According to LeBell, Lee was a working stiff on the set of The Green Hornet but was kicking the shit out of the stuntmen. They couldn't convince him that he could go easy and it would still look great on film. The show's stunt coordinator, Bennie Dobbins, needed a ringer to deal with Lee, so he called in Judo Gene.
LeBell says when he got to the set, Dobbins told him to put Lee "in a headlock or something."
So LeBell went up and grabbed Lee. "He started making all those noises that he became famous for," LeBell said, "but he didn't try to counter me, so I think he was more surprised than anything else."
Then LeBell lifted Lee onto his back in what's called a fireman's carry and ran around the set with him.
"Put me down or I'll kill you!" Lee screamed.
"I can't put you down or you'll kill me," LeBell said, holding Lee there as long as he dared before putting him down, saying, "Hey, Bruce, don't kill me. Just kidding, champ."
Back on his feet again, Lee didn't kill LeBell. Instead, Lee recognized that the lack of grappling was a deficiency in the Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts he was developing. So Lee trained with LeBell for a little over a year with LeBell showing Lee armbars, leg locks and takedowns, and Lee schooling LeBell in kung fu kicks.
After training with LeBell, Lee incorporated grappling moves into his film fighting. He finishes off Chuck Norris with a chokehold in Way of the Dragon (1972) and beats a young Sammo Hung with an armbar in Enter the Dragon (1973).
