and family theyve left behind id also like to thank them for the positive roles they played in my life

  12. afta both bruce and bardon lees death both families hav moved on dat is life for u life is a joke d were speculation dat e over stressed is muscles and muscle got burst stuff like dat but i tink bruce was poisoned bardon was shot by their enemys so on life has moved on tribute to paul walker fast and furus i pray to god 4 is family to move on

  13. I think it was the triads, my reason is when I saw the intro to this Martial Arts film a while back called three Little Dragons. This is the film the Ninjas imitated anyway in the intro they showed these Chinese Stars including Bruce Lee and a famous female singer a clown I can’t emerge all the stars but most of they seemed to die from prescription pills you know sleeping pills or aspirin etc. Now that’s crazy it can’t be a coincidence and like they said back then the Triads funded most of these films stage acts etc. The funny thing is the intro was a tribute that was getting us prepared for the young boys as the next generation. Well that’s my perception Thandie this was a great blog In late but you are on point bruh

  14. if they were murderd there killers will answer to there creator. and thats that god bless us all i loved them both and there families to those in crist jesus i’ll see you with are heavonly father until then lets love and sapport each others and all he created like are animals see you all later love you.

  15. He was killed because he show the world “secret thnigs ” from martial arts …..those secrets were hided from thousand and thosuand years ….the law told them never show those things to the world …but he didn’t listen and show it…..so he was killed …
    They first gave him sleeping pills
    in his food… then injection to paralize his brain…

    Murders name is: Bǎi jiā xìng…

  16. before we jump into conclusion we have to learn about couple facts about Bruce Lee: 1-whoever killed his son had killed Bruce Lee 2-Bruce Lee was waking up the chinese nationalism amongst chinese people in hong kong where had been under control of UK fasizm 3-Bruce Lee was origionally chinese and china was a communist country then. 4-allowing Bruce Lee to spreading his philosophy,his martial art-kung fu-, his strenght, his politicial views would have been allowing chinese communist views to spread all over the world and especially in hong kong and usa 5-Bruce Lee was bringing forward more and more of his chinese nationality on tv movies. especialy japanese and british invation of china throughout the history 6-Bruce Lee was bringing far-eastern people together and waking them up against collonoliasim.He was creating BROTHERHOOD in far-east amongst working class 7-He was using kung fu to spread PEACE and HANMONY in the world against racism 8-He was challenging american racist state by making movies 9-in hong kong Chinese people were not allowed to use their chinese name and forced to use english names instead so UK fasizm was oppressing chinese people then

  17. Yes, game of death show how Bradon would die In the future. Guess what? Fist of fury would show how Bruce would die in the future. Bruce Lee teacher gets killed by a toxin in the movie. Same way Bruce would die in real life… I don’t know if these two fake their deaths or not… One thing for sure… Either them or someone was trying create the future or prophecy… Which Illuminati is very known for doing.

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