With Bruce gone, it was now time for the living to try to pick up the pieces... Dr. Don Langford, Bruce Lee's personal physician, was one of the first to be contacted: "In the evening of July 20th.(1973), I was called by someone from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital(Hong Kong)"-, Langford recalls. " I was told that a dead body matching Lee's description lay in the morgue, and that my business card had been found in his belongings. Afterwards, I was asked what I thought should be done, something that was very unusual coming from a Chinese addressing a foreigner. I replied that if he was absolutely certain that Lee was dead, it would be wiser not to touch him or sign anything. In fact, it was very likely that the person calling me would soon be asked to testify on an enquiry. Soon after that, I got a call from Linda Lee and Raymond Chow asking if they could come over to see me. Due to the fact that mine and Bruce's houses weren't very far from one another, they arrived quickly; quite understandably, they were both very disturbed. They told me that they were aware of what had happened, and despite her best efforts to remain calm, Linda burst into tears in more than one occasion. She enquired me if Lee's death was related in any way to his recent faintings. I told her that it was still too early to prepare a diagnosis, considering the slim amount of information I had had access to."
July 21, 1973
"Superstar Bruce Lee died", could be read on the front page of the Hong Kong Standard, the British newspaper based in the colony. The article reported that after Bruce suddenly collapsed in his garden, he passed away later on in the evening. In less than a week, that poor attempt to disguise reality would trigger consequences. Journalist Mel Tobias did some research on ambulances' records, and found out that the address where Bruce Lee had been picked up at wasn't his own. Furthermore, after having interviewed the ambulance's driver, Tobias was offered the revelation that the address was actually Betty Ting Pei's.
The funeral service
Bruce Lee's funeral was held on the 2eth. of July, 1973. The mob jamming the streets of Kowloon comprised around 20.000 people. Amongst them were relatives, friends and other stars of that time, all coming to pay their respects and a last tribute to Bruce. His body would later be transferred to Seattle for a new burial service, to be laid to rest in the Lake View Cemetery.
Rumours...
The untimely death of Bruce arose natural worldwide curiosity and questions about what had really happened to such a popular superstar. Given the absence of immediate answers, rumours began to mount beyond any control.
An inquest was to be held in September. As nothing reliable had surfaced thus far, speculations of a misinformed public began to proliferate. The most popular of those rumours had Bruce killed by secret Kung Fu societies, or by the Hong Kong Triads. As soon as the news confirming that Bruce had been found dead at betty Ting Pei's appartment came out it was natural to assume that they had been lovers, and that Lee died while they were making love. Far from being that spectacular, the truth didn't cease to be intriguing...
The missing pieces
In order to better understand the mistery surrounding Bruce Lee's death, one has to know the personality and culture of Hong Kong inhabitants. The most knowledgeable person on that matter was Dr. Langford, who lived in Hong Kong for 25 years: "When Bruce fainted for the first time in May, he was carried by four Golden Harvest employees. Those men disappeared afterwards for fear of being connected to that event!", Langford says.
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