Bruce Li
Bruce Li | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Ho Chung-Tao (何宗道) 5 June 1950 | ||||||||||
| Nationality | Taiwan, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1973–1990 | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 黎小龍 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黎小龙 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||
| Also known as | James Ho[1] | ||||||||||
Bruce Li (Chinese: 何宗道; pinyin: Hé Zōngdào; born Ho Chung-Tao; 5 June 1950) is a Taiwanese martial artist and actor who starred in martial arts films from the Bruceploitation movement.[2][3]
Career
[edit] | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (July 2012) |
Ho Chung-Tao went to play a stuntman in Taiwan and Hong Kong under the name of James Ho.[citation needed]
After the death of popular actor and martial artist Bruce Lee, Li's acting career began. Hong Kong studios believed that he had the ability to pick up where Lee left off and cast him in similar types of martial arts films. They first cast him in Conspiracy. Afterwards, the producers of Game of Death asked him to finish their movie in Lee's role, but he declined the offer.[4]
After this, he was employed by producer/actor Jimmy Shaw who gave him the name of Bruce Li.[citation needed]
While Ho was finishing his military service, he appeared in Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death. He would star in other Bruceploitation pictures in 1976 with The Young Bruce Lee and Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth.[citation needed]
Under the name Bruce Li, some Taiwanese and Hong Kong producers[who?] 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 "Carter", a role loosely based on the Green Hornet's Kato depicted by the late Bruce Lee.[5]
In 1975, Dragon Dies Hard became a hit in Japan, where it earned ¥2 billion ($6.7 million) at the box office.[6]
The producers really wanted to show Li as the "official" successor of Bruce Lee. In the 1976 movie Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger, Li meets Lee who points to him as the one who shall replace him. The film's title relates to Lee being dubbed the Dragon, and Li being the Tiger. Li appeared in Return of the Tiger, starring Angela Mao. In it, Bruce Li fights Paul L. Smith.[citation needed]
Li carried on by playing in two unofficial sequels to Bruce Lee's classic Fist of Fury.[citation needed]
In 1976, Li 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 recognise it as one of the best biopics of Bruce Lee.[citation needed]
Li kept shooting martial arts movies until the 1980s. He also directed movies, including the 1981 film The Chinese Stuntman.[citation needed]
Li eventually ran into trouble separating himself from these Bruce Lee roles, along with standing out from other impersonators in the Bruceploitation genre. In the mid-1980s, he become a physical education instructor at Taipei's Ping Chung University. He also has taught martial arts for comedian apprentices. Since then, he has appeared only briefly in martial arts cinema or Bruce Lee documentaries.[citation needed]
In 1990, Li retired from acting at the age of 40 after his wife's sudden passing to raise his children.[citation needed]
Bruce Li's career was the focus of a segment of the 1995 documentary Top Fighter. In the segment, Li had 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", although at the time, Li did willingly accept the roles. Li elaborated on this further with his appearance in the 2023 documentary Enter the Clones of Bruce, in which he elaborated more on his time in filmmaking and why he left the business.[citation needed]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Duel in the Tiger Den (翻山虎) |
Japanese Boss | Credited as Chung Tao Ho | [7] |
| Gecko Kung Fu (壁虎遊龍) |
Credited as Ho Chung Tao | [7] | ||
| The Death Duel (惡報) |
Extra | Credited as Ho Tsung-Tao | [7] | |
| Triangular Duel (鐵三角) |
[7] | |||
| 1973 | Chinese Iron Man (中國鐵人) |
Bad Master | Credited as Ho Chung Tao | [7] |
| 1974 | Hero of Kwangtong (廣東好漢) |
Member of Luk's family | Credited as Ho Chung Tao | [7] |
| Rikisha Kuri (大車伕) |
Extra | Credited as Ho Chung Tao | [7] | |
| Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story (一代猛龍) |
Bruce Lee/Li Xiao Long | [7] | ||
| 1975 | Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death (新死亡遊戲) |
Lee Hon Hung | [7] | |
| Bruce Lee, We Miss You! (金色太陽) |
Stone | [7] | ||
| Enter the Panther (詭計) |
Shu Yu-Lung | [7] | ||
| Bruce Lee vs. Supermen (猛龍征東) |
Cato/Carter | [7] | ||
| 1976 | The Legend of Bruce Lee (唐山截拳道) |
Bruce Lee | [7] | |
| Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (天皇巨星) |
Tiger/David/Tan Lung | [7] | ||
| The Ming Patriots (中原鏢局) |
Li Tia-Long | [7] | ||
| The Dragon Lives (詠春大兄) |
Bruce Lee | [7] | ||
| Bruce Lee's Secret (詠春截拳) |
Bruce Lee | [7] | ||
| Bruce Lee: the Man, the Myth (李小龍傳奇) |
Bruce Lee | [7] | ||
| 1977 | Return of the Tiger (大圈套) |
Chang Hung | [7] | |
| Fist of Fury II (精武門續集) |
Chen Shen | [7] | ||
| The Real Bruce Lee (最後精武門) |
Himself (archival footage) | Documentary | [7] | |
| Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (被迫) |
Wong Wai-Lung | [7] | ||
| 1978 | Bruce Li's Magnum Fist (大英雄) |
[7] | ||
| Bruce Lee The Invincible (威震天南) |
Yu Fong | [7] | ||
| Edge of Fury (撈家撈女撈上撈) |
Fong Pao | [7] | ||
| Dynamo (不擇手段) |
Lee Tien-Yee | [7] | ||
| Bruce Lee in New Guinea (蛇珠) |
Wan Li | [7] | ||
| The Image of Bruce Lee (猛男大賊胭脂虎) |
Wei Man | [7] | ||
| Deadly Strike (神龍) |
[7] | |||
| 1979 | Bruce and the Iron Finger (大教頭與騷娘子) |
Bruce Lee | [7] | |
| The Lama Avenger (打出頭) |
Hong Tian-De | [7] | ||
| Fists of Bruce Lee (伏擊) |
Lee Min-Chin | Co-directed with Kim Hyung-Joon | [7] | |
| Fist of Fury III (截拳鷹爪功) |
Chen Zhen | [7] | ||
| The Iron Dragon Strikes Back (匯峰號黃金大風暴) |
Ah Wai | [7] | ||
| Blind Fist of Bruce (盲拳鬼手) |
Yeh Chen Lung | [7] | ||
| 1981 | The Chinese Stuntman (龍的影子) |
Tang Wei | Also director | [7] |
| 1982 | Dragon Force (神探光頭妹) |
Dai Lung | [7] | |
| 1985 | Pink Trap (粉紅色陷阱) |
[7] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Bruce Li Interview". Youtube. June 22, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ Block, Alex Ben (April 22, 2010). "Lee remembered for more than movies". The Hollywood Reporter. bworldonline.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "Bruce Li". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17.
- ^ "Who sought to take Bruce Lee's crown after he died? Meet Bruce Li". South China Morning Post. 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write about at Google Books
- ^ "'Disasters' Most Successful". Japan Report. 22 (3). Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan: 2. February 1, 1976.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al "Ho Tsung-Tao Filmography". Hong Kong Movie Database. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Bruce Li - Featured in Bruceploitation Series on GooHead
- Bruce Li at IMDb
- Clones of Bruce Lee – The Ultimate Guide To Bruce Lee Exploitation Cinema
