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“Disgrace and Loss of Face”: Bruce Lee Contradicted His Wife’s Idea to Overcome Their Financial Troubles Once

Published 03/21/2023, 9:40 AM EDT

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During his journey to success, Bruce Lee faced a series of financial troubles. However, he managed to deal with them by giving martial art classes and doing small parts in films. One of Lee’s biggest financial swamps got created when he injured himself in 1970. It made him worry about feeding his family. His wife suggested a way to overcome the situation but Lee’s opinion contradicted Linda’s.

Lee’s biography, Bruce Lee: A Life by Mathew Polly revealed how during Lee’s worst financial situation, his wife Linda tried to step in. However, Sensei’s patriarchal Chinese husband quality discarded his wife’s suggestion.

What did Linda suggest to Bruce Lee during their financial struggles?

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In August 1970, Bruce Lee injured himself while performing a barbell exercise. At first, he faced mild discomfort in his back. But in the next few days, the pain grew severely. Doctors revealed that the master had injured his fourth sacral nerve, permanently. He was prescribed bed rest for the next three months.

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This shattered Bruce Lee to the core. The always restless martial art legend was bed-ridden and supposed to do nothing. He had failed to save even a penny as he had all his bets on the film, The Silent Flute, one of his passion projects. Its shoot was on hold because it was entirely dependent on the master.

As Lee remained in his house, his family eventually began facing financial crunches. Looking at her husband’s helplessness, Linda decided to apply for a job. However, when she told Lee about her decision to work, the patriarchal husband discarded her decision completely. Lee told Linda, “You already have a job: wife and mother. It would be a disgrace and loss of face for my wife to work.”

It was one of the few times when Linda stood against her husband. The main reason for it was that she could see Lee’s stubbornness jeopardizing the safety of their children.

Read More: “Your Patients Would Lose All Their Teeth”: Bruce Lee Was Mocked by His Friends for Wanting to Become a Dentist Once

Although after some struggles, Lee began making flourishing money providing his family a better living, the fear of going broke would still haunt him.

Lee’s financial fears were not over even when he became famous

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After the success of his films, Lee received great opportunities in Hollywood films. He was a homeowner in Bel Air with a Porsche, two kids, and a loving wife. From the exterior, it seemed that the family was financially stable. However, Lee’s biography revealed, “ that it was all built on a mountain of debt and teetering on the brink of collapse made Bruce’s story a prototypically American one.”

When his daughter Shannon was born, Lee became anxious about his financial situation. For the first time, he began thinking that what would happen to his family, when he was gone. Hence, he began serious financial planning, when he was doing films in the 1970s.

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Watch This Story:  Bruce Lee: Top Five Moves Of The Legend You Need To Know

Although Lee amassed great wealth eventually he could not enjoy it himself due to his untimely demise in 1973.

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Written by:

Muskan Sharma

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Muskan Sharma is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Calcutta. Muskan has worked as a writer for 3+ years but has a knack for filmmaking, too.
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Edited by:

Gideon Mathson