Bruce Li (; born Ho Chung-tao; 5 June 1950) is a Taiwanese actor,

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

imitator who starred in

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

s from the

Bruceploitation Bruceploitation (a portmanteau of "Bruce Lee" and "exploitation") is an exploitation film subgenre that emerged after the death of martial arts film star Bruce Lee in 1973, where filmmakers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea cast Bruce Lee l ...

movement.

Career

He went to play a stuntman in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

under the name of James Ho. After the death of Bruce Lee, Ho Chung-tao's acting career began. Hong Kong studios noticed that Ho resembled the

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

star. They first employed him in ''Conspiracy''. Afterwards, the producers of ''

Game of Death ''The Game of Death'' (Chinese: 死亡的遊戲) is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, filmed between August and October 1972, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee, in his final film project. Lee died during the making ...

'' asked him to finish their movie in Lee's role, but Ho declined the offer. After this, Ho was employed by producer actor Jimmy Shaw who gave him the name of Bruce ''Li''. While Ho was finishing his military service, he appeared in '' Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death''. He would star in other

pictures in 1976 with ''The Young Bruce Lee'' and '' Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth''. Under the name "Bruce Li", some Taiwanese and Hong Kong producers decided to directly credit him as "Bruce Lee", even going so far as to use the real Bruce Lee's picture on posters. Li even appeared in ''Bruce Lee Against Supermen'' where he stars as Kato, assistant of

the Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...

, a role originally played by the real Bruce Lee. In 1975, ''Dragon Dies Hard'' became a hit in Japan, where it earned () at the box office. The producers really wanted to show Li as the "official" successor of Bruce Lee. In the 1976 movie ''

Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger ''Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger'' (Chinese title: 天皇巨星; Cantonese: ''Tian huang ju xing''), also released as ''Bruce Lee: The Star of Stars'', is a 1976 Bruceploitation film starring Bruce Li. The title is a play on the Bruce Lee film ...

'', Li meets Lee who points to him as the one who shall replace him. Li was dubbed the "Tiger" to Lee's "Dragon". Li appeared in ''

Return of the Tiger ''Return of the Tiger'' is a 1978 martial arts Bruceploitation film starring Bruce Li and a sequel to ''Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger''. Synopsis Chang Hung, who works for a rival organization, and his female partner devise an elaborate plan ...

'', starring

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. In it, Bruce Li fights

Paul L. Smith Paul Lawrence Smith (June 24, 1936 – April 25, 2012) was an American-Israeli actor. Burly, bearded and imposing, he appeared in feature films and occasionally on television since the 1970s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys. His most no ...

. Ho carried on by playing in two unofficial sequels to Bruce Lee's classic ''

Fist of Fury ''Fist of Fury'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after ''The Big Boss'' (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreogr ...

''. In 1976, Ho reprised his role as Bruce Lee in ''Bruce Lee: The True Story'' (also known as ''Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth''), a biography film. Li choreographed the combat sequences himself. Being very successful, fans recognize it as one of the best

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

s of Bruce Lee. Ho kept shooting martial arts movies until the 1980s. He also directed movies, including the 1981 film ''The Chinese Stuntman''. Ho eventually ran into trouble separating himself from his Bruce Lee roles, along with standing out from the other impersonators in the Bruceploitation genre. In 1985, Ho ended his career after his wife's death. He returned to Taiwan to become a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

instructor at

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

's Ping Chung University. He also has taught martial arts for comedian apprentices. Since then, he has appeared only very briefly in martial arts cinema or Bruce Lee documentaries. In 1990, Li retired from acting at the age of 40. Bruce Li's career was the focus of a segment of the 1995 documentary ''Top Fighter''. In the segment, he stated that he was unhappy that the studios wanted to turn him into a Bruce Lee marketing gimmick, saying "I could act like him but I could never be him."

