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Story last updated 7/18/08
Destiny, however, was about to call Brandon’s bluff in the form of a reserved brunette named Eliza “Lisa” Hutton. Eliza was a personal assistant to director Renny Harlin, who at the time was a much celebrated action director in Hollywood. She was a few years older than Brandon, mature and wise in nature, but not an actor. She also was not involved with the martial arts at all. Eliza had worked in Hollywood for a number of years for casting and production companies, and so had been exposed no doubt to the well oiled Hollywood machine. Eliza or " Lisa", as she was called by her family and friends, had grown up the second of three daughters to a geologist and city councilman father and his wife in the mid-western city of Kansas City, Missouri. The pair met in 1990, at the office where Eliza was working, based at 20 Century Fox. At the time her boss, Renny Harlin shared an agent, David Goldman, with Brandon at the influential William Morris talent agency. Brandon had been in talks with 20th Century Fox, together with his agent, and producer Robert Lawerence since late 1989, in order to secure a developmental deal (which he did in 1990). They supposedly met when Goldman, presumably after the meeting with FOX, had dropped in to speak with his client Harlin, and Lee was introduced to Harlin's beautiful executive assistant Eliza "Lisa" Hutton. It has been widely reported that Brandon fell in love at first sight, and was immediately drawn to her. Eliza on the other hand although attracted to him, didn't instantly feel exactly the same, or at least didn't after he opened his mouth, and turned her off. In an 1992 interview with Brandon for the Chicago's Sun Times, Hutton recalled her first impression of Brandon at their first impression of Brandon as being " pretty arrogant." She added, " I was working in an office at the time, when he came in. He seemed to be very stuck on himself." Unknown to Eliza at the time, the same day he meet her, Brandon called his manager and friend Jan McCormack obviously smitten over meeting her and asked her, “ Jan, have you ever met anyone in your lifetime where you just say ‘Hello’ and you hope that they will be in your life for the rest of your life? Well I met a girl like that today”. He seemed to be so taken with her, and knew instinctively that his life would never be the same again. When the pair met a second time Brandon was more himself, and things went much better according to Eliza, "the second time we met he was different, very nice." And with that he sealed the deal, and the pair started dating. Soon after the pair were inseparable. In 1992, People Magazine did a feature on Brandon. In it Eliza spoke about Brandon’s intimidating qualities, “He is confident, intense and direct, and a lot of people find that intimidating.” Family and friends started seeing a change in his rebellious streak and reckless nature after he met Eliza. Brandon’s cousin Jeff Wilson said in the E! THS Documentary on Brandon that, “He loved looking for any edge of danger… He was that way up until he met Eliza”. It seemed almost instantly apparent that the couple were deeply in love, and soon they were inseparable too. Eliza helped Brandon think about settling down for the first time in his young life, and he realized that he wanted to be with Eliza for the rest of his life. In Eliza, Brandon found a invaluable support system, someone who encouraged instead of dictating and trying to change or control him. She was the "balance" that Brandon had long sought in a mate, but never found until her. Brandon was still a struggling actor throughout 1990, and besides doing a few low-paying plays, and some extra work on one low budget video clip, he was unemployed ( like many actors in Hollywood). He was active on the Hollywood audition circuit, doing what he could to get roles., but the quality opportunities were hard to come by. It was a very frustrating time for Brandon, but also proved challenged, when he made the decision to begin training again in his father's arts, pursuing his martial arts training with the Inosanto Academy, and for the first time made a more conscious effort to not run from his father's legacy. Eliza having worked in Hollywood for a number of production and casting companies was familiar with the struggles in Hollywood, and understood obviously the way things worked in the film industry, and provided Brandon with invaluable support. Their blossoming romance, friendship and love became a source of strength and comfort to Brandon during this rough time. In the new year of 1991, things
started to look up for Brandon. He landed his first American feature film
role in Showdown in Little Tokyo, and Rapid Fire ( originally
called Moving Target) finally was looking set to being made. In early
1991, Showdown in Little Tokyo
was filmed, and as he progressed in his professional life a new sense of
ecstasy carried over to his personal life too. The pair moved into their own
house in Beverly Hills in the Spring of 1991, and then Brandon started work on Rapid Fire.
Eliza also changed career paths by becoming story editor at Stillwater
Productions, Kiefer Sutherland’s production company, which was based on the
20th Century Fox studio headquarters lot. 20th Century Fox was also the same
studio, which released Rapid Fire, and which Brandon had a three
picture deal with. Eliza by all respects made Brandon a more
considerate, loving and responsible person, as well as giving him his
freedom. A born
romantic, Brandon frequently wrote her love letters, Eliza revealing to
People Magazine in 1992 that he " writes me beautiful letters, he quotes
Shakespeare." He took her on romantic
camping trips, and over the border to Mexico, a place that became a special hide-way for the pair on weekends. His mother has commented that she was a
“complete and total support system,” for Brandon. As an actor, Brandon was eager and excited to try any type of acting experience, that is except for love scenes. He admitted that he was so uncomfortable doing them
(especially nudity), namely due to the other person he was suppose to acting affectionately towards in
an intimate setting was not Eliza (and the fact that they were impersonal,
no emotional pull and usually irrelevant to the storyline), and nudity with an actress on film is not a very comfortable setting. During the final script meetings for Rapid Fire the writer, and producers, wanting to capitalize on Brandon's sex appeal to females and wrote in a sex scene between Brandon's character and the character played by actress Kate Hodge. Eliza, while understanding that
as an actor Brandon would probably have to do a love scene eventually, a nude scene with another actress was something that was emotionally a bit hard to digest at first.
