R.I.P. David Carradine
Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:35 am
I wish I could find a copy of the movie he was in that was shot at Deervalley,
BANGKOK -Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said the embassy was informed by Thai authorities that Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.
The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.
It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.
The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.
It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room's curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.
A police officer at Bangkok's Lumpini precinct station would not confirm the identity of the dead man, but said the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel had reported that a male guest killed himself there.
Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.
In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. One of his prominent early film roles was as singer Woody Guthrie in Ashby's 1976 biopic "Bound for Glory."
But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75.
He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine's grandson in the 1990s syndicated series "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues."
He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill."
The character, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003's "Kill Bill — Vol. 1." In that film, one of Bill's former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates.
In "Kill Bill — Vol. 2," released in 2004, Thurman's character comes face to face again with Bill himself. The role brought Carradine a Golden Globe nomination as best supporting actor.
Bill was a complete contrast to his TV character Kwai Chang Caine, the soft-spoken refugee from a Shaolin monastery, serenely spreading wisdom and battling bad guys in the Old West. He left after three seasons, saying the show had started to repeat itself.
After "Kung Fu," Carradine starred in the 1975 cult flick "Death Race 2000." He starred with Liv Ullmann in Bergman's "The Serpent's Egg" in 1977 and with his brothers in the 1980 Western "The Long Riders."
But after the early 1980s, he spent two decades doing mostly low-budget films. Tarantino's films changed that.
"All I've ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades ago ... is just to be in one," Carradine told The Associated Press in 2004.
"There isn't anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn't do," he said. "All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin's courage to take and put me in the spotlight."
One thing remained a constant after "Kung Fu": Carradine's interest in Oriental herbs, exercise and philosophy. He wrote a personal memoir called "Spirit of Shaolin" and continued to make instructional videos on tai chi and other martial arts.
In the 2004 interview, Carradine talked candidly about his past boozing and narcotics use, but said he had put all that behind him and stuck to coffee and cigarettes.
"I didn't like the way I looked, for one thing. You're kind of out of control emotionally when you drink that much. I was quicker to anger."
"You're probably witnessing the last time I will ever answer those questions," Carradine said. "Because this is a regeneration. It is a renaissance. It is the start of a new career for me.
"It's time to do nothing but look forward."
BANGKOK -Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said the embassy was informed by Thai authorities that Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.
The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.
It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.
The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.
It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room's curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.
A police officer at Bangkok's Lumpini precinct station would not confirm the identity of the dead man, but said the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel had reported that a male guest killed himself there.
Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.
In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. One of his prominent early film roles was as singer Woody Guthrie in Ashby's 1976 biopic "Bound for Glory."
But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75.
He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine's grandson in the 1990s syndicated series "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues."
He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill."
The character, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003's "Kill Bill — Vol. 1." In that film, one of Bill's former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates.
In "Kill Bill — Vol. 2," released in 2004, Thurman's character comes face to face again with Bill himself. The role brought Carradine a Golden Globe nomination as best supporting actor.
Bill was a complete contrast to his TV character Kwai Chang Caine, the soft-spoken refugee from a Shaolin monastery, serenely spreading wisdom and battling bad guys in the Old West. He left after three seasons, saying the show had started to repeat itself.
After "Kung Fu," Carradine starred in the 1975 cult flick "Death Race 2000." He starred with Liv Ullmann in Bergman's "The Serpent's Egg" in 1977 and with his brothers in the 1980 Western "The Long Riders."
But after the early 1980s, he spent two decades doing mostly low-budget films. Tarantino's films changed that.
"All I've ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades ago ... is just to be in one," Carradine told The Associated Press in 2004.
"There isn't anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn't do," he said. "All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin's courage to take and put me in the spotlight."
One thing remained a constant after "Kung Fu": Carradine's interest in Oriental herbs, exercise and philosophy. He wrote a personal memoir called "Spirit of Shaolin" and continued to make instructional videos on tai chi and other martial arts.
In the 2004 interview, Carradine talked candidly about his past boozing and narcotics use, but said he had put all that behind him and stuck to coffee and cigarettes.
"I didn't like the way I looked, for one thing. You're kind of out of control emotionally when you drink that much. I was quicker to anger."
"You're probably witnessing the last time I will ever answer those questions," Carradine said. "Because this is a regeneration. It is a renaissance. It is the start of a new career for me.
"It's time to do nothing but look forward."
Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:14 pm
The first report said he had been found with a ligature around his neck and his genitals. Since then the story has been subtly altered to "Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found naked by a hotel maid in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body".
Thu Jun 04, 2009 1:54 pm
The movie is Cloud Dancer.
It is now on DVD:
http://stores.films-classic.com/-strse- ... ncer-(1980)-DVD/Detail.bok
Kinda cheesy storyline, but some really great aerial footage, not only of the Pitts but the Mustang v. Arrow...
I like the part when "Curtis Pitts" tells him that "200 hp is all you can handle in the Pitts". When I saw it I had an S-2B (260hp) so I took pride in being a bigger man than David Carradine
It is now on DVD:
http://stores.films-classic.com/-strse- ... ncer-(1980)-DVD/Detail.bok
Kinda cheesy storyline, but some really great aerial footage, not only of the Pitts but the Mustang v. Arrow...
I like the part when "Curtis Pitts" tells him that "200 hp is all you can handle in the Pitts". When I saw it I had an S-2B (260hp) so I took pride in being a bigger man than David Carradine
Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:13 pm
He had a successful career, and was a conservative, reputable, intelligent "above the fray" actor. Much like Tom Selleck, Cliff Robertson, and other people like that. I'm quite surprised, because he played a wise confucian character someone who would be concerned with "saving face" which would be philosophicly opposed to what appears to have happened.
Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:22 pm
A2C wrote:someone who would be concerned with "saving face" which would be philosophicly opposed to what appears to have happened.
I think your missing what the evidence is telling us. Without getting too graphic...let's just say, Carradine and
Michael Hutchence might be having an interesting conversation right now about the fine details of successful technique?
too bad...he had a LOT of hours on his airframe though...
Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:40 pm
...and spent a bit too much time with the "givers of pain and delight" AKA druz. He sold his beloved jag xj12 coupe last year...I thought about it....briefly...but it was a jag....
Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:30 pm
airnutz wrote:A2C wrote:someone who would be concerned with "saving face" which would be philosophicly opposed to what appears to have happened.
I think your missing what the evidence is telling us. Without getting too graphic...let's just say, Carradine and
Michael Hutchence might be having an interesting conversation right now about the fine details of successful technique?
Fri Jun 05, 2009 9:40 am
Seems to have been a mob hit.
Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:50 pm
It is a shame that it may be more remembered that he died a pervert than for his acting accomplishments. We'll see how the news media plays this out I guess.
Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:16 pm
airnutz wrote:A2C wrote:someone who would be concerned with "saving face" which would be philosophicly opposed to what appears to have happened.
let's just say, Carradine and
Michael Hutchence might be having an interesting conversation right now about the fine details of successful technique?
Good.., now maybe they can 'spot' eachother in case they take this too far.., oops.., too late!
Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:18 pm
muddyboots wrote:Seems to have been a mob hit.
Yah.., that Thailand Mafia..
They are notorius for hanging their victims in hotel closets and wrapping up their genitals..
You got it Sparky!!
You must have been a detective in a past life?
Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:27 am
the330thbg wrote:muddyboots wrote:Seems to have been a mob hit.
Yah.., that Thailand Mafia..
They are notorius for hanging their victims in hotel closets and wrapping up their genitals..
You got it Sparky!!
You must have been a detective in a past life?
Yeah, and to be extra mean, they dressed him up in Fishnet Stockings and a Wig!
Regardless of the mans personal life and kinks he left us with some pretty cool characters.
R.I.P. Grasshopper
Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:11 pm
agree completly.
But you know the next time you see a movie or show with him in it.., the first thing you are going to do is picture him swinging in a closet with a chord around his neck and his johnson.
and think 'freak'.
But no, I enjoyed his acting a great deal and grew up on Kung Fu!
Cheers!
But you know the next time you see a movie or show with him in it.., the first thing you are going to do is picture him swinging in a closet with a chord around his neck and his johnson.
and think 'freak'.
But no, I enjoyed his acting a great deal and grew up on Kung Fu!
Cheers!