A
yellow-and-black jumpsuit from Bruce Lee's final movie was sold for more than
double its expected hammer price at an auction in Hong Kong today commemorating
the 40th anniversary of his death. The one-piece suit from "Game of
Death", which was specially designed by a Hong Kong tailor to fit Lee, was
sold at the evening auction for 780,000 Hong Kong dollar (USD 100,595) to an
anonymous telephone bidder. His matching yellow nunchaku, also used in the
film, sold at 540,000 Hong Kong dollar to a collector in the room, where around
a dozen bidders were seated. "It would have been nice to have the suit but
I prefer this most of all, more than any other thing," 49-year-old British
investment manager George Philips, who also bid on the suit said after winning
the nunchaku. "I think everybody loves Bruce Lee items, I did karate when
I was five or six years old," Philips said, adding that he used to
practise with the nunchaku while wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time.
Bidding was "very strong for an auction this size" Spink China vice
chairperson Anna Lee said after the event. The auction fetched 2.19 million
Hong Kong dollar, double Spink's estimate of 1 million Hong Kong dollar. All 14
lots were sold with other items including a punch pad Lee used to refine his
one-inch punch, which sold for 50,400 Hong Kong dollar. Lee's bamboo whip used
in "Game of Death" also sold for 96,000 Hong Kong dollar. All the
items belonged to a private collector but originally came from Lee or his
friends and family. Lee died in 1973 after a severe reaction to medication,
before "Game of Death" could be completed, although a version of it
was later released using stand-in actors. Lee is credited with catapulting the
martial arts film genre into the mainstream with movies including "Fist of
Fury" and "The Big Boss".
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