Hollywoodland

August 6 2025

HIGH ELEVATION

Lee decides to get a little air.

This photo of James Garner and a seemingly flying Bruce Lee was made today in 1969 on the set of the movie Marlowe, which Garner headlined as Raymond Chandler’s famed private eye Phillip Marlowe, and in which Lee guested as a sort of criminal underling. If we remember correctly, Garner goads him into attempting a flying kick on a rooftop or balcony, and Lee plunges screaming to his death. Here’s how we like to imagine this photo coming to be:

Bruce Lee: “What are you, James, about six one? I could totally kick you in the face.”

James Garner: “I really don’t think so, Bruce.”

Bruce Lee: “Would you care to put your money where your doubt is?”

James Garner: “No—I don’t want to be kicked in the stomach, chest, or whatever part of me you end up hitting.”

Bruce Lee: “I’ll kick to the height of your face. I’ll do it over here. Though I confess I wouldn’t mind flattening that smug expression of yours.”

James Garner: “Fine. Five bucks.”

Bruce Lee: “Are you kidding? You’re the star of this derivative piece of detective shlock! Fifty bucks.”

James Garner: “Everyone’s a critic. Okay. Fifty.”

Bruce Lee: “Here we go. Ready? HIIEE-YAHH!”

James Garner: “Well done, Bruce. The fifty bucks should cover new pants. You split those all to hell.”

Actually, Garner knew quite well that Lee could kick him in the face, because in Marlowe he kicked the smithereens out of a light fixture that was well over six feet in the air. Lee also instructed Garner in martial arts, and to varying degrees trained other celebrities like James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Sharon Tate, Dean Martin, and 7’2” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who he also probably could have kicked in the face. His photo with Garner is one of his more famous images.

Marlowe, Bruce Lee, James Garner, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Sharon Tate, Dean Martin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Chandler

Intl. Notebook

February 13 2018

EXIT THE DRAGON

The king has left the building.

We ran across this 1974 Bruce Lee memorial magazine originally printed in Hong Kong and sold throughout South Asia and had to share it. The cover is amazing, we think, with its blue background and golden hand graphics. The interior photos aren’t in color except for the insides of the the covers, but among them are some interesting ones, including childhood shots, photos of his wife Linda Emery, promo images from his movies, and a couple of shots of Lee in his coffin, which some may find morbid. We especially like the production photo of Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from Game of Death, and the shot of him with his son Brandon. The magazine is short—only 26 pages including the covers, but on the rear you get a photo medley of Lee in various modes, which is a nice way to end the collection. We have more pieces of Lee memorabilia in the website, so click his keywords at bottom if you want to check those out.

Hong Kong, Game of Death, Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, Linda Emery, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, cinema

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

January 17

1950—The Great Brinks Robbery Occurs

In the U.S., eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. The skillful execution of the crime, with only a bare minimum of clues left at the scene, results in the robbery being billed as “the crime of the century.” Despite this, all the members of the gang are later arrested.

January 17

1977—Gary Gilmore Is Executed

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States. Gilmore’s story is later turned into a 1979 novel entitled The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, and the book wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature.

January 16

1942—Carole Lombard Dies in Plane Crash

American actress Carole Lombard, who was the highest paid star in Hollywood during the late 1930s, dies in the crash of TWA Flight 3, on which she was flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after headlining a war bond rally in support of America’s military efforts. She was thirty-three years old.

January 15

1919—Luxemburg and Liebknecht Are Killed

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps. Freikorps was a term applied to various paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. Members of these groups would later become prominent members of the SS.

January 14

1967—Summer of Love Begins

The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with between 20,000 to 30,000 people in attendance, their purpose being to promote their ideals of personal empowerment, cultural and political decentralization, communal living, ecological preservation, and higher consciousness. The event is considered the beginning of the famed counterculture Summer of Love.

DON GIOVANNI

Giovanni Benvenuti was one of Italy's most prolific paperback cover artists. His unique style is on display in multiple collections within our website.

WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT