A-list actor and Western movie icon James Coburn was possibly the greatest of all the Hollywood superstars Bruce Lee coached. James Coburn looks to have been the greatest of all the superstars Bruce Lee coached, but Steve McQueen isn’t far behind. Coburn was already a renowned A-list actor and one of Hollywood’s top Western performers when he studied with Bruce Lee in the 1960s and 1970s. The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and Our Man Flint are among his best-known films from his long career.
Lee’s close friend James Coburn was one of several famous figures in Hollywood to learn Jeet Kune Do from the martial arts legend. Lee tried for jobs in Hollywood before starting his kung fu movie career in Hong Kong, while also maintaining martial arts schools. Lee became fairly well-known among celebrities, thanks in part to word of mouth. Along with Coburn, Lee trained Steve McQueen, Roman Polanski, James Garner, Lee Marvin, Sharon Tate, and Stirling Silliphant. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA legend, was also one of Lee’s most prominent students.
Bruce Lee’s finest student, undoubtedly, was James Coburn, a famous actor. The statements of the kung fu legend himself provide evidence for this. In an interview, Lee hesitated to pick between Coburn and McQueen, but seemed to prefer them above Garner, Marvin, and others when asked which of his Hollywood students was the greatest. He praised Steve McQueen’s tenacity and drive, but he was quick to point out that Coburn had the finest grip on the “philosophical element” of kung fu, which is, of course, a basic feature and a crucial building block in becoming a successful martial artist.
