Skip Ellsworth

Dear Bruce Lee Friends,

I am pasting an email exchange I had with Skip Ellsworth a few years back. Skip passed away last year and was a dear friend to Bruce and family. He was a very very cool person and his email gives us allot of insight into Bruce especially as a young man in Seattle.

I was thinking of something I could post that everyone might enjoy, I have been out of the loop for many years as a fan, I think this forum is great and I am in awe of all the positive things happening for Bruce across the globe, what a legacy.

Cheers,
Richard Nehrling

PS: Sorry the orginal email had my questions bolded in red, it did not carry over here when I pasted hopefully everyone can read through the Q&A below. Also I delelted some of this email from Skip that went into his personal life.






> Dear Mr. Ellsworth,



Whoops... "Mr." Ellsworth was my dad.(SE)



He died in 1954 [R.I.P.].(SE)



It's me... Skip.



:-)



Thank you very much for writing to me about your interest in Bruce Lee.(SE)


> Just a note to let you know I enjoyed looking over your website and related information about Bruce Lee. (RN)



Thank you for your kind words about the website. (SE)

> I had heard your name before probably in some old books and or articles I have on Bruce (RN)



Writers often interview me when they are writing about Bruce.(SE)



This was especially true when I was living in the States -- instead of here in Southeast Asia, where I have lived for most of the past 15 years.(SE)



It is amusing that I was often MIS-quoted by the writers, in spite of the fact that I insisted that TWO tape recorders (theirs and mine) be present at every interview.(SE)



Isn't it amazing that an investigative reporter can MIS-quote a tape recorded statement ???(SE)



:-)



and was pleased to get more in depth look at the Bruce Lee Seattle years.(RN)



Those were interesting times.(SE)



When I first met Bruce he was working as a "live-in" dish-washer at Ruby Chow's Chinese restaurant, on Capital Hill in Seattle. (SE)



That was either in 1959, or 1960 -- I can't remember the date for sure, but I have it written down somewhere. (SE)



I was one year older than Bruce -- which means that he was either 17 and I was 18 -- or he was 18 and I was 19. (SE)



Ruby Chow's Restaurant was located on the first floor of an ancient three-story wood-frame mansion. Although the building didn't look too bad from the outside, the top two floors were totally dilapidated on the inside, and essentially abandoned.(SE)



Bruce's room was a "walk-in closet" on the second floor. He chose to live in the closet, instead of one of the larger rooms, for several reasons (e.g., easier to heat, organize, clean, make "livable"). (SE)



Part of Bruce's room (closet) was directly under a stairway that went up to the third floor. This meant that his room had a floor area of approximately 4' X 6' where the ceiling was of "normal" height -- and the rest of the ceiling was under the "slope" of the stairs, where it was impossible to stand up.(SE)



His mattress was on the floor, pushed back under the stairway. (SE)



In the "living" area, there was a small wooden crate (like a box with wooden slats for shipping fruit) that he used for a desk. When he was reading, or studying, he sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the desk. He would adjust the specific location of the box after he sat down -- pulling it towards him, etc. (SE)



The room was lighted by one naked light-bulb hanging down from the ceiling on an electrical cord. The light was turned on and off by a string.(SE)


> Like millions of others I find him simply fascinating.(RN)



I guess it is easy to be fascinated by a person that you don't really know. However, I think that after you spend a day or two with anyone that fascinates you, the fascination generally disappears, and you end up just being good friends.(SE)



Essentially, it is probably a good thing when the “fascination” disappears, because sometimes it can get in the way of friendship.(SE)



I used to be a big collector and traveled to Seattle many years back (from Florida) to visit some original Bruce Lee haunts.(RN)



I wish you would have called me when you went to Seattle.(SE)



I could have introduced you to a LOT of Bruce's friends, and showed you many of the places where we used to hang out.(SE)
>
> Over the years and with my own family now my interest has drifted in other directions (RN)



Me too, man.



My primary concerns now involve family -- teaching -- learning -- traveling -- learning new cultures -- American law -- and FREEDOM.(SE)



Incidentally, as a patriotic American it saddens me to say that during my first five minutes of living here in Southeast Asia, I experienced more personal freedom than I have experienced in America during the past 66 years.(SE)



which is how it should be I assume but I still have such a deep rooted passion and interest in this person. We look back at his movies and its very obvious he had such a huge screen presence and was larger than life with his skills.(RN)



Bruce was an awesome guy -- and that's for sure.(SE)



When I look at his movies (which I seldom do, because it makes me so sad that he is gone) what I see is one of my very best friends -- and a man that I dearly love and miss.(SE)



I remember all of the times that he and I visited my mom and had dinner with her at her apartment. He would stand up every time my mom entered the room, and it made her soooooo nervous.(SE)



I remember all of the times that I would help Bruce wash dishes at the restaurant, so we could get the job done faster and therefore have more time to practice Kung Fu.(SE)



I remember having long discussions about what we each wanted to do with our lives. Regarding that issue, we were painfully aware of the fact that we were just a couple of punk kids, and that we had absolutely no idea where fate would end up taking us. (SE)



At that point in time, Bruce did not realize the value (socio-economically) of what he had -- as far as his knowledge of Kung Fu was concerned.(SE)



Also, I did not realize the socio-economic value of what I had -- as far as my knowledge of log homes was concerned. (SE)
>
> However, behind that screen I saw something else, a young man who loved life,(RN)



That's for sure.(SE)



who loved to teach and to talk,(RN)



That's also for sure. (SE)



he must have had a really caring spirit,(RN)



As far as "friendship" was concerned, Bruce was an extremely loyal man.(SE)



I have heard he could be cocky, but its very obvious to me he really cared for people, family and friends.(RN)



You are very correct about that.(SE)



He expecially appreciated his OLD friends -- people that were his close and loyal friends when he was "only" a dishwasher at Ruby Chow's Restaurant -- with absolutely no visible prospects for achieving fame or fortune. (SE)



After Bruce became rich and famous I think he was often suspicious (perhaps "wary" would be a better word) of "new" friends. (SE)



I think that is what draws other people to people like Bruce Lee because they are sincere and mean what they say, I can only believe in my heart Bruce was above all a great friend to many, not like the world around him then and even more today stepping on someone to get by. Bruce Lees success came from one source I think and that was hard work and determination to succed.(RN)



Essentially, he really loved what he was doing with (to) his body.(SE)



He reveled in it. (SE)



He was never really satisfied with today's successes -- and he always worked hard to get better and better.(SE)
>
> I cried the day his son died, I saw so much of Bruce in his son it just hurt understand how important his children were to him and to lose his only son (who was a year younger than me). But I realize again that both life's left and impact on the world and made the world a better place, thank God.(RN)



I think that Bruce did more to increase respect for the Chinese people -- and culture -- throughout the world than anyone who ever lived, including Ghenkis Khan, Confucius, Sun Tzu, and Mao. (SE)

>
> Thanks for letting me sound off and bless you for being a good friend then and now to Bruce.(RN)



In my heart, Bruce is always by my side – as are all of my other friends.(SE)



I have remained in contact with Bruce's family -- and his other close friends -- and all of them know that my home is their home.(SE)



Friends and family are where it’s at… (SE)



Thank you again for your wonderful note, and we hope to hear from you again.(SE)



Your friends,

Skip, Chip, and Bell