the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

In the habit of making predictions about his future, Bruce Lee said that he would make kung fu known throughout the world, but he also knew beyond any doubt that the only way he could do this was by making films. Though he had allies, the fact that they agreed that he had all the qualities needed but could find no outlet for them only made things worse. In addition, Bruce also had the same directness in the film world that he had with the martial arts fraternity: he always said exactly what he thought. Sadly this didn’t win him many new friends in an industry whose wheels run smoother when oiled by bullshit. Nobody knew quite what to do with him, and more to the point, nobody was willing to risk money on an unknown actor who also happened to be Chinese. More than once it must have made Bruce question why he’d fought against his own countrymen for the right to teach kung fu to Westerners.

Source: http://gowingchun.com/bruce-lee-the-silent-flute.html

Imagine the insane foolishness of all the film and TV producers who failed to market someone so talented and charismatic at exactly the right moment in history. He would have been in his physical prime at exactly the time Hollywood was transitioning to huge blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars. He would have been up there with Nicholson and Eastwood, I suppose.