Actor and martial arts expert Bruce Lee was a friend of Silliphant. Silliphant got interested in Lee's specialities and with other fellow actor James Coburn they worked on developing "The Silent Flute." Silliphant later penned several projects that included Lee and his abilities, the first "Marlowe" (1969) where Lee plays Winslow Wong a hoodlum well versed in martial arts, Lee also did fight choreographies for the film "A Walk in the Spring Rain" (1970), and Lee played Li Tsung a Jeet Kune Do instructor who teaches it to the main character in the tv show "Longstreet" (1971), included in the script were elements of his martial arts philosophy.