Initial Idea
Bruce Lee began writing show ideas in 1967 after the end of his series The Green Hornet. In his journal he wrote, “Western (1) San Francisco sheriff (partner of a blind man?).” On the next page he wrote, “San Francisco: (1) Sheriff X, presiding, (2) Ah Sahm, a ronin (unofficial deputy of Sheriff X – take care of office for room and board).” He wrote a seven page typed proposal for a show called Ah Sahm. He set the show in the American West making the lead character a martial artist who defended vulnerable Chinese immigrants. When Warner Bros. Chairman Ted Asher offered Lee a development deal, Lee pitched him the Ah Sahm story but changed the title to The Warrior (Life, page 326-327).
Kung Fu
Around the same time Warner Bros. executive Fred Weintraub had writers Ed Spielmand and Howard Friedlander develop a martial arts western called Kung Fu (Wikipedia, notes 39 and 40). Even though these two shows shared a similar theme, they had key differences. The Warrior had a full Chinese lead who came to the west to find his sister, while Kung Fu had a half Chinese Shaolin monk who escaped China because he had killed the Emperor’s nephew. Warner Bros. needed to decide if they would produce The Warrior or Kung Fu. If they went with Kung Fu they needed to decide if Lee was right for the lead (Life, page 327; Wikipedia, Kung Fu).
The Rejection
Warner Bros. called Lee on November 25, 1971 and gave him the bad news that they were not going to make The Warrior and Lee would not get the lead in Kung Fu. They weren’t sure he had the right temperament to play a monk and if America would accept his accent and ethnicity. His wife Linda said, “He was supremely disappointed. We were not in very good financial shape at that time. So this would have been a major breakthrough.” (Life, page 334; Wikipedia, Kung Fu note 82).
On December 16, 1971 Lee wrote a letter to Warner Bros. executive Ted Ashley.
“I’m sorry to hear about the outcome of ‘The Warrior.’ Well, you cannot win them all, but damn it, I am going to win one of these days. Again, thank you kindly for your kind participation on the initial stage of “The Warrior.” (Letters, pages 162-163).
Combining The Warrior and Kung Fu
Although the two shows started out independently they began to intersect. Bruce’s wife Linda believed The Warrior was rewritten as Kung Fu. (Wikipedia, note 38 and The Man I Knew). Lee biographer John Little wrote, “‘The Warrior’ eventually became the ‘Kung Fu’ television series.” (Letters, pages 17 and 172 note 5). In a November 21, 1971 article Lee says The Warrior was, “about a Chinese guy who has to leave China because he managed to kill the wrong person…” which actually describes the plot of Kung Fu (Words, page 113; Wikipedia, Kung Fu). A November 1971 article says, “It was to be called ‘The Warrior’…The series eventually became one 90 minute special [which later became a prime-time hit called Kung fu…]” (Words, page 152).
Way of the Dragon
After Warner Bros. rejected The Warrior, Lee tried to reuse the concept one last time. While producing the 1972 movie Way of the Dragon his first idea was to have a 19th century Chinese Kung Fu master come to San Francisco and protect immigrants. However, he eventually dropped the idea because of the high cost of a filming a historical film (Life, 363-64).
Shannon Lee Production
Even though Lee was never able to produce The Warrior, he left behind many notes. His daughter Shannon found his notes with multiple drafts in 2001. About 10 years later director Justin Lin asked to see the drafts and was so impressed he wanted to make the show as Lee intended (Deadline). Shannon and Lin produced the show and set it in San Francisco Chinatown in the 1870s among Tong violence. Andre Koji plays Ah Sahm who comes from China to find his sister and ends up protecting Chinese immigrants. On April 5, 2019 The Warrior finally premiered over 40 years after it had begun and ran for three seasons on Cinemax and HBO Max (Wikipedia).
Resources:
Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly, Author, Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2019. Highly rated biography of Bruce Lee.
Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1998, 2016. Volume 5 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Letters to friends, family, and business associates. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.
Words of the Dragon: Interviews, 1958-1973, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1997, 2017. Volume 1 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Interview transcripts of Bruce Lee on a variety of topics including philosophy, martial arts, and his personal life. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.
Wikipedia, Warrior (TV series), retrieved 06/09/2024.
Warrior title image, Warrior (TV series), retrieved 06/09/2024.
Bruce Lee: the man only I knew. Warner Publishing. Linda Lee, author. 1975.
Wikipedia, Kung Fu (1972 TV series).
Way of the Dragon Screen shot.
Deadline, Shannon Lee Talks ‘Warrior’ And How Hollywood Honors And Exploits Her Father’s Legacy, Retrieved 06/10/24.
Ted Ashley Photo. Credit: Bettmann/CORBIS.
Green Hornet DVD Photo. Amazon.com.
AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Narration. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI.