Bruce Li
(Ho Chung-Tao)
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Biography
A former Physical Education teacher from Taiwan, he was plucked from near obscurity and chosen to impersonated the immortal, Bruce Lee. Though, it was said he lacked pure screen presence, he went on to become the most famous of the Bruce Lee imitators. To many, he was just trying to cash in on a dead man's memory, but to the millions of fans he would (eventually) accumulate, he was a star in his own right. The film Dragons Die Hard, was one of the first to establish him as a "Bruce Lee" clone. After this, he began about a 3-year job, as a Bruce Lee impersonator, called Bruce Li. (Li was how (Bruce) Lee's name was spelled in certain areas of Asia).
Originally a bit player, he can be seen in director Joseph Kuo's film, Triangular Duel. As he came up through the ranks, his films actually got much better. Depending on the director, his films could go from good Exit The Dragon, Enter The Tiger - to the ridiculous Bruce Lee Against Superman (both starring frequent co-star Lung Fei). Even Bruce Li, The Invincible was a (actually) decent picture, until the Gorillas started doing kung-fu. Certain directors thought that they were being inventive, when they'd feature him in films like that, but it just showed a lack of imagination. Yet, this was a time when everyone was trying to become famous as the next bruce Lee, to be plucked from obscurity and paid to do so, had to seem like a blessing in disguise.
He got the opportunity to work with veterans Ku Feng (Soul Brothers Of Kung Fu), kickers like Wang Jang-Li (Dragon's Story), and better choreographers such as Bruce Liang (Bruce and Iron Finger). He did try to shake the impersonations with a few films such as Revenge Of The Patriots, Blind Fist Of Bruce, and Deadly Strike. All these films were quite entertaining and it gave people a slightly different take, on his acting and skill outside of his impersonations. After a while, he could actually do films, where he didn't have to impersonate Lee, but the Clone films, really caught on and (somehow) stereo-typed him, into such future works. He had gotten better as an actor and a screen-fighter, and (yet) no one was trying to take him serious or give him better roles.
Over the years, his movement and his timing got much better -- while, he wasn't initially accepted in Hong Kong for his portrayals (in America), he had a cult following. Director Lee Tso-Nam gave him two of his biggest hits - Fists Of Fury-2 and Edge Of Fury (his first film to crack the $1-million at the box-office). He would go on to have his own production company (Viking Films) and to produced and directed the film - The Chinese Stuntman. This was his take on the film business and all the things that he saw happening (especially, to people like himself). He retired from films when his wife died of cancer. In an interview, he stated that he never wanted to be called or seen as "Bruce Li" -- this imitation of Bruce Lee. He felt, that it was like 'cheating or lying' and that wasn't what he wanted to do, because like so many others, he admired Lee.
Like Billy Chong, at one time he said, that he was considering a comeback. To me, he really doesn't have anything else to prove, he made a name for himself a long time ago and he's a cult figure with millions of fans. Unless, it was the fact that he (himself) just missed the limelight, there are no more "worlds to conquer" and his place in the Kung Fu Genre, is safe and sound. If he were to look over his whole career, he'd see that the films he made (good or bad) had a lasting effect on thousands of people, worldwide. Not many actors from his era can say that. He was last known, to be living in Singapore.
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