David Carradine was an American actor that is best known for his seventies television show Kung Fu and, most recently, for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies.
David followed in his father's footsteps, in fact four of John's five sons would take up acting, after he studied drama at the San Francisco State University.
Carradine made a name for himself in the theatre with his performance in The Royal Hunt of the Sun on Broadway. His performance saw him pick up the Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance.
It wasn't long before he moved into television with roles in the likes of Taggart, a western based film, and Shane but became well known for his part in seventies TV show Kung Fu.
Kung Fu follows the adventures of a Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine, portrayed by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a teenager and Radames Pera as a young boy, who travels through the American Old West armed only with his skill in martial arts, searching for his half brother.
He moved into movies with roles in Boxcar Bertha, am early movie by Martin Scorsese, before finding acclaim with the role of Woody Guthrie in Bound for Glory in 1976.
The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and Carradine scooped the national Board of Review of Motion Picture gong for best Actor as well as being nominated at the Golden Globes.
A second Golden Globe for Best Performance by an actor in s Supporting Role in a Mini Series or Motion Picture Made for TV followed in 1985 for his role in television show North and South.
In recent years he has mixed television and movie work appearing in Kill Bill movies as Bill, and this brought another Golden Globe nomination. He can currently be seen in Crank 2: High Voltage.
The actor was found dead at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok where he was shooting his latest movie Stretch.
He was found hanging by a rope in the room's closet.
He is survived by his wife Annie Bierman and three children Calista, Kansas and Tom.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw