Kung Fu - The Legend Continues - David Carradine Passes Today June 3, 2009
David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine, April 2005 Born John Arthur Carradine
December 8, 1936(1936-12-08)
Hollywood, California Died June 3, 2009 (aged 72)
Bangkok, Thailand Occupation actor, producer, director
David Carradine (born
John Arthur Carradine, December 8, 1936 - June 3, 2009)
[2][3]"> was an
American actor, best known for his work in the 1970's television series
Kung Fu and more recently in the movie
Kill Bill.
Early life
Carradine was born in
Hollywood, California, the son of Ardanelle Abigail (
née McCool) and noted American actor
John Carradine.
[4] He was the brother of
Bruce Carradine and half-brother of
Keith and
Robert Carradine, as well as the uncle of
Ever Carradine and
Martha Plimpton. Carradine had
Irish,
English,
Scottish,
Welsh,
German,
Spanish,
Italian,
Ukrainian and
Cherokee ancestry.
[5] Carradine attended Oakland Junior College
[1] and later studied drama at
San Francisco State College[1] before working as an actor on stage and in television and cinema. He changed his given name to David after starting his career.
Career
Carradine was known for his roles as
Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series
Kung Fu (as well as the sequels in the 1980s and 1990s), as well as 'Big' Bill Shelly in
Martin Scorsese's
Boxcar Bertha (1972), folksinger
Woody Guthrie in
Bound for Glory (1976), Abel Rosenberg in
Ingmar Bergman's
The Serpent's Egg (1977), and as
Bill in
Quentin Tarantino's
Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004, respectively).
Other notable roles included the lead in
Shane (the 1966 television series based upon the 1949 novel of the same name) and a
gunslinger in
Taggart, a 1964
western film based on a
novel by
Louis L'Amour. He also starred in the Broadway version of the play
The Royal Hunt of the Sun in 1965. More recently, he portrayed
Tempus, a powerful demon with the ability to manipulate time, on the hit
television series Charmed, as well as Conrad in the television series
Alias. Carradine twice played a supernatural being with the power to control time: "Tempus" on
Charmed and "Clockwork" on
Danny Phantom.
Carradine appeared in an episode of
Lizzie McGuire, and also provided his voice for the
King of the Hill episode,
Returning Japanese, in which he voiced the character of Hank's Japanese half-brother. He provided the voice for Lo Pei, the ancient warrior who was responsible for Shendu's petrification in the animated series
Jackie Chan Adventures.
Carradine was also known for producing and starring in several exercise videos teaching the martial arts of
Tai chi and
Qi Gong. Carradine actually had no knowledge of martial arts prior to starring in the series
Kung Fu, but developed an interest in it after this experience and became an avid practitioner.
Carradine appeared as the host of
Wild West Tech on the
History Channel, taking over the duties from his brother Keith. He narrated the PBS anthropology series "Faces of Culture". In 2006, he became the spokesman for
Yellowbook, a publisher of independent telephone directories in the United States. He was also the TV spokesperson for
Lipton[6] ("This ain't no sippin' tea"), in a memorable commercial where he paid homage not only to
Kung Fu, but also to the
Three Stooges.
Carradine also appeared in the music video for "Minus You" by the southern California band
Chapel of Thieves, which was co-directed by the YouTube personality
Boh3m3. He also worked with the
Jonas Brothers in their video
Burnin' Up, playing a Kung Fu Master, and planned to work with Miley Cyrus. In 2009, he played a 100 year-old Chinese gangster in
Crank: High Voltage.
Carradine signing autographs in
Malmö, 2005
Death
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Park Nai Lert Hotel in Junfan Mulay,
Bangkok,
Thailand.
[2][3] The initial police report indicated that Carradine had committed suicide by
hanging himself, as he was found by a hotel maid. Carradine was sitting in a wardrobe with a rope around his neck and body.
[3][7]
I was just watching Kill Bill 2 the other night too. He just appeard in the new Crank movie to. Damn RIP. 
