Bruce Lee (1940–1973) was a martial artist, film actor, filmmaker, philosopher and the founder of the original mixed martial art known as Jeet Kune Do—"the way of the intercepting fist." As an actor, Lee became a cultural icon. He was born in San Francisco but spent his formative years in Hong Kong. His groundbreaking action films sparked intense interest in the Asian martial arts in the West. His most famous film is Enter the Dragon (1973). He was an avid student of all forms of martial arts along with Eastern and Western philosophy and is regarded today as the most influential martial artist who ever lived. Lee moved beyond the rigid traditional style of martial arts to develop his own free–form, modern style of Jeet Kune Do. A voracious and engaged reader, Lee wrote extensively, synthesizing the thought of East and West into a unique personal philosophy of self–discovery.
