David Carradine Biography
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I was shocked when I learned that David Carradine was found dead in a hotel
room in Bangkok. Thailand on June 3, 2009. He was filming a movie called
Stretch. There have been many reports on his death, mostly speculation.
Along with that other reports on a portion of his private life. Whether you
believe them or not, I would rather remember David Carradine for his life
and for the fact that he loved what he was doing and enjoying this new lease
on his career. In the past 15 years or so, learning that he had made an
impact on so many people who went into Martial Arts David became a
spokesperson to spread the message that martial arts, kung fu especially was
more about bettering yourself than fighting. The impact of his death has not
been fully realized. His wonderful soft spoken voice that drew so many has
been silenced, and he will be greatly missed. |
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Artist, musician, sculptor, writer, composer, Kung-Fu master, film and television icon David Carradine returns to the motion picture screen in what could be his most exciting role to date, playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's first movie in five years, Kill Bill. In this film noir tale, Bill (Carradine), the head of an all-female assassination squad named the "Deadly Vipers" shoots down one his crew "Black Mamba" (Uma Thurman), while pregnant with his child. She survives, though the bullet, inoperably lodged in her brain, keeps her in a coma for five years. Awakened, she sets out for revenge on her killer and his co-conspirators (Michael Madsen plays Bill's brother, Lucy Liu plays "Cottonmouth," Daryl Hannah as Bill's second-in-command "California Mountain Snake" and Vivica A. Fox as "Copperhead"). Kill Bill (Miramax) will be released in two parts. Volume One is scheduled to be released on Oct 10th and Volume 2 is set to be released in early 2004. Carradine is the eldest son of the legendary character actor John Carradine, and now presides over an acting family that includes brothers Keith, Robert and Michael Bowen as well as his daughter Kansas and nieces Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton. He was born in Hollywood and educated at San Francisco State College where he studied music theory and composition. It was while writing music for the Drama Department's annual revues that he discovered his own passion for the stage, joining a Shakespearian repertory company and learning his craft on his feet. After a two-year stint in the Army, he found work in New York as a commercial artist and later found fame on Broadway in The Deputy and The Royal Hunt of The Sun opposite Christopher Plummer. With that experience he returned to Hollywood, landing the short-lived TV series "Shane" before being tapped to star opposite Barbara Hershey in Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood film, Boxcar Bertha (1972). The iconic "Kung Fu" followed, catapulting Carradine to superstardom for the next three years, until he left the series to pursue his film career. That career now includes more than 100 feature films, a couple of dozen television movies, a whole range of theater on and off Broadway, and another hit series "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues." Carradine received the Best Actor Award from the National Board of Film Review as well as a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory, and won critical acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in The Long Riders, which many believe is his best work to date. "Kung Fu" also received seven Emmy nominations in its first season including one for Carradine as Best Actor. In addition he won the People's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival's "Director's Fortnight" for his work on Americana, and a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in "North and South." Among his other most notable film credits are Gray Lady Down, Mean Streets, Bird on a Wire, The Long Goodbye, You and Me, The Serpent's Egg and Circle of Iron. Carradine has also continued his devotion to music, and has recorded some 60 tracks from various musical genres and sung in several movies. David Carradine makes his home in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Annie, her four children and their three dogs. *** Press contacts: Julie Nathanson/James Selman (310) 201-8800 |
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