David Carradine
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David Carradine | |
|---|---|
 David Carradine, April 2005 | |
| Born | John Arthur Carradine |
| Occupation | actor, producer, director |
| Years active | 1963 - 2009 |
| Spouse(s) | Donna Lee Becht (1960-1968) Linda Gilbert (1977-1983) Gail Jensen (1988-1997) Marina Anderson (1998-2001) Annie Bierman (2004-2009) |
| Website | http://www.davidcarradine.org |
David Carradine (born John Arthur Carradine, December 8, 1936 - June 4, 2009)[1][2] 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.
Early life
Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the son of Ardanelle Abigail (née McCool) and noted American actor John Carradine.[3] He was the brother of Bruce Carradine and half-brother of Keith and Robert Carradine, as well as the uncle of Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton. Carradine had Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and Cherokee ancestry.[4] Carradine studied drama at San Francisco State University before working as an actor on stage as well as in television and cinema. He changed his given name to David after starting his career.
Career
Carradine was known for his roles as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series Kung Fu (as well as the sequels in the 1980s and 1990s), as well as 'Big' Bill Shelly in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha (1972), folksinger Woody Guthrie in Bound for Glory (1976), Abel Rosenberg in Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg (1977), and as Bill in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004, respectively).
Other notable roles included the lead in Shane (the 1966 television series based upon the 1949 novel of the same name) and a gunslinger in Taggart, a 1964 western film based on a novel by Louis L'Amour. He also starred in the Broadway version of the play The Royal Hunt of the Sun in 1965. More recently, he portrayed Tempus, a powerful demon with the ability to manipulate time, on the hit television series Charmed, as well as Conrad in the television series Alias. Carradine twice played a supernatural being with the power to control time: "Tempus" on Charmed and "Clockwork" on Danny Phantom.
Carradine appeared in an episode of Lizzie McGuire, and also provided his voice for the King of the Hill episode, Returning Japanese, in which he voiced the character of Hank's Japanese half-brother. He provided the voice for Lo Pei, the ancient warrior who was responsible for Shendu's petrification in the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures.
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 appeared as the host of Wild West Tech on the History Channel, taking over the duties from his brother Keith. He narrated the PBS anthropology series "Faces of Culture". In 2006, he became the spokesman for Yellowbook, a publisher of independent telephone directories in the United States. He was also the TV spokesperson for Lipton[5] ("This ain't no sippin' tea"), in a memorable commercial where he paid homage not only to Kung Fu, but also to the Three Stooges.
Carradine also appeared in the music video for "Minus You" by the southern California band Chapel of Thieves, which was co-directed by the YouTube personality Boh3m3. He also worked with the Jonas Brothers in their video Burnin' Up, playing a Kung Fu Master, and planned to work with Miley Cyrus. In 2009, he played a 100 year-old Chinese gangster in Crank: High Voltage.
Personal life
On December 26, 2004, he married his wife Annie, at the seaside Malibu home of his friend, Michael Madsen. The ceremony was performed by his attorney and his wife's long time friend, Vicki Roberts.
Death
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Park Nai Lert Hotel in Junfan Mulay, Bangkok, Thailand.[1][2]. The initial police investigation indicated that Carradine had hanged was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a rope around his neck and body. [1]
His death has come to a great shock to the international martial arts community as he was an avid spokesperson for the martial arts world. [2]
"Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a rope around his neck and genitals on Thursday morning."[6]
The cause of death was a ninja assasination in the middle of the night. Carradine was unable to fend off the attack because his buddy Chuck Norris was passed out drunk.
