I don't know why, but when I read the story about Carradine's death I got this strange feeling that he may have killed himself because he had some sort of fatal illness and was living in pain or something. There was absolutely no indication of this in any of the stories that I've read or heard, but for some reason I just feel that this could really be the reason that he committed suicide.

I used to love Kung Fu.

I really liked his father, John, as a horror movie actor. John played a pretty damn good Dracula.

There were also reports he was having problems paying his bills. How can someone who's had back to back movies in the making not have money?

I guess no matter how much you make, people will find a way to spend their way into debt.

He was doing Talking Phone Book commercials not too long ago.

Somehow I suspect he wasn't exactly rolling in dough.

Whatever the ins and outs it is very sad news

RIP

By Alan Duke
CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- David Carradine's wife and his manager disputed suggestions that the actor's death was a suicide, while rescue workers and police in Bangkok, Thailand, said the actor's neck and genitals were found bound with rope.

After Carradine's body arrives back to the United States this weekend, an autopsy ordered by Carradine's family will be conducted, according to the actor's co-manager.

"They're doing everything possible to get to the bottom of what really happened," said Carradine's co-manager Tiffany Smith.

Carradine, 72, became famous in the 1970s when he portrayed the traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu."

Bangkok police said Carradine was found hanging by a nylon rope in a Bangkok hotel room closet Thursday morning.

"Our preliminary assumption is that the cause of death was suffocation, because there was a rope tied to his neck," said Bangkok police spokesman Somprasong Yenthuam.

Autopsy results will not be available for three or four weeks, said a high-ranking Thai police source who asked not to be identified.

The actor's body was released to the U.S. Embassy for a Saturday flight home after a judge signed the death certificate Friday, the police source said.

A member of the emergency crew who was called to the hotel after a maid found Carradine told CNN that a yellow nylon rope was tied around the actor's neck and a black rope was around his genitals. Police later confirmed that information.

The same emergency crew source said Carradine's hands were not tied, contrary to some media reports. Smith, the co-manager, also said media reports quoting the actor's management saying the hands were tied were untrue.

"I do not know if you want to call it accidental," Chuck Binder, Carradine's manager, told CNN's Larry King on Thursday. He said Carradine's career was on a roll.

Binder said a producer of the movie, "Stretch," which Carradine was to act in, called him from Thailand to tell him what was happening there.

"I do not want to get in the middle of this whole investigation, but this guy said to me for sure there was foul play," Binder said.

Actor Michael Madsen told King that the one thing Carradine's wife, Annie Bierman, wanted everyone to know is, "David was not suicidal."

Investigators found no sign of a forced entry into Carradine's room, Bangkok Police Lt. Colonel Pirom Chanpirom said.

Smith would not confirm Friday that Carradine's family had hired private investigators to look into his death, but she did say a private autopsy would be done.

Modern audiences may best know Carradine as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. He earned a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for his role in the second movie in the two-part saga.

Tarantino, also appearing on "Larry King Live," called Carradine one of "Hollywood's great mad geniuses."

"He was a rock star at the time 'Kung Fu' came out," Tarantino said, holding up a vintage metal lunch box with an image from the popular show.

"I'm in shock," he said.

Carradine's career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work, according to the Internet Movie Database.

"He was clearly an actor who followed his own path," said Leah Rozen, movie critic for People magazine.

"He was never a guy who talked a whole lot. You knew, as an actor, the characters he played, you knew they had a past, you knew there was probably some unhappiness there, but he wasn't going to talk about it."

Carradine was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as folk music legend Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie "Bound for Glory," according to a biography on his official Web site.

He also made appearances in television series such as "Gunsmoke" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." His first starring role in a series was as the title character in "Shane" in 1966.

Carradine was married five times and divorced four, according to People magazine.

He was the son of John Carradine, a character actor who appeared in hundreds of films, plays and television episodes.

"David's career as an artist did not begin on the stage, though some of his early career was on and off Broadway. His earliest work was as a sculptor and painter," Carradine's official Web site says.

The site also includes an "Art Bio," in which the actor opened up about his life.

I've always had an especially hard time with everything I've tried to do," Carradine wrote.

