“Everybody Is Out of a Job”: Bruce Lee Received a Massive Financial Blow Owing to His Students in 1961

Bruce Lee‘s massive success in his career is no secret. What is probably a little hard to believe, is that he ever faced financial prejudices. It is well-known that he wanted to expose the art of his combat discipline to every corner of the globe, but soon faced an unexpected setback.

In his autobiography, the actor once opened up about his monetary struggles that eventually led to his Kung Fu club shutting down in 1961. He and his students suffered from a similar fate that brought his life to a tumultuous curb. Let’s find out how he dealt with it. 

Bruce Lee struck with economic hardships 

According to Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly, the Hong Kong star had formed a Kung Fu club prior to attending the University of Washington. Thus, he aspired to develop the club into a commercial business, in the form of a martial arts school. Moreover, he expected that the venture might end all his financial concerns. Unfortunately, one of his primary students, Ed Hart abruptly left the club and moved to Brooklyn in search of a job. This was the beginning of the fall.

Apparently, Hart was unable to cope with the expenses. Similarly, within a span of two months, a large number of his students abandoned the club leaving Lee in a compromising situation. He didn’t have the funds to even cover his rent. Therefore, he wrote a letter to Hart asking him to come back. The letter read, “I don’t have a club anymore; in fact, we still owe $80 for it, as everybody is out of a job and couldn’t keep it up.”

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Furthermore, the note added, “Also, I have stopped teaching as I have to have a part time job to tide me over my financial problems. . . . I miss you very much, and I hope that you can come back to Seattle.” The legend’s dream to establish a karate school and quitting his job at Ruby Chow’s was shattered. Interestingly, Lee once made an ambitious promise to himself ahead of becoming a superstar. 

Bruce Lee predicted his future

The icon’s autobiographical book also disclosed a mind-blowing fact about Lee once. In 1969, he documented a manifestation of his illustrious career. The note flaunted a headline, My Definite Chief Aim. Hence, The Little Phoenix put down his vision into words on the 7th of January, stating, “I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest-paid Oriental superstar in the United States.” 

As iconic as it may seem, he also took into account the hurdles he might have to conquer and intended to rise above them all. Nonetheless, he was fully aware of his artistic talents, and wrote, “In return, I will deliver the most exciting performances..”.

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Without a doubt, the actor lived up to his manifestations and emerged as one of the greatest of all time in the film and martial arts domain. Instances such as this, justify his status as a legend. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.