Bruce Lee
(born 1940, San Francisco, California, USA; died 1973, Hong Kong)

Chinese-American movie star single-handedly responsible for popularising the vogue for kung fu in the West. Lee was quick, wiry and charismatic. He started off playing sidekicks on American TV before moving to Hong Kong and making five legendary action movies which mixed James Bond-like stunts with pop Taoism and showpiece exhibitions of martial arts. Lee's untimely death confirmed his cult status.