Although she admitted she never was jealous and realised it was part of the
job, but actually seeing Brandon kiss another woman on screen wasn't easy at
first. She revealed in an Interview in 1992 with Brandon her shock at seeing it on the
big screen, " I thought I was emotionally prepared for it, until I saw it." Eliza went on to
say, "You don't
really know how you're going to react to something like
that until you see it. It was ...hard." Brandon also was not happy about
doing it, saying " I guess you know from
watching other movies that these (nude scenes) are something that you may or
may not be called upon to do, if you're fortunate enough to get a job. But
like Lisa (Eliza) says, I knew something like this might come up, but until
you actually do it, you don't know exactly how you're going to feel about
it. I would be happy never to do another one but it unfortunately comes with
the business, luckily Lisa understands that, and is very supportive of my
career". Brandon also commented at the time that nude scenes, he felt, were
marketing ploys, and had almost no bearing on the characters in the film. Later when he worked on The Crow
it was reported that he felt the original love scenes in the script were rather
excessive, and he asked for some of them to be cut from the
script. Director Alex Proyas later agreed that nude scenes were irrelevant
to the story, and only one sex scene eventually was filmed, as well as moderate intimate scenes
that were arranged to be shot. Arianne Phillips, a friend of both Eliza’s and Brandon's, who would work on The Crow as a costume designer commented that, “He was really close to his girlfriend. They were best friends, as well as boyfriend/girlfriend”. Despite the deep love Brandon had for Eliza, he still had fears of losing her, “Brandon was afraid of getting married. A lot of it stemmed from the fact that he knew what it was like to make a commitment with your heart and then lose that person. He had gone through pain of losing his father, and he did not want to repeat that pain”, said his mother Linda in 1993 in an interview with the New York Times. However, it finally dawned on him on what he was missing out on; having a complete life with Eliza and starting a family of their own. By The summer of 1992, Brandon had read the script for The crow. The young murdered couple in the script were very much like he and Eliza, deeply in love. Brandon felt very passionate that this role was very much part of him. Maybe it helped make him see that he couldn't waste another moment. During the Rapid Fire press tour in Europe, Brandon took Eliza to Venice, Italy. There one evening, on hand with champagne and flowers, he bend on one knee and asked her to marry him after two years of dating. The pair excitingly called their parents from Italy to tell them of the happy news. Their happiness was made more exciting with the news that Brandon had won the part of Eric Draven in The Crow. Brandon had feverishly fought to get the role. It would be his first role where his martial arts skills would not be a primary part of the film. Once back from Europe the pair threw a lavish cocktail party that turned out to a surprise engagement party, to let their friends know of their engagement. In the middle of the party, Brandon announced his engagement to Eliza to much excitement. The pair then started to plan the happy event of their marriage. They decided on getting married in Ensenada, Mexico, a beach town they frequented. The pair (both family orientated) wanted their families included in on the festive event. Eliza's younger sister was to be maid of honor, and Brandon's younger sister was to act as the best man. Brandon began working on The Crow in pre-production and in January,1993 Brandon and Eliza relocated temporary to Wilmington, North Carolina, where the picture would be filming. Eliza was taking care of the wedding preparations, making trips back to L.A when needed. Brandon happily bragged to the crew and anyone else who cared to listen about their upcoming wedding. A Magazine editor Jeff Yang visited Brandon on the set and later wrote, “When I asked him what his next project was and he said ‘ It starts production April 17, its all been cast, and it's going to go on for about 50 years, I’m getting married’. Then he introduced his fiancée.” Besides getting married, the pair also had plans to start a family immediately, “He couldn’t wait to have kids. There have been reports that the pair were actively trying to conceive at the time of his death. They wanted to have children right away", Said his mother Linda in a 1999 interview with the Fox Family Network. The pair planned to take a bus load of friends and family, 100 in total, take them over the border into Mexico, where they planned to marry at sunset on the walkway to the beach on April 17, 1993. They also had booked out an entire hotel, in Rosarito for their guests. Back on the set of The Crow, Eliza was a frequent fixture on the set of The Crow, and was part of the very close group made up of Brandon's ' JKD brothers', which consisted of Jeff Imada, his brother Brian, and Jeff Cadiente.' She unofficially became his assistant, tending to and making sure he was supported in his role as Eric Draven. After his death, her dedication to Brandon on the set was not forgotten with her being credited as " assistant to Mr Lee." Brandon attracted a number of female admirers, but to him there was only ever one woman for him and that was Eliza. He preferred to socialise within his close knit group of Eliza, and his "JKD" brothers. Although he was friendly to everyone, and liked to tell jokes and make others feel comforted on the