Cannonball
Jackie Chan’s first nickname was Pao-pao. He was called “cannonball” by his mother because of how heavy he was when she gave birth to him. Besides the fact that Jackie went on to have small roles in the Cannonball Run movies, the nickname foreshadowed the “pow!” factor when he went bowling. In a 1998 book containing a compendium of his interviews for the Inside Kung Fu magazine, Jackie is quoted as saying: “Young people always learn things very quickly, so I learned pool until some people said “We’re going to play bowling.” Then I found out that I liked bowling, and so I’d spend up to twenty-four hours a day playing bowling. But bowling is different. A bowling alley is very big. Sometimes I would go to the bowling alley and sleep - just by myself. So the bowling alley helped in a way to get away from the Triads.”
On several occasions, Jackie has told his story about going with Bruce Lee to such an alley. It’s curious that the book doesn’t contain this anecdote. This book was co-edited by Bruce Lee historian John Little, who would know that Jackie had worked as a stuntman on Bruce’s Fist of Fury (1971) and Enter the Dragon (1973). Curiously, Jackie didn’t mention the bowling story in either of his memoirs even though his second memoir does reference himself being an avid practitioner of bowling. For example, his anecdote about going to Australia in 1974: “I walked onto the plane, put my bag in the overhead bin, and kept my precious bowling ball on my lap. At that point, I didn’t know if I was ever going to return to Hong Kong, and I had to bring my ball with me.”
Jackie is often compared to Bruce, hence why I’ve compiled comparison shots taken from the October 1981 issue of a Japanese magazine called Screen. What doesn’t get reported in the West is how Jackie has told the bowling story in the East. In 2008, the China News site got this quote from him: “One time when I went bowling, and I ran into him on the road. He seemed to be in a bad state. He looked very worried. When he heard that I was going bowling, he actually said he wanted to go with me. I was so excited at the time. I was originally going to take the bus, but later I just took a taxi. I was so impressive in the bowling alley. Everyone wanted Bruce Lee to sign autographs and take photos with him, and I acted as a bodyguard to maintain order. But shortly after that incident, something happened to him. The person who was bowling with me a week ago is gone just like that. I can't believe it.”
There's another alternate version of the bowling story recalled by Jackie for the Sohu site in September 2022. It differs even more from the version told in English. New details are in bold font, and my own comment is presented in parenthesis...
The last time I saw him was when the two of us ran into each other on the street. That day I was going to play at the Four Seas Bowling Alley, and when I was passing by the Peninsula Hotel, I saw someone on the street — Ah! Isn't that Bruce Lee?
“Brother Siu-Lung!” I waved at him.
He also saw me - “Huh? It's you.”
He didn't know my name yet. “Where are you going?”
I said, “I'm going bowling.”
He said, “Bowling? I'll go with you.”
I was stunned, and said “Ah,” and immediately raised my hand, “Taxi!”
Actually, if I didn't meet him, I planned to go by bus, but he was beside me, so I immediately called a taxi. In the car, he asked my name, and I told him what kind of Kung Fu I had learned. He also praised me for my good moves and courage.
Entering the bowling alley, you can imagine how imposing I am. Everyone stared at me. “Please, I brought Bruce Lee to play bowling!”
I walked in with my head held high, arranged a track, asked him to sit there, and ordered him a bottle of soda. I asked him if he wanted to play, and he said no. At that time, I was playing back-to-back games against people, but I didn't that day.
He sat by and watched me play. Sometimes he would say “Good! Good shot!” (literally in English) But most of the time, he was thoughtful, and I didn't bother him.
If someone came over and asked for an autograph, I was like a well-trained bodyguard, going over and saying - no, no.
After I played a few rounds, he got up and said to me, “You keep playing, I'll go first.”
I said, “Oh, okay.”
I sent him downstairs to take a taxi.
Before getting into the car, the door was open, and he didn't say "See you next time" or other polite words. He just looked back at me, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't say anything, waved to me, and left. I stood by the side of the road and looked at him as if it was a dream. A week later, news of his death was heard. The entire film world was shocked and mourned by it. I still remember that he was wearing a coat with a large collar, with a pair of flared trousers, and a pair of light brown platform shoes.
In August 2020, there were duplicate articles on Chinese sites where the subject was actor Stephen Chow talking about the friendship between Bruce and a stuntman who was his acrobatic stunt double - Yuen Wah. Apparently, Yuen Wah told Stephen that himself and Bruce would sometimes eat or bowl together. The Four Seas bowling alley was located at Waterloo Road. It used to be a hotel before September 1968. It became a hotel again in 1988 - the year of the dragon.
In April 1973, Bruce told Ip Man’s senior student about an incident that later found its way in a Bruceploitation movie called Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (released in 1976 - the year of the dragon). Bruce told Wong Shun-Leung: “As I ran along Waterloo Hill Road, I passed by a construction site. This time, a construction worker asked me whether I would fight with him. So I jumped over a plank and stood before them. I asked them, ‘Who wants to fight?’ However, no one answered, so I scolded them. In the end, they bowed their heads and apologized for their actions. They said that they were only playing with me. Seeing this, I didn’t care about them and continued to do my running.”