Kung Fu star Carradine found dead in Bangkok hotel

June 4, 2009

American actor David Carradine was today found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. The 72-year-old actor had been in Thailand for production of his latest film, Stretch.

According to Bangkok police, the star of 1970's cult TV series Kung Fu was found half-naked in a wardrobe, a cord around his neck and body; the discovery was made by a hotel maid. One of Thailand's daily papers, The Nation, reports that police state there was no evidence of an intruder, positing that the actor had hanged himself.

Carradine's biggest recent success was his appearance in Quentin Tarrantino's movie, Kill Bill. In the 2003 film he played the title character Bill. His other considerable body of work in the entertainment business included around 100 other film appearances and nominations for four Golden Globe Awards.

His personal manager, Chuck Binder, told the press the news was "shocking and sad". He described the actor behind the iconic Caine character as, "...full of life, always wanting to work... a great person."

Carradine leaves behind wife Annie Bierman and three children, two of which have followed the family tradition and become actresses.