Filmography

Movies

* ''Rickshaw Man'' (1974) (a.k.a. ''Rickshaw Driver'', ''Shaolin Kung Fu'') * '' Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story'' (1974) (a.k.a. ''Super Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'' and ''Bruce Lee Story: Super Dragon'') * ''Iron Man'' (1975) * '' Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death'' (1975) * ''Bruce Lee Against Supermen'' (1975) * ''Bruce Lee, We Miss You'' (1975) (a.k.a. ''Dragon Dies Hard'') * '' Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth'' (1976) * ''

'' (1976) * ''Enter the Panther'' (1976) * ''

Bruce Lee's Secret ''Bruce Lee's Secret'' is a Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Chan Wa and William Cheung Ki. which is also a pseudo biopic of Bruce Lee. It stars Bruce Li as "Bob" Lee, whose life is essentially the same as Lee's and is on t ...

'' (1976) (a.k.a. ''Bruce Lee's Deadly Kung Fu'' and ''Story of the Dragon'') * ''The Ming Patriots'' (1977) (a.k.a. ''Revenge of the Patriots'') * ''Bruce Li in New Guinea'' (1977) * ''Bruce Lee the Invincible'' (1977) * ''The Dragon Lives'' (1977) * ''

Fist of Fury II ''Fist of Fury II'' (, a.k.a. ''Chinese Connection 2'', ''Fist of Fury Part II'' and''Tschang Fu, der Todeshammer'' (''Tschang Fu, the hammer of death'') in Germany), is a 1977 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Iksan Lahardi and Tso-nam Lee, a ...

'' (1977) (a.k.a. ''Chinese Connection 2'' and ''Fist of Fury Part II'') * ''Soul Brothers of Kung Fu'' (1978) * ''

The Image of Bruce Lee ''The Image of Bruce Lee'' was originally released in Hong Kong as 猛男大賊脂虎 ''Meng nan da zei yan zhi hu'' (International English title: ''Storming Attacks''), although the Bruceploitation title was added for its American release It is ...

'' (1978) (a.k.a. ''Storming Attacks'') * ''

Fists of Bruce Lee ''Fists of Bruce Lee'', also known as ''Interpol'', is a 1978 film directed by and starring Bruce Lee imitator, Bruce Li. Synopsis Bruce Lee (Bruce Li) is assigned to go undercover as Lee Min-Chin to investigate a drug ring. The mob hires ...

'' (1978) * ''Edge of Fury'' (1978) * ''Dynamo'' (1978) * ''Deadly Strike'' (1978) (a.k.a. ''Wanted! Bruce Li, Dead or Alive'') * ''Bruce Li's Magnum Fist'' (1978) * ''Bruce Lee vs. the Iron Dragon'' (1978) * ''

'' (1978) * ''Bruce Against Iron Hand'' (1979) * ''The Lama Avenger'' (1979) (a.k.a. ''The Three Avengers'') * ''

Fist of Fury III ''Fist of Fury III'' () is a martial arts Bruceploitation sequel. It was originally released in Hong Kong as ''Jie quan yingzhua gong'' (literal: ''Jeet Kune the Claws and the Supreme Kung Fu''), and has been informally called ''Chinese Connect ...

'' (1979) (a.k.a. ''Chinese Connection III'') * ''The Iron Dragon Strikes Back'' (1979) * ''Blind Fist of Bruce'' (1979) (prior title ''Mang quan gui shou'') * ''

The Chinese Stuntman ''The Chinese Stuntman'' (also known as ''Counter Attack'' or ''The Chieh Boxing Master'') is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts action film starring Bruce Li as a stunt double for kung fu films who unravels the corruption of the Hong Kong film indus ...

'' (1981) * '' Powerforce'' (1982)

Documentary

* ''The Young Bruce Lee'' (1976) a.k.a. ''The Little Dragon'' * '' The Real Bruce Lee'' (1977)

References

External links

Bruce Li
- Featured in Bruceploitation Series on GooHead *
Clones of Bruce Lee
– The Ultimate Guide To Bruce Lee Exploitation Cinema {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Bruce Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong stunt performers Taiwanese stunt performers Bruce Lee imitators 1950 births Living people