gloomy set, but he was a very private person, and did not like to talk about his life, or problems to the strangers on the set, instead he sought to learn more about others. Brandon commented in an candid interview in 1992 that he choose to surround himself only "with a very loyal group of people", who knew him very well, and weren't going to betray his confidence. He had experience betrayals in his youth, which resulted in not being able to open up to friends, because he was never sure if they were his friends, or were hanging around him because of who his father was. Brandon also publicly said that the film business and film sets was not representative of real life, and any success is fleeting compared to true love and friendship. The Crow set was not a complete positive experience for Brandon. He had became frustrated at the poor working conditions, and after a month of shooting in very cold, wet and dark surrounding, he commented that for once he would like to " see the sun," referring to him only being awake at night. His main focus as he progressed in filming was getting married to Eliza, going on their honeymoon and starting a new life together as husband and wife. Moments before he died, the actress playing Shelly, Sofia Shinas asked him what role he was doing next, to which he replied "being a husband." Brandon's portrayal of his character Eric Draven was essential to Brandon, and spent a lot of time preparing for the emotional as well as physical experience of playing him. Brandon's need to understand a deeper meaning to Eric's transformation as a anti-superhero became a source of introspective conservation between Brandon and Eliza. Brandon felt he understood Eric psyche as he related how he would feel if he and Eliza would ever be separated. However, Eliza felt Eric was a symbol for something more meaningful to the public. Brandon recalled in an interview on the set on his bride-to-be's wise thoughts on his character, " my girlfriend keeps telling me that Eric symbolizes justice for victims who never have a chance to receive it. That sounds really heavy to me, but I guess it's very true." Eliza also provided some assistance when Brandon, who believed in method acting, wanted to see what it felt like to be dead and entering from a cold, wet grave. Shortly before filming begun, Brandon with Eliza, and Jeff Imada had bought a few bags of ice. Jeff and Eliza put the ice on Brandon, and then he later said that he had Eliza stop watched him to see how much time he would take. When the producers found out about his method acting experiment Brandon, his own admission had got into an "argument," with one of the producers, who no doubt didn't share his enthusiasm for method acting. During the filming of The Crow, Brandon and Eliza went to the movies, hoping for a distraction to the stress of him filming, and them planning the wedding. As the pair sat watching the previews, a silence began to gripe them; a film preview for Dragon: The Bruce Lee story, an up coming biopic on Brandon's father Bruce Lee appeared on screen. Brandon had originally been offered the role of his father in 1991 for the film, but turned it down, and then chose not to have anything to do with the production. He cited to his mother the idea of watching his father and their family on screen was "too difficult," for him and he had no intentions of ever seeing the film. Now here Brandon sat, watching a preview of a small flash of a screen where Brandon as a child is running into his father's arms and warm embrace. Not surprisingly Brandon became emotionally stunned, and Eliza noticed a visible change in his body language, as she tried to comfort him. She later told Linda that in that moment Brandon" went from being 28, to being 8 years old again, as he was remembering what it felt like to be hugged and embraced by his father". Brandon and Eliza had epic plans for the rest of their lives, and Brandon was eager to be the best husband and eventually father. His mother Linda Lee Cadwell later recalled a conversation she had with her son shortly before he died. Brandon was full of excitement about his upcoming nuptials, “Oh Mom, I am so much in love with Eliza. I can’t wait to get married”. The pair frequently discussed their wedding plans with The Crow crew, even with Brandon's local guitar teacher JK Loftin and his wife, " they were very sweet together", Mrs Loftin later recalled. Arianne Phillips, a friend of Brandon's, who also shared a mutual friend with Eliza in New York, worked on the film as a costume designer. When deciding on her wedding dress, Phillips gave Eliza fashion advice when choosing it. Eliza later wore the dress, which she had bought at a L.A boutique to Brandon's Memorial service in L.A, the day after his funeral. Philips just the day before Brandon's death had fitted him in a Georgio Armani tuxedo, a item that was to be for his wedding day, later became the clothing he was buried in. Many on The Crow crew observed Eliza's and Brandon's close relationship. Darryl Levine, a Costume Supervisor said that" even for couples he knew at the time, they seemed more close than most". Similarly, The Crow creator James O'Barr said in an interview in 2007, that" the fact that his fiancée, Eliza, was with him all the time, that perfected that image of Eric and Shelly I had in the book. They had to have been one of the most deeply in love couples I’ve ever met. Whenever someone would come up to meet Brandon, he would always introduce her first. "When Brandon did have time to himself, according to Jeff Imada, it usually revolved around Eliza, " we would hang out some, but he wanted to be with Eliza, so I would give them space." Even when he was working, his mind was often thinking of her, according to Arianne Philips. After seeing some dresses on a few of the extras, Brandon asked Costumer Designer Phillips for the dresses stating to her that "Eliza would look great in them." There was hardly anyone who saw the couple or had any dealings with Brandon on the set that didn't know of his pending marriage to Eliza. A journalist friend of Proyas's later recalled his brief encounter with the couple, saying he " met Brandon and his fiancee Eliza very briefly one evening when I was on the set. He was charming and unaffected and very charismatic. He and Eliza, who were due to be married after the film was completed, seemed happy and comfortable in one another’s company. " It seems almost impossible to escape the excitement and happiness of the pair on set. As the date of April 17 loomed closer, the more excited and eager Brandon began, and counting the days until filming ceased. He often told interviewers happily that like his character he was also due to be married. Brandon in the months and weeks leading up till his death, had pondered the question of, if he died and he had a chance to come back who would he want to see? His answer was always Eliza. In interviews, he frequently quoted a paragraph from James Bowles’s novel "The sheltering sky". "Because we don't know, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember as certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps 4 and 5 times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless." The quote meant so much to the couple, that they had placed it on their wedding invitations. Later this quote would prove to be Brandon’s signature quote, and used in promotion for the movie. After Brandon's death, his mother Linda chose to have it put on his gravesite, with a dedication to Brandon and Eliza. Eliza's father after Brandon's death pondered it's significance, "It's so ironic, because their wedding invitations said, in effect, that it was the right thing to do because we never know when we're going to die." The quote then served as a eulogy to Brandon's own life. Eliza was back in Los Angeles in late March, but was to return to Wilmington in the last few days of filming. Still Photographer Robert Zuckerman recalled that Brandon had especially asked if he would take some romantic photographs of him and Eliza in one of the Wilmington's gothic gardens, after filming had ceased. On the 27th of March, 1993 she had her bridal party at the push Hotel Bel Air, laughing with friends as she opened gifts, so eager and looking forward very much to the long future and her new life with Brandon as husband and wife. That life with Brandon was about to come to a premature end. A few hours before he went to the set on March 30, 1993, Brandon spoke to Eliza one last time, according to reports in the NY Times, she told him that her engagement ring (which had been custom made) had finally arrived from Harry Winston Jewellers. The rest of their conversation, one can only speculate. No one was to know, that neither one would ever get to speak to other again. Even up to the last moments of his life Eliza was not far from his thoughts. He was chatting to the crew about his wedding just before he was shot. He had told members of the cast and crew that his next project was being a husband, and he was planning on taking an extended break to spend time with his new wife. Brandon's accident that would take his life occurred just after Midnight, and he almost immediately began fighting for his life. When his best friend Jeff Imada, the stunt co-coordinator for the film called Eliza to see how she was coping with the news of his accident, he assumed she had been contacted. The producers had advised him that she had been contacted, but that was not true. Sadly what Imada was about to tell her would come as a deep shock for. Eliza at first thought Imada was pulling an early April fools joke on her. She asked Imada in all innocence if "Brandon had put him up to it?," Slowly, he told her it was no joke, that Brandon had been hurt. Brandon had been injured on the set of Rapid Fire when he broke his foot, but this time it was much more serious. Eliza asked Imada, ' How bad is it?', and Imada advised her that she needed to get to Wilmington ASAP. Eliza headed straight for the airport and got on the first plane to Brandon. While waiting for a connecting flight to Atlanta, Georgia, on route to Wilmington, North Carolina, Eliza called Arianne Phillips, who was now back in L.A working on another film and informed her that Brandon had been hurt. Eliza - not surprisingly was very upset and "Freaking" out, because the plane she was about to board did not have a phone, and she would have no way of checking to see if Brandon was okay. Phillips told Eliza that it would be okay, not knowing how serious Brandon was hurt. Eliza was in a state of panic, perhaps feeling in her gut that something bad had happened, but still managed to call Brandon's mother in Idaho before she boarded to let her know that Brandon had been injured. Linda decided to not fly Wilmington until she heard more about his condition. None of them at that time knew what had exactly happened, or what a life threatening situation it was. Eliza also called her friend in New York City, with whom Phillips was friends with. Later, when Phillips phoned her friend to advise her, what had happened, and that Eliza would be in need of their support, she was shock to know that Eliza had already spoken to her. The lack of comprehension at what might of occurred, or the lack of information coming to her, no doubt, added to Eliza's high anxiety.
After spending short time with Brandon, Eliza, together with Jeff Imada and Jeff Cadiente attended a private meeting with the doctor. The doctor advised Eliza of the impossible odds that Brandon would come out of it, and how he doubted that Brandon would survive the day. Jeff Imada later said that she took the difficult news very hard, and was "understandably a wreck." Shortly after telling them of the news, the doctor was called out for an emergency, which just happened to be a one last attempt to save Brandon's life. With Eliza, and Brandon's best friends by her side, they witnessed him flatline and die in front of their eyes. He was pronounced dead at 1:03 P.M on March 31st, 1993. 18 days before he was to marry the love of his life. Eliza received the devastating news and was then comforted by Brandon's closest friends. Her beloved Brandon was gone, so were their hopes of a long future together, and the epic wedding they both planned, that now would never take place. After he died, it was revealed to Eliza and Jeff Imada that Linda's mother and sister were on a plane to Wilmington, which would later arrive several hours after Brandon had been pronounced dead. Eliza decided it would be best if she told his mother and sister herself, in person, of the tragic news, and so she and Jeff Imada volunteered to meet their plane. When their plane landed, Eliza told them the devastating news. Despite her overwhelming grief, before she left Wilmington Eliza offered Brandon's guitar, which he was learning to play for his role in The Crow, to his guitar teacher JK Loftin. She also gifted a pin ball game set, that Brandon had displayed in his temporary living space in Wilmington to Brandon's driver, with whom he often played ping-pong with. She felt that these were things that Brandon would of wanted them to have. Brandon's body was flown to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where an autopsy was preformed. He was then flown to Seattle, Washington, where he was buried next to his father, in a cemetery plot that originally Linda Lee Cadwell had reserved for herself. The private funeral took place in Seattle, Washington on April 3, 1993, only close family and friends were permitted to attend, those included Brandon's immediate family, as well as Eliza's parents and younger sister, who flew in from Missouri. The following day, 250 of Brandon's family, friends and business associates attended a Memorial service in L.A. The service was held at the house of actress Polly Bergen, with whom Lee used to regularly play backgammon. At the memorial service service, Arianne Phillips, in particular was shocked when Eliza turned up in what was to be her wedding dress, a white cocktail style dress. Eliza was too devastated and upset to even speak about Brandon at the service, but listened to his friends and family recalling the Brandon they remembered. None of them quite believing that Lee was gone. No doubt, for those that knew him the best like Eliza, and his family, the realization that Lee was gone forever would not settle in for a long time. Eliza most probably was still in a state of extreme shock, which also is apparent when a few weeks after Brandon's death, the creator of The Crow, James O'Barr paid Eliza a visit. O'Barr recently recalled, " One of the saddest, most profoundly moving experiences I had in my entire life was visiting Brandon’s fiancé a few weeks after his funeral. Eliza still resided in the modest humble flat she shared with Brandon and the tiny living room was filled with little mementos of their love and the time they’d spent together: wooden framed 5x7 photos of them hugging and kissing in front of various locations in L.A. and Mexico, some flea market set of porcelain figures of two toddlers holding hands sitting on a park bench trading a shy kiss, the little boy pushing the girl on a swing (all reminiscent of joyous, jubilant, young, innocent love), some condolence cards (Surprisingly few, though), a big B&W photo of Bruce that had been tinted with oil paints, a cabinet full of home videos containing images of their trips together, Brandon doing his martial arts workouts in their meager back yard. Just all your typical knick-knack’s of two people deeply in love. I’d bought her 2 dozen yellow roses because I, more than anything wanted her to know that I was her friend and that was never going to change, that I didn’t base our friendship on her being Brandon’s fiancé. She knew that I had suffered the same loss she was experiencing: the sudden inexplicable death of the person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with. As she put the roses in a vase she turned to me and said “Do you want to see it?” I had no idea what she was referring to, but her expression was unmistakable, she wanted to share something deeply personal with me. So I nodded and she took me by the hand and waked me down the narrow hallway to the bedroom. Hanging off a headless mannequin was the wedding dress she would never ever get to wear. She said “Isn’t it beautiful?” and indeed it was. It was also the saddest thing I had ever seen. Brandon died 18 days before they were to be married. " Despite her grief, Eliza knew how important the role of Eric Draven had been to Brandon, and was instrumental in getting the film finished, to honor Brandon's talent, and commented in her only statement (with Linda) after his death that "Brandon had told me this was his finest performance yet. I know he would want it to be completed". She also wanted to make sure that the producers and distributors did not exploit Brandon's death in the promotion for the film. As a result much of the advertising was submitted to Eliza, in an attempt to have it be as respectful as possible. But not every wish of the family was abided by; Edward Pressman, The Crow’s Executive Producer, held a Hollywood Screening after Eliza requested them not to hold one. Arianne Phillips went to the screening to voice her disgust to the producers, "Eliza had told them that to have one would be a celebration of the film and she couldn't support that”. Later Pressman and Eliza disagreed again, when Pressman wanted money made from promotion of the film to go to a youth charity. Eliza argued that the money should be donated to a program, to educate the film industry about gun safety on film sets. It has been reported that Eliza petitioned for more education for the film industry about gun safety on film sets, as well as the tightening of gun safety regulations on all film set - especially those