Actor David Carradine found dead in Bankok, Thailand

John (David's father) and David Carradine on set of Boxcar Bertha (1972)         (AP Photo/File)

John Arthur Carradine, (David Carradine) 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. He appeared in more than 100 feature films and was nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award.

Carradine was found dead on June 4, 2009 in a hotel in Bankok, Thailand.  Cause of death uncertain.

According to the Associated Press 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.

Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get in the way. But, no, it doesn't scare me at all."
David Carradine

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 website 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.

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.

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 Caradine, 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.”

Most actors spend a lot of time training themselves to be an actor. And I kind of didn't do that. I just started doin' it in front of an audience and had to deliver."
David Carradine

David Carradine was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest travelling 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 1993-1997 syndicated series “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.” The series, which can still be seen in reruns, was shot in Toronto where Carradine lived for part of the time while it was in production.

Carradine 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 tIn 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. Carradine earned a Golden Globe nomination as best supporting actor. - AP

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's film history was from 1964 - 2009.

I don't need to convince anybody that I know kung fu, but maybe somebody needs to know that I really can act, without doing a Chinese accent or a funny walk."
David Carradine