David Carradine found hanging in a Bangkok hotel.

Shockingly David Carradine (also known as Bill from Kill Bill, to most people these days) has passed away, he was found hanging in a Bangkok hotel.

Source Reuters:

Quote :

BANGKOK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s U.S. television show "Kung Fu," was found naked and hanging dead from a rope in the closet of his luxury Bangkok hotel room on Thursday, Thai police said.
No signs were found of other people in the room and the body of the 72-year-old actor was sent to a hospital for an autopsy, police said.
"He was found hanging by a rope in the room's closet," Lieutenant Colonel Pirom Jantrapirom of the Lumpini police station in Bangkok told Reuters.
Lori Binder, a representative for Carradine's Los Angeles-based talent manager, said the actor was in Thailand to shoot a film called "Stretch." She declined to give further details of his death while it was under investigation.
Carradine, from a family of performers and the eldest son of character actor John Carradine, enjoyed a long career on Broadway, television and in movies such as director Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."
Condolences came pouring in to the actor's website www.david-carradine.com.
"What a sad day it is for all who grew up watching David Carradine and knowing this great actor. May you rest in eternal peace," said one post.
Another simply said "RIP Grasshopper" -- the nickname of his "Kung Fu" character Kwai Chang Caine, a wandering monk in America's Old West who became an iconic figure of U.S. television in the 1970s.
The website did not give details of Carradine's death but speculation has focused on suicide.
In his 1995 autobiography "Endless Highway," Carradine wrote that he tried to kill himself when he was 5 years old.
The book also described his extensive drug use, ranging from LSD to cocaine, and ended with a chronicle of his efforts in the mid-1990s to get sober by attending a support group for alcoholics.

A LIFE OF ACTING

The actor was born John Arthur Carradine on December 8, 1936, in Los Angeles and was educated at San Francisco State University, where he studied music theory and composition.
While writing music for the drama department's annual revues, he discovered his own passion for the stage, joining a Shakespearean repertory company.
After working on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" opposite Christopher Plummer, Carradine earned a spot on Hollywood's map in the 1960s in TV westerns such as "Wagon Train" and "The Virginian" as well as his starring role in a TV version of the hit western movie "Shane."
But it was his role in "Kung Fu" that earned the actor his greatest fame. The series aired on U.S. television starting in 1972 and immediately won a large fan base for Carradine as Caine, a half-Asian martial arts expert and student of life.
The show spawned a movie and numerous other offshoots. Overall, Carradine's credits include more than 200 roles in movies, TV, video and DVD spanning nearly five decades.
His role as Caine earned him a nomination for an Emmy, U.S. TV's highest honor, and his turn as the villainous Bill in "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" led to his fourth Golden Globe nomination.
He also won critical acclaim for portraying folk singer Woody Guthrie in the Oscar-nominated 1976 film "Bound for Glory."
Carradine was married five times and had two daughters from previous marriages. His latest wife was Annie Bierman, whom he married in 2004. His brothers include actor Keith Carradine.

We've lost a legend.
RIP Carradine

Thats odd...they should investigate it a bit further then...he seemed preety weird...but would he kill himself?

Yeah, I don't think he was trying to kill himself.

apop wrote:

Yeah, I don't think he was trying to kill himself.

One speculation I read was it was death a la Michael Hutchens.

jarsis wrote:

apop wrote:

Yeah, I don't think he was trying to kill himself.

One speculation I read was it was death a la Michael Hutchens.

Interesting theory, tho i doubt there is any connection.

I don't think he was suicidal either, seems strange for a 72 year old man with his legacy. And with the respect and love he got from his friends and family it seems unlikely. Lack of a note from someone with so many people who cared for him is another thing that doesn't make sense.

If he didn't commit suicide and didn't do it for another reason, then he must have been murdered. Surely the only person who could've done that was Chuck Norris. That is your single infallible piece of evidence - no one else could have done it. I rest my case.

Source EW.com

Quote :

The body of David Carradine will be examined by U.S. forensic expert Dr. Michael Baden, according to Radar Online. The site reports that Baden says he was contacted by Carradine family lawyer Mark Geragos to determine how the Kung Fu star died in his Bangkok hotel room. Along with his work as a medical examiner and pathologist in New York, Baden hosts the HBO series Autopsy, serves as a medical expert on the Fox News Channel, and has written two non-fiction books on forensic medicine. Thai police had told reporters Monday that it would be about a month before results of their autopsy of Carradine's body would be known.

Maybe they'll find some evidence of this Chuck Norris theory of yours?

there are strong leads that he might have really died like michael hutchence... he was found hanging by his neck and genitals, that normally indicates he had tried to perform autoerotic asphyxiation, apparently getting more and more popular these days. one of the barmaids from the hotel also said he had been drinking beer since the morning and was in quite a drowsy state by the afternoon. as a final note about 3 years ago his ex-wife apparently accused him in engaging in "devious sexual behaviour that could lead to serious injuries".

she also told of his incestuous sexual activities with a very close family member, it was later denied and unproven in court.

great legacy he left though ...

btw there are a couple of pictures of him (how he was found and of his autopsy) that have been leaked.. i'll leave it to you guys to decide whether you want to see them or not.. here are the links:

death scene
autopsy

has there been any update on this?

the official cause of death was suicide

his family didn't buy it and hired a private coroner to make a new autopsy.. according to him he didn't commit suicide but he's not sure yet about the actual cause of death (basically doesn't want to make it public...)

d3kay wrote:

the official cause of death was suicide

his family didn't buy it and hired a private coroner to make a new autopsy.. according to him he didn't commit suicide but he's not sure yet about the actual cause of death (basically doesn't want to make it public...)

So he died havin' messed up sex? I honestly don't know if that's a good way to go or not. lol