Actor David Carradine died either late on 3 June or early on 4 June 2009. He was found hanged, an apparent suicide, in his hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was working on a movie. Born John Arthur Carradine on 8 December 1936 in Hollywood, California, he was a scion of a very distinguished acting family. He won a Saturn Award in 2005 for best supporting actor for his role in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, and was nominated for an Emmy (for Kung Fu in 1973) and four Golden Globes (Kung Fu, 1974; Bound for Glory, 1977; North and South (1986); and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, 2005).
Carradine 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 from 1972 to 1975. 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. More recently, he was the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga Kill Bill.
He studied at San Francisco State University, served in the US Army for two years, and then became a commercial artist in New York before debuting on Broadway. His more than 200 film and television appearances began in 1963, and in later years, he was also a director and producer.
Carradine’s many genre roles include appearances in: Night of the Templar (2009), Autumn (2009), The Rain Chronicles (2009), Death Race (2008), Kandisha (2008), Fall Down Dead (2007), The Last Sect (2006), Son of the Dragon (2006), Danny Phantom (2005), UnConventional (2004), Hair High (2004), Dead & Breakfast (2004), Jackie Chan Adventures (2001), Nightfall (2000), Natural Selection (1999), Knocking on Death’s Door (1999), Shepherd (1999), Walking After Midnight (1999), Charmed (1999), Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998), Nosferatu: The First Vampire (1998), Light Speed (1998), Martian Law (1998), Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys (1996), Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992), Evil Toons (1992), Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990), The Ray Bradbury Theater (1990), Future Zone (1990), Dune Warriors (1990), Future Force (1989), Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989), I Saw What You Did (1988), Crime Zone (1988), Warlords (1988), Amazing Stories (1986), Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1986), The Bad Seed (1985), The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984), Trick or Treats (1982), Q (1982), Darkroom (1981), Deathsport (1978), Circle of Iron (1978), Death Race 2000 (1975), and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (1971).
He was the eldest son of John Carradine (1906-88), brother of Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, and Michael Bowen, father of Calista Carradine, Kansas Carradine, and Tom Carradine, and uncle of Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton. He was married five times, to: Donna Lee Becht (1960-68), Linda Gilbert (1977-83), Gail Jensen (1988-98), Marina Anderson (1998-2001), and Annie Bierman (married in 2004), his widow (his first four marriages all ended in divorce).