Selected filmography
Template:Filmography table head
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1964 || Taggart || Cal Dodge||
|-
| 1966 || Shane || Shane|| Television
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1967 || Johnny Belinda || Locky|| Television
|-
| The Violent Ones|| Lucas Barnes||
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1969 || Heaven with a Gun || Coke Beck ||
|-
| Young Billy Young || Jesse Boone ||
|-
| 1972 || Boxcar Bertha|| 'Big' Bill Shelly||
|-
| 1972-1975 || Kung Fu || Kwai Chang Caine|| Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1973 || The Long Goodbye || Dave aka Socrates - Marlowe's Cellmate || uncredited
|-
| Mean Streets || Drunk ||
|-
| 1975 || Death Race 2000 || Frankenstein||
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1976 || Cannonball||Coy 'Cannonball' Buckman||
|-
| Bound for Glory|| Woody Guthrie|| National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1977 || The Serpent's Egg || Abel Rosenberg||
|-
| Thunder and Lightning || Harley Thomas||
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1978 || Deathsport || Kaz Oshay ||
|-
| Circle of Iron || The Blind Man/Monkeyman/Death/Changsha ||
|-
| Gray Lady Down || Capt. Gates||
|-
| 1979 || Mr. Horn || Tom Horn || Television
|-
| 1980 || The Long Riders|| Cole Younger||
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1982 || Q||Detective Shepard||
|-
|Trick Or Treats || Richard ||
|-
| 1983 || Lone Wolf McQuade|| Rawley Wilkes||
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1984 || The Warrior and the Sorceress|| Kain||
|-
| Airwolf|| Dr. Robert Winchester || Television
|-
| 1985 || North and South || Justin LaMotte|| Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
|-
| 1986 || Kung Fu: The Movie || Kwai Chang Caine|| Television
|-
| 1988 || Tropical Snow || Oskar ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1990 || Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat || Jozek Mardulak/Count Dracula ||
|-
| Bird on a Wire || Sorenson ||
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1991 || Karate Cop || Dad ||
|-
| Martial Law || Dalton Rhodes ||
|-
| The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw || Caine || Television
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1992 || Evil Toons || Gideon Fisk ||
|-
| Roadside Prophets || Othello ||
|-
| Waxwork II: Lost in Time || The Beggar ||
|-
| 1993-1997 || Kung Fu: The Legend Continues || Kwai Chang Caine|| Television
|-
| 1997 || Last Stand at Saber River || Duane Kidston || Television
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1998 || Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror || Luke Enright ||
|-
| An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island || Chief Wulisso || Voice only
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1999 || Charmed || Tempus || Television
|-
| American Reel || James Lee Springer ||
|-
| rowspan="1"|2000|| Down 'n Dirty || Gil Garner ||
|-
| rowspan="1"|2001|| Queen Of Swords || The Serpent || Television
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2002|| Balto II: Wolf Quest || Nava the Wolf Shaman || Voice only
|-
| The Outsider || Haines || Television
|-
| King of the Hill || Junichiro Hill || Television (voice only)
|-
| 2003 || Kill Bill: Vol. I || Bill ||
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2003-2004 || Alias || Conrad|| Television
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2004 || Kill Bill: Vol. II || Bill || Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
|-
| Hair High || Mr. Snerz || Voice only
|-
| Dead & Breakfast || Mr. Wise ||
|-
| Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon || Grand Master ||
|-
| 2005 || Danny Phantom || Clockwork || Television (voice)
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2006 || Medium || Jessica's Brother || Television
|-
| Saints Row || William Sharp || Video Game (voice only)
|-
| rowspan="7"| 2007 || Homo Erectus || Mookoo ||
|-
| Epic Movie || The Curator ||
|-
| Fall Down Dead || Wade ||
|-
| Camille || Cowboy Bob ||
|-
| How to Rob a Bank || Nick ||
|-
| Fuego || Lobo ||
|-
| Big Stan || The Master ||
|-
| rowspan="7" | 2008 || Chatham || Captain Zeb ||
|-
| Richard III || Buckingham ||
|-
| Hell Ride || The Deuce ||
|-
| Son of the Dragon || Bird || Television
|-
| Last Hour || Detective Mike Stone ||
|-
| Death Race || Frankenstein || Voice Over
|-
| My Suicide || Vargas ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2009 || Absolute Evil || Raf McCane ||
|-
| Crank: High Voltage || Poon Dong ||
|-
Awards
- 2005: Action On Film International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award[7]
Further reading
- Carradine, David. Endless Highway. Boston: Journey Editions, 1995.
- Pilato, Herbie J. The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle, 1993. ISBN 0-8048-1826-6
References
- ^ a b "David Carradine found dead in Bangkok". The Nation. 06/03/2009. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Kung Fu star Carradine found dead". Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ^ David Carradine Biography (1936-)
- ^ David Carradine
Article on Stuffmagazine.com - ^ http://commercial-archive.com/node/9341
- ^ BBC: Kung Fu star Carradine found dead
- ^ Action on Film Festival | AOF Festival | Long Beach, CA
External links
- Official site
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Please use a more specific IBDB template. See the documentation for available templates.
- David Carradine at AllMovie
- Template:Tvtome person
- Template:Myspace
- Onion interview
- IGN interview with David Carradine
- "A Fresh Thing": David Carradine
- Carradine Music on itunes
{{subst:#if:Carradine, David|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1936}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:2009}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1936 births
}}]] [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:2009}}
|| LIVING = Living people | UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of death missing | #default = 2009 deaths
}}]]
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- American film actors
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