David Carradine found dead in hotel room

Kung Fu star David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy confirmed to The AP that the 72-year-old actor had passed away in the Thai capital either late on Wednesday or early this morning. His cause of death has not been reported.

Speaking to the BBC, his personal manager said: "[It's] shocking. He was full of life, always wanting to work... a great person."

He added to the New York Post that Carradine had "been in good spirits" when he spoke to him last week.

Carradine, who recently starred in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill saga, had been in Thailand to film upcoming movie Stretch.

RIP David :(

SBBB - Next Clue - Life is a horse race, the biggest of the year.

RIP

He played villians on screen so good

KILL Bill star David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel wardrobe yesterday - sparking fears that he accidentally killed himself in a sex act.

A horrified maid discovered the 72-year-old actor's half-naked body hanging from a curtain rope inside the closet.

One cop said the cord was attached to the neck and genitals of the star - also famed for his role in the hit 1970s TV series Kung Fu.

Thai police would neither confirm nor deny suggestions that Carradine, who played Bill in two Kill Bill films, was attempting a practice designed to boost sexual pleasure.

A spokesman said: "We've nothing to add at this stage, apart from the fact that we do not believe anyone else was involved."

Some reports claimed the star died of natural causes or suicide.

But his manager Chuck Binder said he believed it was an "accidental death" and called the news "shocking".

He said: "He was always full of life, always wanting to work - a great person."

Five-times wed Carradine was staying in Suite Room 352 of the Park Nai Lert Hotel in Bangkok, which has a phallic shrine in its grounds. He had been shooting a movie titled Stretch in the city.

The actor, whose other films include The Misfit Brigade and The Long Riders, failed to turn up for dinner with the film crew on Wednesday night and they assumed he was resting. But at 10am yesterday the chambermaid discovered his body.

Mourners last night began paying respects at his star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

The star, dad to three children and four step-children, is survived by widow Annie Bierman, whom he wed in 2004.

The son of legendary star John Carradine, he was part of a leading Hollywood acting family.

He appeared in more than 100 films and gained cult status earlier this decade for his title role in Quentin Tarantino's two Kill Bill flicks.

But he was best known for his role in Kung Fu - which aired on television from 1972 to 1975.

He played Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and Chinese woman, who was raised by monks in a Chinese monastery and trained to be a Shaolin master.

The series followed his travels through 19th-century America in search of his half-brother - armed with his martial arts skills.

Dad John and Carradine's brothers Robert and Keith also appeared in the mystical series.

Fourth wife Marina Anderson,married to the star from 1998 to 2001, last night said she was "totally shocked" by his death.

She said: "David was always so happy when he was filming, so I don't understand why he would commit suicide.

"This is such sad news. I'm devastated by his passing and I know there will be a lot of speculation about the circumstances.

"We stayed on good terms since our divorce and I can't believe he is gone - I'm in a state of shock."

Carradine did chillingly talk about suicide in a 2004 interview.

He said: "I remember one time sitting in the window of the third or fourth floor of the Plaza Hotel for about an hour, thinking about tipping off. I thought, 'Who cares, man? Why don't I just split?'"

The actor also said he once considered shooting himself.

He said: "There was a period in my life when I had a single action Colt .45, loaded, in my desk drawer. And every night I'd take it out and think about blowing my head off - and then decide not to and go on with my life."

In another interview, he said: "I'm not afraid of anything. Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get in the way. But no, it doesn't scare me at all."

Carradine admitted using drugs - but said he had given them up.

INXS rocker Michael Hutchence was found hanged in his hotel in 1997, and it has been widely suggested his death was a result of a bungled sex act. However, the coroner's report stated suicide.

Conservative MP for Eastleigh Stephen Milligan was found dead with electrical flex tied in a noose around his neck in 1994.

The Sun

RIP Kung Fu Legend

Moviemaker Martin Scorsese and actor Michael Madsen have paid tribute to David Carradine, who died on Thursday.