non-union sets. Linda herself is also reported to have petitioned for more awareness in the Wilmington film community. Both women did not want to ever see that type of accident occur again on a film set. Brandon's mother, Linda Lee Cadwell filed a law suit against the makers of The Crow in 1993. It was later settled out of court. No criminal charges were filed against the crew members, which caused Brandon's death, after it was revealed that while the crew members who were responsible had breached gun safety film regulations, it was not illegal, and did not fit the legal definition of negligence. At the end of the film a special dedication appears, "For Brandon and Eliza". If anyone ever forgets what really was lost, then that puts it sharply into focus. The story of love lost was not fictional. It was very real; two people that wanted only to be together would be now forever apart.. Besides a private statement made with Linda shortly after his death, Eliza refused for all media requests for interviews. Linda took over any requests for interviews, most probably to allow Eliza the privacy and time she was denied when her own husband Bruce died in 1973. Given the amount of malicious slander and gossip circulating in the media in the aftermath of Brandon's death, trying to connect it with his father's death in 1973, as well as other ridiculous rumors, it was hardly surprising that Eliza didn't want to talk to the tabloid media. She is reported to have been in extreme state of depression at this time, and preferred to spend quiet time alone with Brandon's family, friends and her own loved ones. Her need for privacy during a time of grieving, and her refusal to officially comment is both very understandable and very admirable. She was not someone who sought out public attention or exposure, and it is an act, I am sure, that Brandon would have been proud of her for making, being the kind of very private person he was also. Eliza's father described the pair as "very private." After Brandon's death, Eliza retained a close friendship with Brandon's mother Linda, and his sister Shannon, at least for a while. Eliza and Linda became crucial to ensuring The Crow was completed and released. Linda became involved in the civil suit against those whose negligence had caused the death of Brandon, which was settled out of court in October, 1993. Eliza spent a great deal of time with the Lees after Brandon's death, Linda saying at the time to People Magazine that Eliza " will be a member of my family forever." In late 1994, Eliza was trying hard to deal with her grief, and it was felt by Brandon's sister Shannon that she and her mother reminded her too much of the pain, and stated that in her opinion Eliza started keeping a distance (Shannon married Ian Keasler in August 1994, which might have been painful for a an almost bride to see), because it was " her way of dealing with it." The Lees and Eliza seemed to be in different stages of grief, which is understandable as Eliza was mourning the loss of her best friend, lover and partner, and Linda and Shannon were grieving the loss of their son and brother. Eliza needed to find out who she was now that Brandon was gone, and the truth remains that sometimes grieving family members have to go separate ways in order to grow as people. Communication is a two way street, it has been said, therefore both parties decided to grieve in their own ways. There have been rumors over the years that there was a fight that caused the split, but from reports it appears to have been a mutual decision, and the best one for both parties for them to grieve in their respective ways. Eliza Hutton after 1993 Fan questions and Educated Opinions from the BLM Added: 3/28/07 Updated: 9/12/08 Where is Eliza Now? There has always been a great interest in why Eliza has never spoken to the media, and what happened to her. Many of Brandon's close friends, as well as Eliza never spoke to the media, and may never will - especially when some fans have the appalling attitudes they do. Brandon was a very private person, who despite his profession did not live a public life. The very private and reserved Eliza it appeared to have taken it the hardest (which is understandable). From reports after she and Linda had worked hard at getting The Crow was released, she left Hollywood in late 1994 and spend some time in New York City, and then back with her family in Missouri. One assumes she did this most probably because L.A may have reminded her too much of the film industry and what happened to Brandon. It also is assumed that she probably wanted to be comforted and near many of her family and friends, who were not on the west coast and attempt to pick up the pieces of her life. Eliza returned to L.A in the late 1990's, and returned to work again the film industry, this time in extras casting. In the last ten years, she has done volunteer and charity work with a few children non-profit groups in Los Angeles, such as Hollygrove, which works with orphans from abusive and neglected homes. In the last few years, Eliza has found some happiness again, marrying in the L.A area in 2003, where she still resides. She is reported to work in the field of child welfare research. A large part of her heart, no doubt will always be reserved for Brandon, and for the kind of true love they shared, but like all those in Brandon life, including his mother, sister and friends - Eliza has found a way to move on from her grief and start a new chapter of her life. She will always love Brandon, but she deserves some peace and happiness too. It would be nice if Brandon's fans try and remember that too. Why we don't hear from her? This is probably the most frequently asked question I get emailed. Eliza has closely guarded both her personal life, and her private memories of Brandon. The obvious reason why you don't hear about her is that she lives a normal life, does not live a public life, and has worked hard to maintain the privacy she has. I have not been surprised that she never has publicly commented on Brandon’s death, but truthfully that is the way Brandon probably would have preferred it. Brandon and Eliza were a private couple, and did not have public lives, so it's illogical to assume that suddenly she would pour her heart out to strangers. Given that many so called "fans" seem still this day to be jealous (so much so that they trash her no matter what) of her because of who she was to Brandon, therefore I can't say that I blame her. I think keeping her grief to herself