David Carradine

'David Carradine' (qv) was born in Hollywood, California, the eldest son of legendary character actor 'John Carradine' (qv), and his wife, Ardanelle Abigail (McCool). He was a member of an acting family that included brothers 'Keith Carradine' (qv) and 'Robert Carradine' (qv) as well as his daughters 'Calista Carradine' (qv) and 'Kansas Carradine' (qv), and nieces 'Ever Carradine' (qv) and 'Martha Plimpton' (qv).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 Shakespearean 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' (qv). With that experience he returned to Hollywood, landing the lead in the short-lived TV series _Shane (1966)_ (qv) before being tapped to star opposite 'Barbara Hershey' (qv) in 'Martin Scorsese' (qv)'s first Hollywood film, _Boxcar Bertha (1972)_ (qv). The iconic _Kung Fu (1972)_ (qv) followed, catapulting Carradine to super-stardom for the next three years, until he left the series to pursue his film career.That career included 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 (1992)_ (qv).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' (qv) in 'Hal Ashby' (qv)'s _Bound for Glory (1976)_ (qv), and he won critical acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in _The Long Riders (1980)_ (qv). "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 (1981)_ (qv), and a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in _North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985)_ (qv). Among his other notable film credits were _Gray Lady Down (1978)_ (qv), _Mean Streets (1973)_ (qv), _Bird on a Wire (1990)_ (qv), _The Long Goodbye (1973)_ (qv), _The Serpent's Egg (1977)_ (qv) and _Circle of Iron (1978)_ (qv). He returned to the screen in what could be his greatest performance, playing the title role in 'Quentin Tarantino' (qv)'s _Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)_ (qv) and _Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)_ (qv), for which he received his fourth Golden Globe nomination. He also continued his devotion to music, and recorded some 60 tracks in various musical genres and sang in several movies. He made his home in Los Angeles with his fifth wife Annie, her four children and their two dogs.Found dead in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 3, 2009, aged 72.::frankfob2@yahoo.com (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)