The Death of Bruce Lee

I hesitate to write on this topic because I’d rather focus on the positive impact Bruce Lee had on the world. He synthesized Taoist teachings for the masses, raised the profile of Chinese culture, bridged the gap between east and west, and spread the message that humanity was one family. However, there was so much misinformation about his death I wanted to present a factual analysis that dismisses the conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy Theories

Many refused to believe Lee died of natural causes because he was only 32 and seemed to be in perfect health. There were so many strange theories surrounding his death including Chinese triads, Japanese ninjas, illegal drugs, or a publicity stunt for his next movie (Life, pages 450).

Hong Kong Inquisition

The official Hong Kong inquest ruled out murder, suicide, natural causes, and found that it was “Death by Misadventure” which meant that it was accidental due to bad luck. The evidence was clear that he died from a cerebral edema (brain swelling). What wasn’t clear was what caused the brain swelling. One doctor thought it could be due to cannabis but there was no record of cannabis ever causing brain swelling. Another doctor said that the cause of the brain swelling was unknown. Most of the evidence supported that it was caused by an allergic reaction to the prescription aspirin Equagesic which was a popular pain relief in the 1960s that included the medication meprobamate (Life, pages 449, 471-472, Wikipedia).

Allergic Reaction to Equagesic

This hypothesis that an allergic reaction to Equagesic caused the brain swelling does not seem convincing. There was very little evidence that Meprobamate had ever caused brain swelling. Although aspirin has caused brain swelling, it is very rare and is accompanied by hives, red itchy skin, and a swollen trachea, neck, tongue, and lips. Bruce Lee did not have any of these symptoms and had previously used aspirin throughout his life with no negative reaction. In addition, he took Equagesic after having a painful headache and not before (Life, page 474).

The case for Heat Stroke

A much more convincing argument is that he died from heat stroke. Author Matthew Polly wrote in his excellent biography, Bruce Lee: A Life, that Bruce Lee likely died from heat stroke also know as hyperthermia. His friend Jesse Glover said that heat would negatively affect Lee during training. It didn’t help that Lee had recently had his armpit sweat glands removed to reduce sweating on screen. He was also exhausted from working on the movie Enter the Dragon, wasn’t sleeping well, and had lost 20 pounds. People on set observed that he was tired and would get dizzy (Life, pages 424, 429-430).

Lee first collapsed in Hong Kong on May 10th, 1973 while working 30 minutes in a hot audio dubbing room. The air conditioner had been turned off for the recording. It was 78 degrees outside and the humidity was 93%. He was pale, sweating profusely, and wobbled on his feet. He started to recover but then collapsed a second time and vomited. He had difficulty breathing, was shaking, gurgling, and had a high fever. These are all symptoms of heat stroke.

He was taken to a nearby hospital and found to have a cerebral edema. He was given the drug Mannitol which reduced the swelling and regained consciousness two and a half hours later. He then saw a U.S. doctor who said he had a seizure with no apparent cause. He was prescribed the epilepsy drug Dilantin, but Bruce never previously had a seizure and his family had no history of seizures (Life, pages 425-428).

His second and final collapse was on July 20, 1973. A previous heat stroke attack makes a recurrence more likely. It was another hot day in Hong Kong and he was rehearsing fight scenes in a hot room. He felt faint, seemed dizzy, and complained of a severe headache. He laid down to rest but never recovered. His body was taken to the hospital where they pronounced him dead due to a another cerebral edema (Life, pages 473-474).

Bruce Lee was known as “never sits still.” He was continually working on Enter the Dragon to make it a success. It’s clear that he died from a cerebral edema. A convincing hypothesis was that the brain swelling was caused by heat stroke due to his exhaustion, lack of sleep, high temperatures, and working in a hot room. Unfortunately many athletes suffer from heat stroke and Lee was one of the most impressive athletes ever (Life, pages 473-474).

The Hyponatraemia Hypothesis

A recent theory by Priscilla Villalvazo and Jimenez Diaz hypothesized that Lee died from hyponatraemia. This was a condition where the sodium in your body becomes too diluted. They suggested that Lee had too much liquid intake and not enough liquid excretion. They pointed to Lee’s recent juice diet and drinking water during the day of his death. They argued that this could lead to brain swelling and “death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine.” They said as many as 40% of people in admitted in the hospital may have this condition and that it even affects young healthy people (Who Killed?).

They cast doubt on the heatstroke hypothesis saying that the loss of sweat glands in the arms would not cause heatstroke, the hot temperatures were typical for Hong Kong, and that previous heatstroke incidents do not necessarily lead to another incident (Who Killed?).

Final Analysis

It was clear that Bruce Lee died from brain swelling. He had brain swelling on both May 10th and July 20th, 1973. There were no ninjas, crime syndicates, or foul play involved but was an accidental death. What caused the brain swelling is more of an open question. The two leading theories attribute heat stroke or excess liquid buildup. What is clear is that we were lucky to have him in the world for 32 years and he has left an unmatched legacy in martial arts, philosophy, and our culture.

Resources:

Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly, Author, Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2019. Highly rated biography of Bruce Lee.

Equagesic, Wikipedia, Retrieved May 18, 2024.

Meprobamate, Wikipedia, Retrieved May 18, 2024.

Ying/Yang Photo by Jben Beach Art on Pexels.com.

Hong Kong Photo by Nitin Sharma on Pexels.com.

Sun city Photo by Sascha Hormel on Pexels.com.

Bruce Lee photo from Openverse.

Who killed Bruce Lee? The hyponatraemia hypothesis, Priscila Villalvazo and Raul Fernandez-Prado, authors.

Histories Greatest Mysteries: The Death of Bruce Lee, aired 9/21/2021. A documentary on the death of Bruce Lee. Starring Bruce Lee’s brother Robert and Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly.

AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI voice over.