RIP David Carradine
Actor David Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room this morning at age 72. The actor’s body was found hanging in what is believed to be a suicide attempt. Carradine leaves behind his wife Annie Bierman and three children. Carradine was part of a family of actors that included his father John and his brothers Keith and Robert Carradine. Carradine is mainly known for the role of Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the American west in the 1800s in the series Kung Fu, which ran from 1972-1975. Carradine returned to the role for a 1980s TV reunion movie and he played the grandson of Caine ithe 1990s series Kung Fu-The Legend Continues. For several years after Kung Fu, he was relegated to low-budget films, until Quentin Tarantino cast him as the title character in Kill Bill. Carradine’s role in this film was completely different from the soft spoken and kind Caine. Carradines’ portrayal of Bill, a hard-nosed, philosophizing leader of a team of assassins, earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Carradine had a history of substance abuse, but in a 2004 interview, claimed that he had beaten his addictions.
I was a huge fan of David Carradine in my youth. My parents and I watched reruns of Kung Fu constantly. I also watched the Kung Fu reunion movie in the 80s and I watched the 1990s show Kung Fu-The Next Generation. I was glad when I found out that he was Bill in Tarantino’s Kill Bill films. I was glad to see him get some high-profile work, and I also loved his phone book commercial that he had in recent times. I literally grew up watching him, and I am saddened that it seems that he chose to end his life. I don’t know what he was going through, but I honestly wish that he had asked for help with whatever he was facing. I grieve for him and my heart goes out to his family, friends and fans.
