Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: 7 Real People Rick Dalton & Cliff Booth Were Based On

7. Booth - Gene LeBell

One of the most controversial scenes in Once Upon a Time was the one in which Booth beat up Bruce Lee. There was outrage from Lee's daughter at the depiction of Lee as a cocky loudmouth who threw his weight around on set.

While the characterisation of Lee may have been interpreted as unfair, the scene had a real-life basis. In place of Booth, we have Gene LeBell, a martial artist stuntman who allegedly fought Bruce Lee on the set of Green Hornet. A legendary tough guy, LeBell is nicknamed the Godfather of Grappling because of the way he popularized grappling in professional circles.

The perfect model for a larger-than-life figure like Booth, LeBell was an expert in judo and jiu-jitsu. The co-author of Gene LeBell’s autobiography, Eugene S. Robinson detailed the Lee fight in an interview with Ozy: "According to LeBell, Lee was a working stiff on the set of The Green Hornet but was kicking the s**t 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.'"

Tarantino didn't cower after the backlash, insisting that he had done his research. Clearly, he believed the account in LeBell's account. So much so that he moulded a large part of Booth's character around LeBell.