Actor David Carradine found dead, Police believed he committed suicide.

Posted by on Jun 4, 2009 in Movies

David Carradine, star of Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga “Kill Bill” and the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu”, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.

A spokesman for the U.S. embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.

The website of the Thai newspaper has more info:

Carradine, 72, was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and staying at Suite Room 352 in the Park Nai Lert Hotel on Wireless Road since June 2. The film crew noticed his absence when they went to dine out at a restaurant on Sathon Road on Wednesday. Carradine did not show up at the dinner and the team could not reach him. They assumed that because of his age he was resting in his room.

A hotel maid opened his suite yesterday at 10am only to find Carradine dead in a closet. He was described as being half-naked.

A police investigation showed that he hung himself with a rope, the kind that is used for curtains. Police said he was dead not less than 12 hours and found no sign of fighting or assault.

He had been married five times and divorced four. He is survived by Annie Bierman, whom he married in 2004. He was father to three children and four stepchildren

His personal manager, Chuck Binder, told BBC that the news was “shocking”, adding: “He was full of life, always wanting to work… a great person.”

In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. He was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired in 1972-75.