RIP, ‘Grasshopper’… David Carradine Reportedly Killed Himself
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on June 4, 2009
Actor David Carradine as Caine in '70s Kung Fu... rest in peace
UPDATE, JUNE 5, 2009: Actor David Carradine’s Death Looking Like Tragic Accident, Per Thai Police
UPDATE, June 5, 2009: Excellent article about David Carradine:
S.T. Karnick, Big Hollywood: Legacy: David Carradine and ‘Kung Fu’
I had loved watching Kung Fu when I was a kid. I was stunned to read this about David Carradine from the Associated Press this morning (details are still developing):
David Carradine found dead in Thailand hotel
72-year-old ‘Kung Fu,’ ‘Kill Bill’ actor reportedly hanged himselfActor 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.
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 Web site 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.
The newspaper said 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.
It said 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 to The Associated Press, 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 Carradine, and brother Keith.
In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby.
But he 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 in 1972-75.
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.”
He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga “Kill Bill.”
May you rest in peace, David.
About the author
Me thinks Mr Carradine was murdered..the manner in which he was allegidly found by the room maid was quite strange for a suicide? He was found with body binding and rope around his neck in a wardrobe? Hmm, did David have enemies or was it a thai based conspiracy?
I was wondering the same thing myself, It goes against everything he every said and taught through his actions.
I agree with “I AM”. His desire to keep doing movies and making appearances along with the way in which his body was found is very suspicious! I hope the Authorities in Thailand do not just sweep this under the rug!
Seems odd, all these “suicides” end up with people hanging themselves when they had no intention.
He was snuffed out for sure for some reason, the question is… what reason
Remember Michael Hutchence
I believe he was murdered.
I agree. He was a master of the five hands. There is no way he committed suicide. It must’ve been another master of the five hands that killed him. He was indestructible otherwise.
I’ll miss the little Grasshopper. He was awesome..On a serious note, I agree, I highly doubt he would kill himself. He must’ve been murdered. Why would you wait 72 years to commit suicide as well, unless perhaps he got over his head and owned big time money to the mafia or something.
I really will miss Carradine though. He was a good actor. Fun to watch
My husband and I are totally freaked out about his death. He was a great actor and will be greatly missed but never forgotten. His spirit will live on.
David Carridine was a certified Master of the Martial Arts and as such there is no way that he could have been overpowered and then hanged in his room. If there is an autopsy inquest and they prove he was drugged in some manner and rendered powerless then strung up and hanged to make it look like a suicide then I would reconsider my opinion that it was in fact a suicide. Nobody knew what was going on in Mr. Carridine’s mind except Carridine himself and it would be usless to speculate until all the facts are rendered to the powers that be. It’s so sad either way.
I totally agree. Until all the facts are gathered and the autopsy results known, speculating is a crap shoot. But Carradine’s mastery of martial arts and his flourishing film career are valid rebuttals to how he died and do indeed add to the myriad questions his fans are asking.
Carradine was an amazing talent, and I’m still upset about how he died, suicide or otherwise. He will be missed.
I want to apologize to everyone out there and especially to the Carradine family for not taking the time to find out how to correctly spell the family name. My previous reply had the spelling as CARRIDINE and not the proper spelling CARRADINE. I do apologize for my error. Thank you and May God Bless the family in their time of greiving for David.
At 6:30 central time today the ET News program reported the preliminary investigation of David Carradine’s death was caused by him engaging in a deviant sexual act called auto eroticism which supposedly derived from the days when hanging people as a punishment for a crime. It was noticed in a lot of men that at the moment the noose tightened around their neck a erection was effected. Since then this sex act has been noticed around the world and has been written about in medical literature and bizarre causes of death. I hate to say this but I suspeced that was the reason for his death at the very outset. Accidental death by performing a deviant hanging sex act is not so rare nowadays.
the last appearance of mr. carradine as moderator on ‘WId west tech’ was about frontier justice and hanging techniques. ironically, his last words at the end of the show were”thanks for letting me hang around’