Part 4/6 - Dan Inosanto and Diana Lee Inosanto Interview

Steve McQueen wrote Guru Dan a letter years after Bruce Lee died, when he had cancer. Steve told Guru Dan in the letter to “please continue to pursue teaching and how JKD needs you and this is what Bruce would want for you.” It was a letter of encouragement for Guru Dan to keep on teaching.

After Bruce Lee died, Guru Dan didn’t feel like teaching any more. He was despondent and had never felt so bad. It was so difficult to lose such a close friend and never a day goes by without thinking of him. He remembers crying all the way from Seattle to Sacramento. He spoke with Larry Hartsell and they both said that a day never passed without thinking of Bruce in some way. It was a huge loss.

Diana remembers her mom not wanting her to be the first one to tell her dad that Uncle Bruce had passed away. She recalls her parents speaking in the bedroom behind closed doors and then her father running to the phone and start calling people – trying to get verification that the news was accurate and real. It was the first time she saw her father cry which is upsetting for any child. And upset she wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral.