Bruce Lee Gives His Only English Speaking TV Interview on Pierre Berton Show Later Dubbed The Lost Interview
Interviews, Milestones | Dec 9, 1971
Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview is the name given to a December 9, 1971 interview Pierre Berton conducted with martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, for an edition of The Pierre Berton Show. The interview went on to become the only English speaking television interview Bruce Lee ever gave. The 25-minute interview, conducted at a television studio in Hong Kong, was presumed lost for several years, until its rediscovery and airing on November 2, 1994. Over the course of the interview, Bruce Lee and Pierre Berton discuss Lee’s career, various aspects of martial arts philosophy, racial identity and the problems faced by an Asian pursuing stardom in Hollywood.
It’s important to note that during the opening of the landmark interview, a title slate shows the date December 12, 1971, which could indicate that the interview was conducted for an episode scheduled to air on that date. It could also be related to the time zone difference in Hong Kong. Lee’s name is also misspelled on the slate as “Bruce Li.” The slate states the title of the episode is “The Pierre Berton Show (The Mandarin Superstar),” with an episode number of “1892.”