showed a lot of strength of character, as well as dignity. She was/is by all accounts a very reserved, and private person. She was not comfortable in being in the limelight at all, even before Brandon's death, however, she did unconditionally support Brandon in his career and ambitions. Brandon too was very private about his personal life, and guarded his own memories of his father in much the same way. Fans also have to understand that Brandon and Eliza had a very close and tight bond, and if any of us had lost our partner, best friend and soul mate in the same fashion, I doubt we would be jumping up and down and wanting to reveal all Brandon's deep and dark secrets. She went through a very difficult time, as did Brandon's closest friends and family - many whom never have spoken in great depth of it either, because of the same reasons. A few things I want fans to consider: I would now like to remind some fans of a few things. First off, moving on does not mean forgetting or stop loving. I had seen some obviously displays of disrespect towards Eliza, and rather very unfair criticism for the way she privately has chosen to grief or judgmental observations about whether she was Brandon's match. Let me say - she was, Brandon felt it, Eliza felt it and this page is a true account of the real life love story of two people who loved each other completely. Eliza does not have to justify herself, nor should she - it is HER LIFE. It is apparent that she has never in her heart believed anything than what she and Brandon felt - and that was true and lasting love for each other. You only have to listen to an interview of Brandon's, or read the accounts of others who observed the couple, to know how important they were to each other. Fans who wish to dismiss Eliza in Brandon's life because of envy or jealous need to get a grounding in reality. And quite frankly who are you to say what she hasn't been through? Some fans feel that they are entitled to every piece of information - intrusive or not but don't display much respect when they demand such things for the person or people they affect. None of us deserve to know anything, and especially if it breaches on someone else's security. All we can do is ask - with compassion and respect. If things were on the other foot, I doubt people would be doing anything other than what Eliza did. As numerous other people have revealed to me, such kind of attacks on Eliza (who suffered greatly after Brandon's death), Brandon would be disgusted by. When you disrespect Eliza, you disrespect Brandon. Eliza deserves some peace and happiness, and that is something that Brandon would want for her above all. In one of his last interviews, Brandon talked about the importance of moving on after dealing with grief, and he seemed to be of the opinion that living in the past or with being stuck your grief only stops you from living and progressing as a human being. Therefore, Eliza, Linda, Shannon and all those Brandon loved have honored him by finding an appropriate way in their own lives to remember, honor but find some happiness again and grow as people - as different as their experience has made them. Eliza has truly made something positive come out of her life, and her strength of character and resilience is something I will always admire and respect. I have found some fans have 'selected empathy' when it comes to Eliza, which is either due to some kind of ignorance from never having lost someone in their own lives, or it is once again fans being consumed by rather superficial emotions like jealous and envy because they don't want to admit the truth. Brandon was never a celebrity, or was he really famous in his lifetime, so the privacy he had and the private life he lived should still be extended to those he loved, and who loved him. At the end of the day, fans are fans and his loved ones had to emotionally, physically, financially and mentally put their lives in new directions because of the loss of Brandon. Eliza spent the better bit of 10 years coming to terms with probably the most difficult experience of her entire life. Her love for Brandon is not in doubt, and I am sure it will never be gone from her heart, but Brandon would not have wanted her to be miserable and in chronic torment over his death for the rest of her life. She suffered enough - as did all of Brandon's loved ones. So, those who are disrespecting the memory of Brandon - through attacks on Eliza, it is time to stop and grow up. Remember him, but when you do remember that this man was not your boyfriend, sweetheart, soul mate, lover or anything else - he was HERS. You only dishonor Brandon by your displays of immaturity and malice. Live your own life - like Brandon did with honestly, integrity, humanity and all the passion you can muster. Ignorance and Criticism Recently there has been a few rather heartless postings on various profiles, sites and I have had to answer a few emails about this, so I thought I would discuss this on here. This site is based in reality, and we only have reported factual details on the pair, in addition to education opinion about the pair. Brandon nor Eliza were perfect, the idea of perfection in general is rather fleeting. However, just because Brandon died and that Eliza was eventually able to find some kind of happiness in a new life, doesn't mean that Brandon wasn't her soul mate or that he wasn't what he was when he died to her or her to him. All of us are capable of loving more than one person, and no one love is the same. Whatever Eliza has found with her current happiness, it really has nothing to do with what she shared with Brandon and what she will always share with him. It was a different time, and she was a different age and person then. Brandon will always be in her heart, soul and whatever she has now is her business and none of ours. And what she has in her life should NOT be called second best by anyone - it is just different. Eliza is not the first woman to ever have lost her spouse (in fact Brandon's own mother did too, and went on to re-marry...and still considers her first husband, Bruce Lee the great love of her life), but no fan should claim that just because 15 years later someone found happiness again, that they are glad that they went through the pain of losing such an important love. People who think that, appear to have a perspective that is rather immature and ignorant. If any of us had a choice to lose people we loved, would we ever want that? No, but life is life and accepting the reality