How did Bruce Lee die?

Lee Jun-fan (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973), better known as Bruce Lee, was a Hong Kong American martial artist, actor, director and martial arts instructor.

The day of Bruce Lee’s death was a busy one. He was in Hong Kong, where many of his movies were made, and had been meeting with producer Raymond Chow for most of the day discussing his upcoming movie.

Afterwards Bruce went to the apartment of a friend, or, as some would later clarify, his mistress, Taiwanese actress Betty Ting Pei. They were alone for several hours, then made dinner plans with Lee’s producer to finalize his movie deal.

Around 7:30 in the evening, Lee complained of a headache. Ting Pei gave Lee an Equagesic, a common painkiller containing aspirin and a tranquilizer known as meprobamate. After taking it, he went to lie down.

After a few hours, when Lee didn’t come down for dinner, Ting Pei went up to check on him and found him unresponsive. She called Chow to come to the home, and he attempted to wake Lee without success.

The doctor was unable to revive Lee. An ambulance was called and he was sent to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Chow claimed that Bruce Lee’s death was the result of an allergic reaction to the painkiller he had been given, and the autopsy report seemed to partially substantiate his claim. The coroner officially ruled Bruce Lee’s death the result of a cerebral edema brought on by taking Equagesic, which caused his brain to swell.