http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-david-carradine5-2009jun05,0,4857746.story?track=rss
David Carradine, star of 'Kung Fu,' dies at 72
Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images
Actor David Carradine in New York in April.
Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, where he was working on a movie. A Thai newspaper indicates he committed suicide; the U.S. Embassy confirms his death but offers no details.
By Dennis McLellan
8:30 AM PDT, June 4, 2009
David Carradine, who became a TV icon on the early 1970s western series "Kung Fu" and had a long career in the movies, has been found dead in Bangkok, Thailand. He was 72.
Carradine was found hanged in his hotel room today, the Thai newspaper The Nation reported on its website, citing unidentified police sources. He was believed to have committed suicide.
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The actor, who was in Bangkok to shoot a movie, could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the film crew on Wednesday, the newspaper said. His body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. this morning.
The Associated Press reported that Michael Turner, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, confirmed Carradine's death, but out of consideration for the actor's family could not provide more details.
The son of noted character actor John Carradine, David Carradine appeared in more than 100 films, including Martin Scorsese's "Boxcar Bertha" (1972) and Ingmar Bergman's "The Serpent's Egg" (1977). He also played folk singer Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's "Bound for Glory" (1976) and was Bill in Quentin Tarantino's two "Kill Bill" films (2003 and 2004).
Carradine starred as a peace-loving Buddhist monk with a flair for the martial arts in "Kung Fu," which ran on ABC from 1972 to 1975. The hourlong series featured Carradine as the shaven-headed Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman.
When Caine's mentor, Master Po, is murdered by the Chinese emperor's nephew, Caine kills the nephew. To avoid execution, he flees to the American West, where he begins a search for his half brother.
Born in Hollywood on Dec. 8, 1936, Carradine studied music theory and composition at what is now called San Francisco State University. He developed an interest in acting while writing music for drama department revues and joined a Shakespearean repertory company.
