This is a list of Bruce Lee's awards and honors. He was a martial artist, an actor, a film director and producer, a screenwriter,
an instructor of martial arts, an author, a philosopher, a tai chi practitioner and a cha-cha dancer from the United States and British Hong Kong.
Titles and tributes
- In 2012 and 2020, the United States House of Representatives remembered Bruce Lee with congressional tributes recognizing "the immense impact that Bruce Lee had on American and global popular culture" and "the 80th birthday of Bruce Lee and the immense and positive impact that his legacy continues to have", respectively.[8][9]
- In 2004, Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee was selected by National Film Registry in order to be preserved by the Library of Congress in the United States, given its cultural significance.[10]
- In 1979, with the master of ceremonies Joe Green, the Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, officially proclaimed June 8 as Bruce Lee Day.[11]
Where as Bruce Lee gained international fame and motion picture superstar status as one of the world foremost martial arts practitioners and, Where as Columbia Pictures in association with Golden Harvest Films and Raymond Chow Productions is releasing Mr. Lee's last motion picture, Game of Death, on Friday June 8, 1979, and Where as Bruce Lee's teachings remain the ultimate criteria for martial arts, I do proclaim it Bruce Lee Day tomorrow in Los Angeles.[11]
- On October 21, 2000 and October 3, 2014, Bruce Lee Day in San Francisco and Bruce Lee Day in Seattle were proclaimed, respectively.[2]
- In 1972, Bruce Lee was selected as one of the Top 10 Movie Stars by Overseas Chinese Daily News.[2]
- According to The Guinness Book of World Records, Bruce Lee holds seven unbroken titles. He could do 400 push-ups on one hand, 200 on two fingers and 100 on one thumb. Bruce Lee could also punch 9 times in one second while his "one-inch punch" technique could force a 75 kg opponent 6 meters away, to name but a few. (Check Long Beach International Karate Championships)[12]
- In 1999, Bruce Lee was named among TIME Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the Century as one of the greatest heroes & icons, as an example of personal improvement through, in part, physical fitness, and as one of the most influential martial artists of the twentieth century.[13]
- In 1999, Bruce Lee was listed in The Movie Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained as one of the 500 people who made "a landmark contribution to the medium of film".[2]
- In 2003, People Magazine (VH1: Special Collector’s Edition) named Bruce Lee as one of the 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons.[2]
- In 2004, UFC President, Dana White, credited Bruce Lee as the "Father of Mixed Martial Arts".[14][15][16]
- In 2005, Bruce Lee was named as one of Variety Magazine's Icons of the Century.[2]
- On 31 March 2007, Bruce Lee was named as one of "History's 100 Most Influential People, Hero Edition", a survey that was televised by the Nippon Television Network, Japan’s largest broadcast system.[17]
- In 2013, Bruce Lee was named as one of the Fifty Greatest Athletes Of All Time by Sports Illustrated.[2]
- Spike TV dedicated 10 hours of programming to Bruce Lee, "The Greatest Martial Artist Of All Time".[18][19]
- Bruce Lee has been remembered through different films, series and documentaries such as: The Legend of Bruce Lee, aired in many countries worldwide; Be Water, which won the Gold List Award; I Am Bruce Lee, which received Leo Awards. There are also numerous books about Bruce Lee such as: Bruce Lee: A Life, by Matthew Polly; Beyond Bruce Lee, by Paul Bowman; Striking Distance, by Charles Russo. (Check Bruce Lee filmography and library)
- Bruce Lee claims a film subgenre and a trend related to him: Bruceploitation. After his death, several actors assumed Lee-like stage names: Bruce Le, Bruce Li, Bruce Ly, Bruce Lai, etc. There were also look-alike actors ("Lee-alikes"). Although initially the word carried a negative connotation (Bruce + exploitation), today it is seen as a way to pay homage to Bruce Lee.[20]
- Bruce Lee had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 1972, he founded Concord Production Inc., a film production company based in Hong Kong. He also opened institutes/studios of martial arts in Seattle (1963), in Oakland (1964) and in Los Angeles (1967).[2] A Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute has been open for decades in Seattle, and the studio in Los Angeles reopened after nearly 50 years.[21][22]
- Steve Palmer, a long-time fan of Bruce Lee, manages two websites as a tribute to the legendary martial artist: The Web's Most Comprehensive Visual History of Bruce Lee's Life; A Complete Guide to Bruce Lee's Classic 1963 Book.[23][24] Bruce Lee's official websites are managed by his daughter Shannon Lee, who runs Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC and the Bruce Lee Foundation.[25][2]
- In 2001, the hip-hop band from Hong Kong LMF released a song called "1127" (Lee's birthday).[26]
- In 2008, Nokia launched a cellphone to honor Bruce Lee: Nokia N96 Bruce Lee Limited Edition. The ad of Bruce Lee playing table tennis with nunchucks went viral.[27]
- In 2012, French perfume manufacturer Chkoudra Paris launched Bruce Lee's three fragrances: Don’t Think, Feel; Be Water; Anger Blinds.[28]
- In 2015, Hublot, a luxury watchmaker from Switzerland, released The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Bruce Lee, a 75-piece limited edition to commemorate Bruce Lee's 75th birthday.[29]
- In 2015, the Singapore Mint presented two commemorative coins: Legend of the Dragon and Legend of JKD (Jeet Kune Do), to celebrate Bruce Lee’s 75th birth anniversary.[30]
- On 27 November 2020, Hongkong Post, a government department of Hong Kong in charge of postal services, launched "a special stamp issue and associated philatelic products" to commemorate Bruce Lee's 80th anniversary.[31]
- In 2020, Casio released the Casio G-shock MR-G Bruce Lee Collaboration Model, a series of shock-resistant watches, in order to celebrate 80 years of Bruce Lee.[32]
- In 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, Bruce Lee featured in EA Sports UFC game as a bonus unlockable fighter. He was the most-used fighter in the first edition of EA Sports UFC, chosen 3.41 million times.[33]
- In 2020, Bruce Lee was honored with a seven-disc Blu-ray collection called Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits by Criterion.[34]
- In 2021, Xiaomi launched Redmi K40 Bruce Lee Special Edition, a black and yellow Android smartphone inspired by the jumpsuit Lee wore in his last film Game of Death.[35]
- In 2021, the largest sports media property in Asia, ONE Championship, launched ONE x Bruce Lee collection (jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, shorts, joggers and other accessories).[36] There is also a collection launched by Mitchell and Ness.[37]
- In 2022, Ethernity launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection called “The Formless Form” to honor Bruce Lee.[38]
- VR technology has been used to launch Bruce Lee's Hong Kong Home in the Metaverse aimed at culture preservation.[39]
- Li-Ning, one of the top sports brands in China, released two basketball shoes models: 2022 Bruce Lee Li-Ning Way of Wade IX WOW9 and Way of Wade All City 9 V2 BOA.[40]
- Nike has released sneakers Kobe 5 Protro Bruce Lee and a wide range of models.[41] There are also Converse tennis shoes in honor of Bruce Lee.[42]
- There are numerous toys/games: Bruce Lee Tiger Electronics Handheld Game, Bandai Bruce Lee S.H. Figuarts Action Figure, etc.[43]
- Kungfu, a fast-food chain in China, has used a logo that resembles Bruce Lee since 2004.[44]
