Would this show have been even better then it was if Bruce Lee, one of the greatest martial artists, had been in it I think it would maybe
shareI doubt it.
The only major difference would have been its lasting only one season (Bruce Lee died on July 7, 1973).
As a huge fan of Kung Fu,my feeling is that David Carradine was the superior actor compared to Bruce Lee & that Bruce obviously was a legendary martial artist second to none.I've read that the producers had no trouble with casting an Asian as the lead of Kung Fu but their issue was that Bruce's accent wasn't always clear enough to be understood. I'm not at all convinced that at least some of the producers & network execs would not have had trouble casting an Asian actor in a lead role at that time.As a fan of Bruce & The Green Hornet TV show I do see that his accent could,at times,be difficult to understand.But could they not have had him dub his work on Kung Fu in a recording studio if need be? The other reservation I have regarding Bruce in the lead in Kung Fu would be the attitude of the character of Caine.Carradine portrayed Caine as a humble,gentle man who would tolerate personal insults,at least up to a point.Bruce may not have liked to play such a character,no more than he liked being a "houseboy" on The Green Hornet.Bruce was a very proud man & I don't believe he would have enjoyed doing this role as Carradine did it.On the other hand it would have been a big break for Bruce,so perhaps he'd accept that he would have to play Caine in a way he did not personally care for.Perhaps Bruce would have brought other characteristics to the role too,who knows? As much as I like Kung Fu though I have to admit that watching the fight scenes with Caine have dated poorly.At the time of the show I had no difficulty watching those scenes,in fact,we eagerly anticipated them.Now when I watch them employing their favorite technique,the slow-motion scenes,it just comes off as a gimmick to me. The rest of the action was clever camera work,stunt doubles & Carradine himself at times.When I compare that to watching Bruce do his moves on the screen or on The Green Hornet,its truly night & day. I realize that they had to use such tricks with Carradine at that time in order to produce a weekly TV series...but now I feel the show is more about the performances & how well written a particular episode is on Kung Fu.The action scenes,not so much.
shareI don't think Kung Fu would have done well with Lee or lasted long.. Bruce Lee movies are polar-opposite from what Kung Fu was as a show.. I think Lee would have tried to change the direction of Kung Fu and this would have tanked the show within the first season...
Bill Steward