The curse of father and son: the young actor is killed 17 days before his wedding, during the filming of the movie that will define his career. Brandon Lee’s tragic end

Actor Alec Baldwin is currently facing serious charges for the unintentional shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, which occurred in 2021.

The incident is reminiscent of another tragedy that also took place on the set: the accidental shooting of actor Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee’s son, during filming for The Crow nearly three decades ago.

Brandon Lee was to be married, but was killed just 17 days before the event.

The death of Brandon Lee vs. the charges against Alec Baldwin

Brandon Lee was the son of the late actor and martial arts fighter Bruce Lee. Sadly, the young man died after fellow actor Michael Massee shot him with a prop gun during filming on March 30, 1993, on the set of a movie in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.

Although the revolver in question was loaded with blanks, the gunpowder in the cartridge suddenly ignited, causing Massee to unknowingly fire a bullet fragment in Lee’s direction, who later died following surgery.

Although Massee did not face criminal charges at the time, believing himself to be not guilty as charged, Brandon Lee’s mother sued the filmmakers for a large sum of money (it is not known exactly how much) and inevitably won the case.

Decades later, a similar incident would occur again, when Alec Baldwin fired a Colt .45 caliber pistol at Halyna Hutchins during filming for the movie Rust. As a result, Baldwin, as well as another member of the crew behind Rust would be criminally charged for their involvement in the death of the aforementioned cinematographer.

“There are people throughout the history here who had direct responsibility for that gun and failed to exercise that responsibility,” the prosecutor in the case said. “One way to think of this is, in a sense, that Alec Baldwin is the least culpable in this equation,” it also noted.

The accident that led to Lee’s death spurred the need for stronger protocols when talking about guns being used as props on film sets.

After her brother’s death, Shannon Lee told Agence France-Presse in 2021 that there should be mandatory training on the safety of guns used on film sets.

“It shouldn’t happen again,” Shannon Lee added for the agency cited above.

However, this accident not only happened again, but inevitably led to the death of another man. It remains to be seen, of course, how the trial will be concluded and who (as well as how) will be held accountable for Hutchins’ death.

Bruce Lee’s death and the family “curse”

Soon after Brandon Lee’s death, the theory began to emerge in the public eye that the Lee family was cursed.

On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee, Brandon’s father, would also die prematurely. At the time, Brandon Lee was eight years old, so he could not enjoy his father’s presence in his life for long.

Bruce Lee’s official cause of death was brain abscess and, according to medical reports, was allegedly caused by an allergic reaction the actor had to a migraine medication, although some have considered the circumstances of his death quite mysterious.

He died in Hong Kong, six days before the release of Enter the Dragon.