Culture

David Carradine Dead at 72

by Mary Richard | June 4, 2009 at 07:02 pm

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American actor David Carradine, best known for his role as Caine in the television series Kung Fu, has been found dead in his Bankok Hotel room, where he'd been in Thailand shooting a film.

Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s U.S. television show "Kung Fu," was found naked and hanging dead from a rope in the closet of his luxury Bangkok hotel room Thursday, Thai police said.

Cause of death is unknown at this time, and autopsy results are expected back on Friday. Friends and family say "we know David would never have committed suicide" and believe it to be an accident.

The notion of suicide was at odds with the seemingly Zen-like frame of mind Carradine had reached after his early years as a boozer and acid tripper.

David Carradine comes from a family of actors, and at age 72, he had over 200 roles to his credit, including movies, TV shows and Broadway. His long career spanned many years, first starring in a western series, Shane in the 60s. He went on to play the Asian-American martial artist Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu in the 70s, a role that gained him cult-like followers. His latest roles were in Quention Tarantino's films Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, both of which were nominated for Golden Globe awards.

Carradine's representative and family members told the press that they believed the death to be accidental and not a suicide.[13] Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot his latest movie, Stretch, but the film crew were aware of his absence when they went to dine out at a restaurant on June 3.[2]