Bruce Lee gallery to be set up in Hong Kong
Posted: 12 October 2011 1559 hrs
File photo shows a man viewing an exhibition of the late kung fu legend and film star Bruce Lee. (AFP photo/file/Mike Clarke)
HONG KONG: A gallery in honour of Bruce Lee, who helped make martial arts mainstream with kung fu classics like "Fists of Fury" will be built in Hong Kong.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced in his annual policy address Wednesday that the government would set up a gallery in honour of the artist at the government-run Hong Kong Heritage Museum.
The legendary martial arts exponent and actor died in 1973 at the height of his career and his many fans have long demanded a tribute to the star.
The only memorial to the actor is in the town he was born in -- San Francisco -- and not Hong Kong where he grew up and brought martial arts film into the mainstream with his innovative martial arts choreography.
The actor who played Kato in the original Green Hornet TV series, fueled the Hong Kong film industry with his movies and is credited as an influence other actors such as Jacky Chan.
Fans were disappointed in June when the government said a plan to build a Bruce Lee museum in his old house was cancelled after negotiations with the property's current owner broke down.
No details were given by the Hong Kong government on the museum plans, which fans welcomed as better than nothing.
"Of course we're still hoping the government could find ways to turn his old home into a museum," Wong Yiu-keung, chairman of the Bruce Lee Fan Club in Hong Kong, told AFP.
Long after Lee's death, his old home was turned into a hotel with rooms rented by the hour at very cheap rates.
A Hong Kong auction in August sold 13 Lee items for a total US$227,000 smashing pre-sale estimates.
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