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Bruce Ly
(Yu Yung)
How did it help his career?
It didn't hurt it. He was already riding high on the movie - Fists of the Double K (a solid classic). So, to now pretend to be Bruce Lee would only hurt his career. His one-time Lee impersonation film (as with most) came at the hands of greedy producers and distributors trying too make money off of Lee's name by spelling it in different ways. It was during this time, Linda Lee (Bruce's widow) was suing everyone for defaming her husband's name.
Yu Yung was a decent martial-artist whose skills were nowhere near those of most "Lee Impersonators". He already had a struggling film career and a name change coupled with a pretty solid performance, would only help his chance. Yet, it didn't.
His Downfall
Fallout was minimal. This was his one and only film as a "Bruce Lee Impersonator", which only came about when they distributed the film. Anything with "Bruce", "Lee", or "Dragon" in the title was getting pushed to the front of the line, as far as marketing was concerned for these films. His performance in this film had nothing to do with Lee in any way.
Some of his best work
Total = 27 points
Bruce Thai
(???)
How did it help his career?
Nope. He was a "Bruce Lee" clone by way of Thailand. In Enter 3 Dragons, if he possessed any skill, we never saw it. He spent most of the film "Tied-up and waiting to be rescued. Someone thought that with Sunglasses and a Tank-top T-shirt, he looked like Bruce Lee, but when the cameras started rolling, he couldn't perform. He spent most of the film practicing "facial expressions" when he should have been showing us WHY he got picked to impersonate Lee.
In Clones of Bruce Lee, he basically, was used as a little more than a glorified "extra". He got the chance to do a few moves, but with limited screen time. There were so many people walking around wearing shades, you almost lost track of him. He got to do more than he did in Enter 3 Dragons and this time he not only got overshadowed by Dragon Lee, but Bruce Le as well.
His Downfall
Most imitators showed some type of skill. How can you give an impersonation of a man and not perform his main attributes?
Some of his best work
Total = 24 points
Judy Lee
(Chia Ling)
How did it help her career?
Yes. It helped put her on the map, though she forever known in certain circles as "Judy Lee". In some parts of the world she was more famous than Bruce Lee, himself (something I find very hard to believe). She went on to enjoy a very successful film career and her "Judy Lee" days were firmly behind her. But, I think her movie Queen Boxer held a record for fastest kung-fu film ever made at that time - between (11 - 18) days.
The public adored this man, so to have his sister carrying on the family name was a big plus to the public. Yet, when people found out that she wasn't his sister (or even related to him), she was already working on another film for distribution. After the initial film, many liking what they'd seen of her on the screen, sought out her future films. Even when she started using the name "Chia Ling", she still had a fan base that wanted to see more of her.
Her Downfall
Being billed as his sister. Lee had (2) sisters (Phoebe and Agnes) and neither were trained martial-artists, nor were they in the movie industry. During this time, many knew little about Lee's family background, which made it easier for producers to work this scheme. In some areas of the world she was still being called "Judy Lee", even when she tried to "come clean" and work under her own name.
Some of her best work
Total = 13 points
Jun Chung
How did it help his career?
What career? The poster for the movie had a "Dragon Lee" looking figure coming out of a grave grabbing a bat-like creature of a Black man with an earring - how could you even hope for a decent film? Shot in the US, it was just another in a string of awful low-budget films making their rounds in theaters.
He was Korean and actually made a few films in Korea after his one-time Lee impersonation, but nothing anyone fought hard to find. In reality, he was someone scouts saw while in California during the "Bruce Lee Craze" and tried to exploit. Ironically, he still teaches in California, where his school has been a fixture for over (20) years.
His Downfall
It may have hurt his film career, as it didn't last long, But, on the plus side, I'm sure it got him a lot of students during this time, because of the exposure of being in a nationally distributed film.
Some of his best work
Total = 17 points
Kim Tai-Chung
(aka Tang Lung)
How did it help his career?
With the release of the long awaited Game of Death, fans were anxious to see who was doubling for Lee. A Korean martail-arts expert, he was chosen over thousands of candidates for the role. What he lacked in acting, he certainly made up for in skill, as he had some of Lee's signature moves down cold (especially when fighting on the island in Macao).
It was the obvious "Camera-tricks" that pissed off fans, but that had more to do with "editing", than his part in the film. In Tower of Death (the sequel Golden Harvest concocted), gave him a lead role and a number of excellent fight scenes (courtesy of Yuen Woo-Ping). He looked sharper and going up against Cassanova Wong and Wang Jang-Li didn't hurt either, as the film won "Best Fight Choreography" for that year.
His Downfall
Lack of exposure. He never really capitalized of these films at the time that most wanted to know more about him. He showed that he had what it took to be one of the better imitators; yet, audiences saw little of his work. While other Lee-imitators oversaturated the market with appearances in films, audiences saw only (2) major performances by him - Game of Death and Tower of Death.
Some of his best work
Total = 35 points
Li Hsiu-Hsien
(aka Danny Lee)
How did it help his career?
It gave his the most exposure he had received in a while. Working with Chang Cheh, he was constantly overshadowed by bigger names and better talent. With Infra-man to his credit, he wasn't getting the types of roles he wanted and this was the break he needed.
Actually, he did a good job impersonating Lee (although the script sucked), his portrayal wasn't demeaning, and we got to finally see him in a few fight scenes where he performed well. He didn't just "Mug-for-the-camera", he got to act (though, not a big stretch for him) and gave a decent portrayal of Lee. Thanks to Betty Ting-Pei, this was Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (18) years before Hollywood shot their version.
His Downfall
None. His performance neither hindered his career, nor made it hard for him to find work in the industry. He would go on the becoming a director himself, giving us the excellent thriller Bunman: The Untold Story (which he also wrote). Still active in the industry today, his "Bruce Lee" impersonation got swept under the rug years ago.
Some of his best work
Total = 33 points
Samo Hung
(Hung Kam-Bo)
How did it help his career?
The film Enter the Fat Dragon helped him to move into the 2nd phase of his career. Raymond Chow's appreciation for him and all he had previously done for Golden Harvest was suspect. With this film, he let Chow see that while he was wooing Jackie Chan to sign with the studio, that he was still a viable commodity. He brought to life the star that helped to define Golden Harvest in the first place and there was no denying Lee's appeal as fans adored Hung's satire of the fallen idol.
He didn't look like Lee at all, but having been a friend of his as well as working at the same studio, Hung got ample chances to interact with him. So much so, that he imitated Lee's mannerisms more accurately than most of his more famous impersonators.
His Downfall
None. Anyone who has followed Hung's career closely knows that he has been a big influence on the genre since he started working at Golden Harvest. Working with everyone from Angela Mao to Jackie, he has constantly produced projects that seemed to always get noticed. He's been responsible for and/or associated for some of the genre's most well-known classics.
Some of his best work
Total = 41 points
Tang Lung
(???)
How did it help his career?
He had already been an actor appearing in a few films - The Ferocious Brothers, The 2 Tigers, and On the Verge of Death. He had a career in place before attempting these impersonations; yet, the exposure generated from most Lee impersonations at that time were always getting noticed.
When they were looking for Lee-like imitators, he was tapped to play him in a remake of Way of the Dragon called Black Dragon vs Yellow Tiger. Where Dragon Lee was a muscular, well-proportioned likeness of Lee, this guy was extremely bulky and really didn't resemble Lee at all.
His Downfall
Signing his contract. After his appearance as an impersonator, his career stalled. He was eventually reduced to small parts in films, never achieving leading roles as he had early on in his career.
Some of his best work
Total = 29 points
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