The Kill Bill star's naked body was discovered hanging in a Bangkok, Thailand hotel suite. Local reports suggested he committed suicide but a statement from Carradine's representative indicates the actor died when a sex act went wrong.

Rumours Carradine died attempting auto-erotic asphyxiation - where victims achieve heightened sexual pleasure by restricting their air supply - are backed up by a quote a Bangkok police officer gave to British newspaper The Sun.

Stars from the big screen have offered their fond memories of the actor, who had a career spanning back to the 1960s.

Madsen, Carradine's co-star in Quentin Tarantino's martial arts films Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2., is still in shock after hearing of the demise of his friend - a man he regarded as his "brother".

The pair had a close relationship after starring together in the fighting franchise movies and regularly kept in touch between projects.

Madsen reveals he was planning to contact the actor just last week (beg25May09) - and will forever regret not picking up the phone.

He says, "David was one of the first actors I ever worked with when I started my career and the closest person to a brother that I ever had in my life. It is shocking to me that he is no longer with us.

"I had been thinking about calling him for the last several days and advise anybody who has been thinking about reaching out to a loved one to do so. I have so many great memories of David that I wouldn't even know where to begin. He has a very special place in my heart."

Director Scorsese, who worked with the late actor on 1972 movie Boxcar Bertha, recalls Carradine being a "wonderful spirit" who dedicated his life to making movies.

He says, "I was deeply saddened by the news of David Carradine's passing. We met when we made Boxcar Bertha together, almost 40 years ago. I have very fond memories of our time together on that picture and on Mean Streets, where he agreed to do a brief cameo. David was a great collaborator, a uniquely talented actor and a wonderful spirit. He loved movies, acting in movies, making movies and he was always extremely generous."

And the producers of what was to be Carradine's next project are also mourning the loss of the "irreplaceable" star.

Adrian Salpeter and Elizabeth Levine, executive producers of indie film Portland, released a joint statement saying, "An actor of David Carradine's stature behind our film meant the world to us. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.

"The team is committed to this film and are considering other actors to replace the irreplaceable David Carradine. The producers and all involved are moving forward with the production in his memory. Mr. Carradine was truly a living legend of stage and screen, having worked with Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Ingmar Bergman and Quentin Tarantino, among many others, in a career that spanned nearly five decades."

The film's writer/director Matthew Mishory adds, "Every filmmaker aspires to work with an iconic actor like David Carradine. He was one of a kind."

DAVID Carradine was MURDERED, his agent claimed last night.


The Kill Bill star, 72, was found hanging naked in his Bangkok hotel wardrobe with a rope strung around his neck and genitals.

Thai cops believe he died when a solo sex game went wrong.

But Carradine’s manager Chuck Binder claimed the star’s hands had been bound behind his back — and a footprint on the bed did not match his shoes.

Binder said he had spoken to a producer in Thailand who told him: “For sure there was foul play.”

The actor’s lawyer Vicki Roberts added: “I believe there may have been foul play. Anybody could stage a suicide after a murder.”

But Bangkok Police Commander Somprasong Yenthuam insisted: “Nobody else was involved. We checked the CCTV and nobody came in or out his room.


“The room was in perfect order. Nothing else seems to have been touched.

It also emerged the actor was drinking in the hotel bar the night before he was found.


Five-times-wed Carradine starred in more than 100 movies and gained cult status for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

But he was best known as Kwai Chang Caine in TV series Kung Fu in the 1970s.

Fellow Kill Bill star Uma Thurman, 39, was said to be devastated.

She wore black to a charity gala in London in memory of him hours after hearing the news.

The Sun

means nothing to me i dont know who he is :(
RIP anyway

He had a famous father, also an actor and a couple of brothers, who also act. His show Kung Fu was very popular at the time. Probably way before your time, only us oldies remember him :lol:

Such a tragic loss. I do wonder if it was more a two person sex game gone wrong, than a solo one though but then you never do know.

RIP

It's really sad and some are saying he ended his own life some are saying another person was involved. It's amazing to think of what happened as being a 'game'?