Brandon Lee killed by a squib

[Nate1778]

I did not learn til today that Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee was killed by a squib. I new he was killed on the set of "The Crow" but never new how.

Two weeks prior to his death an actor using the revolver in the movie was loading his gun in the film with ammo that was pulled ammo with bullet and primer only. He was told not to pull the trigger in the scene and he did, propelling the bullet into the barrel. The gun was never inspected and due to staff change no further investigation was ever made.

Fast forward two weeks later in a gratuitous scene in the movie were the protagonist (Brandon Lee) enters a room with his love in distress. One of the villains in the film had been handed the same revolver without inspection and loaded with black powder blanks. In the scene he lifts his gun after Brandon Lee walks in, takes aim and fires. The bullet traveling at much slower speeds was still moving fast enough to enter his abdomen ending in the spine.

Long story short it killed him and the rest of the movie was made with computers. Being around 16 years of age at the time this was a big movie for my generation. I was always under the impression he was killed by a mis-loaded live round. Just goes to show a squib can get you more ways than one.

Just figured it was an interesting fact, that only gun nuts would understand.

[ironcowboy]

Damn, who would load a bullet/primer round? Why not just a spent round with a bullet seated on it??? good lord!

[jhrosier]

...
Just figured it was an interesting fact, that only gun nuts would understand.


Damn, who would load a bullet/primer round? ...

Whoever loaded the rounds was not a "gun nut" and simply didn't understand.
We all tend to assume that folks who work with guns know quite a bit about them.
That is just dead wrong (no pun intended.)
People who work with guns every day sometimes develope a very casual attitude towards safety.

Jack

[Firebricker]

That is interesting I heard it was a blank but did not know a bought the squib load before it. What a shame Brandon Lee lost his life over carelessness. FB

[Hickory]

I drilled these two rules into my kids heads from
the time they were toddlers.
Even now that they are adults before they
pick up a gun they say these two rules out loud.

Rule number 1) ALL GUNS ARE DANGEROUS.
Rule number 2) ALL GUNS ARE LOADED.

[jdgabbard]

I didn't know that either. But I think whoever handed out that pulled ammo combination should be held criminally liable, along with the producers who should have had competent people overseeing the stunts.... But what do I know, I only use common sense on a daily basis...

[armyrat1970]

I didn't know that either. But I think whoever handed out that pulled ammo combination should be held criminally liable, along with the producers who should have had competent people overseeing the stunts.... But what do I know, I only use common sense on a daily basis...

Funny. I always read it was something else involving his death. His fathers death was also supposed to be somthing more than an accident.

[lwknight]

Consiracy theory?

[HORNET]

IIRC, about the same time another actor (Jon Eric Hexum (SP?)) managed to kill himself using a blank. I believe that caused a lot of changes in the firearms handling regulations for movies.

[armyrat1970]

Consiracy theory?

There was a lot of hate towards Bruce as the Chinese in the art felt he was teaching secrets of their art to infidels. Bruce felt he had the right to teach to anyone that was willing to learn. Others didn't see it that way.
Conspiracy? Don't know. But I am not sure if all of the truth will ever be known. Either way, it is sad that both of them were lost at a very young age.

[Willbird]

I forget what year that was but think it was before 1993, I remember that accident being fresh in our minds then. In The 1993 TOMBSTONE movie Thell Reed was the armorer. There were strict procedures about passing out blanks usually the brass 5in1's (which are not really blank). The armorer or his assistant inspects, unloads, loads, and rechecks the firearm every-time it is put in a actors hand to shoot.
In The Crow movie I don't think they had an actual armorer.

The 5 in ones I have sure look externally like any other center fire blank I have ever seen ??

Bill

[Bloodman14]

Armyrat, I had heard that Brandon fell to his death during the 'roof chase' scene; my brother will know more, I'll contact him and ask,..

[TAWILDCATT]

blanks are dangerous close up.those 5in 1 simply meen the fit 5 calibers with same case size.they have quite a load of black and at night magnessium and black
:coffeecom

[JSnover]

Lots of conjecture about this since both Lees were killed in virtually identical accidents. My understanding is that ammunition used on the set comes in two varieties.
Blanks which will produce noise/muzzle flash. No projectile (unless you count a wad, which can be lethal).
Inert rounds used for scenes in which ammunition will be handled but not fired. These are strictly for show and would not have a live primer. That's where the conspiracy theory is born. Any cartridge containing a bullet should have been harmless, producing nothing more than a *click* when the hammer fell.

[docone31]

Another point of contention.
Prop firearms have the firing pin disabled. When you see the flash, and all that shooting stuff, it is really acetylene and an electric igniter. When you see the case fly out, and the slide go back and forth, it is done on a seperate blue screen, then added to the shot.
I knew a lot of the old stunt people. One of them collected prop firearms.

[targetshootr]

IIRC, about the same time another actor (Jon Eric Hexum (SP?)) managed to kill himself using a blank. I believe that caused a lot of changes in the firearms handling regulations for movies.

