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Godspeed David Carradine


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BANGKOK – 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.

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."

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Bum deal...

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"accidental asphyxiation"

I'll buy that.

Hard for a man to hang himself on a closet rod, it's too low.

He may have been playing games with a 'friend' (sex is big business in Thailand), blacked out, and the 'friend' been unable to revive him. Its happened before, even here in the USA.

A waste, for sure.

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For a man so into philosophy and Eastern ways to commit suicide is just about unthinkable.

From the article:

“I wasn’t like a TV star in those days, I was like a rock ’n’ roll
star,” Carradine said in an interview with Associated Press Radio in
1996. “It was a phenomenon kind of thing. ... It was very special.”

He WAS a rock star to many of us. The stuff of legends.

This is sad, just very tragic. We've lost another hero and a fine actor.

Rest in Peace Grasshopper.

Michael

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For a man so into philosophy and Eastern ways to commit suicide is just about unthinkable.

Yes, that is what surprised me.

From the article:

“I wasn’t like a TV star in those days, I was like a rock ’n’ roll star,” Carradine said in an interview with Associated Press Radio in 1996. “It was a phenomenon kind of thing. ... It was very special.”

He WAS a rock star to many of us. The stuff of legends.

Sounds like the way former INXS frontman, Michael Hutchins, was found.

This is sad, just very tragic. We've lost another hero and a fine actor.

Rest in Peace Grasshopper.

Michael

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When you're that rich and popular I don't think you ever have to fly solo.

As a guitarist friend used to say (at any time night or day) "Gene Simmons is being serviced right now!"

Ahh, having money also means involving other people in such activities end up costing him much more, he has more to loose. He is a known face. Also he was married and no doubt his wife/manager would prefer that he take care of his urges by himself, but I am sure in a safer manner.

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I suspect foul play, from what I understand his hands were also bound behind his back. I think either there was a partner in a sex act that went wrong or possibly it was an intentional homicide and the sexual part was used as part of a cover up.

In any case it seems the initial suicide reports were probably wrong.

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