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Death by "misadventure"
Dr. Langford who treated Lee for his first collapse stated after his death that, "There's not a question in my mind that cannabis should have been named as the presumptive cause of death."[69] He also believed that, "Equagesic was not at all involved in Bruce's first collapse."[70] Professor R.D. Teare, who had overseen over 100,000 autopsies, was the top expert assigned to the Lee case. Dr. Teare declared that the presence of cannabis was mere coincidence, and added that it would be "irresponsible and irrational" to say that it might have triggered Lee's death. His conclusion was that the death was caused by an acute cerebral edema due to a reaction to compounds present in the prescription pain killing drug Equagesic. [71] Dr. Peter Wu's preliminary opinion was that the cause of death could have been a reaction to cannabis and Equagesic. Dr. Wu would later back off from this position however:
"Professor Teare was a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard; he was brought in as an expert on cannabis and we can't contradict his testimony. The dosage of cannabis is neither precise nor predictable, but I've never known of anyone dying simply from taking it."[72]
The exact details of Lee's death are controversial. Bruce Lee's iconic status and unusual death at a young age led many people to develop many theories about his death. Such theories about his death included murder involving the Triad society[73] and a supposed curse on Lee and his family. The theory of the curse carried over to Lee's son Brandon Lee, also an actor, who died 20 years after his father in a bizarre accident while filming The Crow at the young age of 28. Like his father's last film, released after his death to gain cult status, Brandon's last film The Crow was also released after his death, completed with the use of computer-generated imagery and a stunt double in the few remaining but critical scenes that Brandon had left unfilmed at his death.
Upon the death of her husband, Linda returned to her home town of Seattle and had Bruce buried at lot 276 of Lakeview Cemetery. His son Brandon was buried beside him. Pallbearers at his funeral on July 31, 1973 included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Chuck Norris, George Lazenby, Dan Inosanto, Taky Kimura, Peter Chin, and his brother, Robert Lee.
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