Interview Video of the Day: Bruce Lee Interviewed by Pierre Berton

Here’s a real gem: one of my heroes, Bruce Lee, being interviewed by Canadian television personality, journalist and author Pierre Berton in December 1971. It was Lee’s one and only TV interview. Bruce is great in this interview: he’s got some interesting stories to tell, and he does so with the confidence, charisma and focus that were his stock in trade.

One of the interesting things about the interview is that certain terms they brought up in conversation — kung fu and tai chi — are common terms in North America today, but completely foreign back in 1971.

When asked which Hollywood stars were his best students, he named two: Steve McQueen (“That son of a gun got the toughness in him!” says Bruce in the interview) as the one who best understood the fighting aspects of kung fu, and James Coburn (in the interview, Bruce describes him as “A peace-loving man…really nice, super mellow”) as the one who best grasped the philosophy of kung fu. He also taught Roman Polanski; I always thought that a Lee/Polanski kung fu lesson would make a great comedy skit.

The video is just under 25 minutes long, but it’s well worth watching.