IIRC, the only thing in the case was a wad of some kind. Or maybe it was wax? Whatever it was, he thought it was harmless and was goofing off when he learned otherwise.

[Deliverator]

Brandon Lee was shot and killed, Bruce Lee collapsed into convulsions on the set during dubbing. How is that "virtually the same way"

[Hardcast416taylor]

I don`t recall exactly the movie name from back in the `90`s. The lead actor was "playing" with a .44 mag. loaded with stage blanks, during a scene break. He last remarked "they couldn`t hurt anyone", then put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. He died almost immediately from the muzzle blast. I think the movie name was "Hero".Robert

[Nate1778]

Bruce Lee Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

Brandon Lee Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee


Mind you these are Wikipedia, but both sound fairly accurate.

JSnover, I think you are right but have read that the bullets loaded into the gun initially had live primers due to a time crunch they were not removed and the actor was told not to pull the trigger. I am under the understanding that most the dummies had the primer pulled.

Bruce Lee died taking a nap in bed......

[454PB]

The movie was "The Crow"

From Wikipedia:

On March 31, 1993, while making The Crow, the crew filmed a scene in which Lee's character walked into his apartment and discovered his girlfriend being beaten and raped by thugs. Actor Michael Massee, who played one of the film's villains (Fun-boy), was supposed to fire a gun at Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) as he walked into his apartment.

Because the movie's second unit team was running behind schedule, it was decided that dummy cartridges (cartridges that outwardly appear to be functional but contain no gunpowder or primer) would be made from real cartridges by pulling out the bullet, dumping out the gunpowder and reinserting the bullet. However, the team neglected to consider that the primer was still live and, if fired, could still produce enough force to push the bullet off the end of the cartridge. At some point prior to the fatal scene, the live primer on one of the constructed dummy rounds was discharged by persons unknown while in the pistol's chamber. It caused a squib load, in which the primer provided just enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver.

The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene, having been re-loaded with low-power black powder blanks. However, the squib load was still lodged in the barrel, and was propelled by the blank cartridge's explosion out of the barrel and into Lee's body. Although the bullet was traveling much slower than a normally fired bullet would be, the bullet's large size and the point-blank firing distance made it powerful enough to fatally wound Lee.

When the blank was fired, the bullet shot out and hit Lee in the abdomen and lodged in his spine. He fell down instantly and the director shouted "Cut!". When Lee did not respond, the cast and crew rushed to him and found that he was wounded. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. Lee’s heart stopped once on the set and once in the ambulance. Following a six hour operation to remove the bullet, and despite being given 60 pints (or 28 liters) of blood[citation needed], Lee was pronounced dead at 1:03 pm on March 31, 1993. He was 28 years old.

[JSnover]

:oops:
A nap?? Wow. If that's true it's kind of funny. I remember when Brandon died, it was reported on the news in my area that his father had gone out the same way. Now I wonder where the story came from because I've heard it repeated by a number of people who accepted it as a fact. Including me.

[willie_pete]

I don`t recall exactly the movie name from back in the `90`s. The lead actor was "playing" with a .44 mag. loaded with stage blanks, during a scene break. He last remarked "they couldn`t hurt anyone", then put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. He died almost immediately from the muzzle blast. I think the movie name was "Hero".Robert



I believe the actor's name was Jon Eric Hexum; happened in 1984.

[Nate1778]

:oops:
A nap?? Wow. If that's true it's kind of funny.





Turns out Chuck Norris can enter your dreams and do with what he will, you ought to know that. Sleep tight, knowing Chuck is watching......

[thebigmac]

FOOLING AROUND WITH BLANKS IS JUST LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. REMEMBER THE POLICE MOVIE ."CHOIR BOYS" ??? WELL I ATTENDED ON OF BALTIMORE'S FINEST CHOIR MEETINGS AFTER OUR 4 to 12 SHIFT. AS I APPROCHED THE GROUP, ONE OF THE GUYS WALKED UP TO ME AND SAID "YOU BIG M===== F=====, I ALWAYS WANTED TO CATCH YOU IN A DARK PLACE". WITH THAT HE RAISED HIS DUTY GUN AND FIRED. THE BLAST GOT ME IN THE NECK WHERE MY NECKTIE WAS TIED. I STILL CARRY SCARS FROM THAT ONE TOO. DOCTORS SAID THE DAMAGE WAS MINIMAL. MOSTLY FROM THE BALST, BUT THE ROUND HAD A PLASTIC COVERING. IT TOOK THEM OVER AN HOUR TO GET ALL THE PLASTIC OUT. IT WAS DISCOVERED IT WAS A CONTRACTOR'S NAIL ANCHOR CARTRIDGE...JUST A CRAZY THING. Mac

[JSnover]

Turns out Chuck Norris can enter your dreams and do with what he will, you ought to know that. Sleep tight, knowing Chuck is watching......

<shudder>
Well... I've got a 44 Magnum loaded with "half n half": 3 blanks and 3 dummies. Now I just need to call my therapist.

[qajaq59]

It's like getting hit by a bus. You only have to make one dumb mistake to get a fatal.