December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009
Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the son of Ardanelle Abigail (née McCool) (25 January 1911 - 26 January 1989)[6] and noted American actor John Carradine.[7] 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.[8] Carradine attended Oakland Junior College[1] and later studied drama at San Francisco State College[1] before working as an actor on stage and in television and cinema. He changed his given name to David after starting his career.
Carradine was known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series Kung Fu; he starred in the 1990s spinoff Kung Fu: The Legend Continues as the grandson of his original character.
In movies, he starred 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 popular 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 the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (in which his half-brother Robert was a series regular), 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 produced and starred 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[9] ("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.
Carradine was married five times and had two daughters, Calista Miranda and Kansas.[1] Each of his first four marriages ended in divorce. On December 26, 2004, he married Annie[1] at the seaside Malibu home of his friend, Michael Madsen. The ceremony was performed by his attorney and his wife's longtime friend, Vicki Roberts. The marriage lasted until Carradine died.
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumwit, in central Bangkok, Thailand.[2][3] The initial police report indicated that Carradine had committed suicide by hanging himself; he was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and body.[3][4] 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]
Carradine was known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series Kung Fu; he starred in the 1990s spinoff Kung Fu: The Legend Continues as the grandson of his original character.
In movies, he starred 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 popular 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 the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (in which his half-brother Robert was a series regular), 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 produced and starred 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[9] ("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.
Carradine was married five times and had two daughters, Calista Miranda and Kansas.[1] Each of his first four marriages ended in divorce. On December 26, 2004, he married Annie[1] at the seaside Malibu home of his friend, Michael Madsen. The ceremony was performed by his attorney and his wife's longtime friend, Vicki Roberts. The marriage lasted until Carradine died.
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumwit, in central Bangkok, Thailand.[2][3] The initial police report indicated that Carradine had committed suicide by hanging himself; he was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and body.[3][4] 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]