Discover The Conspiracies behind
Bruce Lee's Death  

    Since the death of Bruce Lee, the mystery of the cause of his death has resulted in the rise of multiple conspiracy theories to fill the interest of the public. The conspiracies consist of: the removal of his sweat glands under his armpit caused his death, are the Lee’s tied to an ancient curse, and was Bruce Lee murdered by Ting Pei. 

     A theory that is based on some truths has been circling this mystery, the removal of Bruce Lee’s sweat glands under armpits may have been one the cause for his death. Lee’s surgical removement of his sweat glands under his armpit results similar issues as the medical condition named anhidrosis, “Anhidrosis is a condition in which your sweat glands don’t function as they should to remove heat and cool your body down” (Clevland Clinic). Severe cases of anhidrosis may result in serous heat related illnesses such as heat exhaustion or a heat stroke (1). What makes this theory not work is the coroner's report. The cause of death being a cerebral edema a swelling of the brain which was due to an allergic reaction to the meprobamate the main ingredient in Equagesic which is further supported by Ting Pei’s recounting of the events (Polly). Ting Pei gave Lee  Equagesic to treat his dizziness and when she returned to check on Lee, “He was dead in the bed” (Chang). As Lee had surgically removed his sweat glands under his armpits the lack of sweat gland causes a decrease of the rate in which the body cools itself down and in the day that Lee died it was recorded as one of the hottest days of the month in tropical Hong Kong (Taylor). Although the dizziness can be traced back to overheating due to the lack of sweat glands, it does not explain the cerebral edema. 

    Following the idea that both Bruce Lee and his son died young, a conspiracy of the Lee’s being cursed has been attracting attention. Both Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee died within the period of their box office hit Movie release (Bruce Lee, Raga). Bruce Lee stared in Game of Death, a Hollywood production, the movie contained a scene which accurately depicted Brandon Lee’s death (The curse of the Dragon (why did the Lee’s die?)). Brandon Lee’s cause of death was discovered after an investigation, “When the gun had previously been used on the set of The Crow, a lead tip from one of the modified live bullets had gotten lodged in the barrel” (3). The productions of The Crow, and Dragon the Bruce Lee story contained multiple accidents (1). Within two months the following events occurred: the lead actor's grandmother died, lead actress's brother died, a producer uncle died, and the writer/director had a heart attack (2). The most startling information is that on the same day 3 freak accidents occurred on set (2). What creates a peculiar interest to the curse theory is Brandon's death, “Brandon what shot in the abdomen with a 40-caliber immediate treatment of abdominal wound has an 88.3% overall survival rate, no vascular injury it is 97.3 % survival rate” (2). Although the idea of a curse playing a role to the mysterious death of both Lee’s create a fascinating answer, sadly, the method to how both Lee’s causes of death differentiate, as well as their personality, demonstrates that they naturally avoided presenting themselves in a disrespectful way to avoid malice from people.  

    Circling back to how Lee died, the theory of Ting Pei intentionally murdering Lee has garnered awareness to the public. As Lee’s death was a bazar end to a legend, his death garnered the attention of the public as they wanted answers to how it occurred. The Bruce Lee family company upheld this statement as Lee’s death in his biographical page, “Bruce had a minor headache. He was offered a prescription painkiller called Equagesic. After taking the pill, he went to lie down and lapsed into a coma” (Bruce Lee). Lee’s autopsy states his cause of death was an allergic reaction to Equagesic, “Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, is always accompanied by other symptoms—an enflamed trachea, neck, tongue, and lips, as well as hives and red itchy skin in and around the mouth” (Polly). As Bruce Lee died from an allergic reaction it could be stated it was a severe case, “In fatal cases, the swelling of the throat blocks the airway resulting in asphyxia and cerebral edema” (2). The autopsy revealed no symptoms of anaphylaxis. The reasoning to why the theory does not work is that the main cause of Bruce Lee’s death was a cerebral edema a swelling of the brain a result to an allergic reaction to the tranquillizer meprobamate, the main ingredient in Equagesic, an over-the-counter painkiller which Thing Pei offered to Bruce Lee as a remedy for his headache (Chang). As a “veteran martial arts expert, Lee had taken painkillers most of his adult life without any side effects” and as a result both participants would not be alert of over-the-counter painkillers (Taylor). 

    The conspiracies mentioned are indeed alluring to the audience but as justified with research and clarification the answer to this mysterious death of lies somewhere else.