Tragedy is generational in the Lee family: first legendary martial artist, actor and director Bruce Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32, six days before his most successful feature film - and arguably the most famous of its kind - Enter The Dragon was released. Then twenty years later, Lee's son Brandon died on the set of the film The Crow at 28, even younger than his father was. Bruce Lee's films, philosophy and martial arts legacy has lasted longer now than the beloved man did himself, and it's served his estate well: Lee earned $7 million last year alone, which is no mean feat for someone who's been gone for 40 years.
11. Steve McQueen
The star of The Great Escape, Bullitt and The Blob among many other modern classics died in 1980 from complications in surgery, but he made $9 million in 2013 due to his back catalogue and commercial relationships with watch company Tag Heuer and sunglasses manufacturer Persol. With the recent interest in racing films (Rush, Senna), it wouldn't be surprising to see the King of Cool feature in a biopic centred on his lifelong passion for motors some time in the near future, and McQueen's vehicles and memorabilia regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it's more than likely that he'll still be on 2014's list as well...
10. Theodor Geisel
Though he's not the most recognisable name on this list, the author of the Dr. Seuss children's books is still a financial heavyweight, having posthumously earned $9 million from 2012-2013 alone. That's sure to have been helped in no small part by the success of the film adaptation of his beloved story The Lorax. Dr. Seuss never seems to go out of style, in fact it's the opposite; his works have been adapted for the big and small screen more or less non-stop since the 1960s, with recent big budget versions of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat In The Hat and Horton Hears A Who cementing Geisel's firm grasp on our imaginations. And though the good doctor hasn't been with us for over two decades (Geisel died of natural causes) it doesn't look to loosen any time soon; further feature adaptations and reimaginings are already in the works...
9. Bettie Page
Or 'The Notorious', if you will. Bettie Page carved out a unique career for herself in becoming arguably the first and almost certainly the twentieth century's most iconic pin-up model, and she's still just as in vogue as she ever was. Maybe even more, if the earnings from the boutiques set up in her name are anything to go by - $10 million of that went to the late Ms. Page herself, in spite of her having died of old age in 2008. Picture calendars never get old, do they?
