David Carradine, who became a TV icon in the early 1970s starring as an enigmatic Buddhist monk with a flair for martial arts in “Kung Fu” and more recently played the head of a group of assassins in the “Kill Bill” movies, was found dead Thursday in Bangkok. He was 72.
Carradine was found hanged in his luxury hotel suite, the Thai newspaper the Nation reported, citing unidentified police sources.
The actor, who was in Bangkok to shoot a movie, failed to appear for a meal with the film crew Wednesday, the newspaper said. His body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday.
A Thai police officer who is investigating the actor’s death said Carradine’s naked body was found hanging in the closet of his suite. The Thai newspaper reported that a preliminary police investigation found that Carradine had hanged himself with a curtain cord and that there was no sign of foul play. An autopsy is expected to be performed today.
Chuck Binder, who was Carradine’s manager, cautioned against concluding the actor committed suicide and emphasized the death was being investigated by police.
“I know David pretty well,” Binder said. “I do not believe he is a candidate for suicide. He had a family. He had a life. He was happy. This movie in Bangkok was going great. He was starting three more films. He was in great spirits.”
The son of noted character actor John Carradine, David Carradine appeared in more than 100 films, including Ingmar Bergman’s “The Serpent’s Egg” (1977).
He also played folk singer Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby’s “Bound for Glory” (1976) and appeared with his brothers Keith and Robert in the 1980 western “The Long Riders.” More recently, he played the title character of a samurai- trained assassin in Quentin Tarantino’s two-film “Kill Bill” saga (2003 and 2004).
Carradine, however, remained best known for his role in “Kung Fu,” which ran on ABC from 1972 to 1975.
The hour-long series featured Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman who had been trained in a Shaolin monastery, where his blind mentor, Master Po, called his young student “grasshopper.” When Po is murdered by the Chinese emperor’s nephew, Caine kills the nephew. To avoid execution, he flees to the American West.
The series, for which Carradine received an Emmy nod, is credited with helping popularize martial arts in the West.
Carradine later studied the techniques and philosophy of martial arts and made a number of instructional videos.
Carradine, who appeared in the 1985 TV miniseries “North and South,” appeared mostly in small independent films over the last few decades.
The actor returned to the limelight several years ago when Tarantino cast him in “Kill Bill.” Tarantino, known for resurrecting the careers of veteran actors, reportedly tailored the role of Bill for him.
Born in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 1936, Carradine studied music theory and composition at what is now called San Francisco State University. He developed an interest in acting while writing music for drama department revues and joined a Shakespearean repertory company.