is also understanding the truth about our history. This page is a historical tribute, nothing else. Some people have this idea that Eliza should have stopped living all because Brandon died, and that an enternal state of mourning is reflective of love (that is like saying that a mother cannot love another child after she has lost one of her own). If she stayed in an enternal state of grief that would be unhealthy and that would not be living. Grief happens to all of us (yes, even YOU), but we all move through it, and while we always wish deep down that we never went through it, we do have to accept the reality and eventually find a new normal and for some people a new life eventually. Eliza did not just pick up and move on the moment Brandon died, in fact she spend many many years just trying to deal and live without him. After a decade she found a new normal, a new career and a new life and that is not only wonderful but perfectly normal. And for the record may I state that people are capable of loving more than one person, at varied times of your life, all differently but honestly people need to grow up if they have this idea that real love means to never love again after you have lost someone (there are also lots of kinds of love in the world) and not everyone does have a happily ever after with soul mate/great love of their love. Life is no movie, and just because you find a new love again years after you thought you would never find happiness again, doesn't mean the original one wasn't real (nor does it mean that the later one is second best). But whatever people believe, you cannot claim to know the intimate details of people you are not (we certainly don't or have we ever stated we do). We don't pretend to know everything about the pair, we just report what factually is known and what the couple themselves attested to, as well as people who knew the couple intimately have said. At the end of the day, Brandon and Eliza will forever be linked together because of their strong bond and love...which can never be tarnished by time. Brandon and Eliza said they were soul mates, so therefore they were. I am sure none of us would like someone else to claim what we feel for anyone currently living or dead was not what we felt/feel in our heart. There are some people who have rather ignorant and heartless assumptions about Eliza, one being that just because she has married (after well overly a decade after Brandon's passing) that somehow that translates to them that she did not love or that Brandon was not her true love or soul mate. Now, to begin with love is never that black and white. What Eliza felt for Brandon and what she spend the better half of 10 years trying to come to terms with should not be in dispute. Just because someone dies does not mean that you stop loving them, and just because people move through their grief, find happiness and a new normal again doesn't mean that they have forgotten their loved oned or that their love with that person wasn't true or real. It is rather immature and ignorant of life to say such things. Anyone with even a little life experience, especially with losing someone can tell you that some people may come in and out of your life (some by choice or some by death) but that doesn't mean that you love them any less than you ever did, or that they weren't significant or true to you. Life is full of difficult hardships and the truth is no one knows what is around the corner. What Eliza and Brandon felt is not up for discussion. I am sure none of us would like our own relationships with your loves picked apart just because death separated you. I also feel that Eliza's personal life is hers, and no one really has the right to pick apart her past or present relationship, just because you have trouble understanding the complexity of life and the concept of real love. Some people are blessed with one love, some with none and others are able to find love and happiness in various forms, at different times in your life, and certainly aren't answerable to closed minded people. Love is one of those things in life that often can be undefinable and un-ending...at least in our hearts (and really isn't that all that counts to us anyway?) I feel rather sorry for anyone who hasn't been gifted with the wonderful experience of love to understand that. Anyway... We wish you and your family all the happiness and love in the world, Eliza. I know Brandon would too. In truth and respect, The team at The Brandon Lee Movement Last Note: Please be happy for her and respect her need for privacy in the future. Eliza went through an extremely difficult and traumatic time after losing Brandon, and for many years afterwards, and it was not easy for her to move on and there is no way that she could ever forget or will she, the man only she knew (if I could "borrow" that term from Linda's book from 1974). Her life and soul was forever changed and altered because of it. However, it is because of her that The Crow was finished, so as fans we do owe her a lot of gratitude for what she did in her time of grief, and respect for who she was to Brandon. There are some fanatics out there who have always harboured resentment towards Eliza because of Brandon's deep love for Eliza, and still to this day like spreading untrue malicious lies about her on trashy forums in an effort to make themselves feel better. Ignore such lies when you read them, they are just pathetic attempts by unstable people to create fantasy lives for themselves. Written by Samantha Malagre (The Brandon Lee Movement) - with references used by several articles, and sources. Copyright (c) 1999 - 2008 Please Read: Please respect Eliza's and Brandon's loved ones need for privacy. Reports have come to my attention where fans have gone to intrusive levels at what is boarding on stalking (which by the way is ILLEGAL). At any rate Eliza has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep her personal information out of general public view, and that is something people need to note and respect. That is her right, as it is anyone's right if they wish to share information or not. Please respect their need for privacy. There are respectful ways to share your thoughts and sentiments on Brandon. Brandon would certainly not wish his fans to be stalking his loved ones. Contact me if you wish to display and share your sentiments over his death and loss, and I will let you know how you may express that wish in more appropriate ways.
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