"I've made it pretty big as an actor in spite of being terminally shy. ... Invariably, I had huge obstacles to overcome in anything I tried. Had to work against my genes to achieve my dreams."

Thank you for moving my post to the right location. I felt kinda dumb after realizing I posted it somewhere other than "Movies & Television".

Not your fault, it could've been in either spot -- I just merged it to keep it together, where ever it was.

Thanks. I wasn't even aware that anyone posted the topic. It's sad reading about this. He looked great for 72. I wonder how long he would live if this tragedy didn't even occur.

so i guess klydon was right about that...just wondering what career do u work in?

His hands were tied up with rope and his penis was tied up too WTF!

I thought his hands were tied behind his back? How is this possible? And maybe I'm a naive Kay, but I don't see where the thrill comes in if it's a masturbation thing. Sounds too obviously dangerous. This story gets stranger and stranger. His friends say he would never kill himself and by all reports I've heard he was in good spirits.


I can't say I've ever heard of this type of thing, but damn!! What an embarrassing way to go.


TIS

if he was murdered then i guess it was those bastards that killed bruce lee...idk though lets see how the investagaters do, and i bet they still fuck it up some how.

All signs point to autoerotic asphyxiation.

Bruce Lee died of a freak biochemistry accident when he took an asprin.

And at this rate, I think Carradine was murdered. By a prostitute perhaps?

Closed circuit video at his hotel showed nobody entering or leaving his room.
Even at age 72, Carradine's martial arts skills should have been enough to protect him 1 on 1 against most people.

i was joking with that since their are some people that think lee was killed by the chinese mafia or government. if anything carradine died in accident or even a prostitute.

Evidently the Carradine family is livid that a Thai newspaper printed pictures of David Carradine's body. Can't say I blame them. I'd be mad too. What a lowlife thing to do.

TIS


Link

i guess the investigation is already fucked up

I believe the singer from that band terrible band INXS died while performing autoerotic asphyxiation. I heard it's not that unusual. come on! what a good excuse to call a hooker ...

BANGKOK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of actor David Carradine has asked U.S. authorities to help unravel the mystery of his death, amid conflicting reports about how his body was found hanging naked in a Bangkok hotel.

Mark Geragos, a Los Angeles attorney who represented Carradine's brother, Keith Carradine, said on Saturday the family has contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and filed a formal request to have the FBI contact authorities in Thailand for further information.

"They've done it because of the conflicting reports and the nature of those reports that have given the family great pause," Geragos told Reuters.

Speculation about the death of Carradine, 72, who starred in the 1970s-era U.S. television show "Kung Fu" and the more recent "Kill Bill" movies, has deepened since his body was discovered on Thursday by a maid in the Bangkok hotel suite where he was staying while filming the movie "Stretch."

With coroners awaiting results of toxicology tests, Thai media pointed to suicide or accidental autoerotic asphyxiation as possible causes of death. Some reports have said a cord was wrapped around Carradine's genitals and others that his hands were bound behind his back. None could be confirmed.

Geragos said Carradine's family had no more information than what had been written and said in the media, which was why they were seeking the FBI's help.

"I wish for them, and their sake, that they did (have more information), but it's the opposite," Geragos said. "They are getting reports that both seem conflicting and evolving."

FAMILY SEEKS HELP

Geragos said Thai authorities must invite the FBI into the investigation and he did not know how long that might take.

The family has hired forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner for New York City who appears on HBO cable TV show "Autopsy," to look into the death when Carradine's body returns to the U.S.

Thai television said the body was flown home to Los Angeles early on Saturday, which Geragos confirmed.

Representatives for the family in Los Angeles were not immediately available for further comment Saturday evening.

In Bangkok, police said it could take several weeks for coroners to confirm exactly how Carradine died.

"What we're doing right now is interviewing more witnesses," Police Colonel Somprasong Yentuam told Reuters.

"It should take roughly three weeks for the blood test result, then we can wrap this case up." Somprasong said he believed the likely cause of death was asphyxiation.

A maid found Carradine hanging in the closet of his hotel suite at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel. Initial reports indicated a possible suicide, but family representatives have repeatedly denied that possibility.

Carradine, the son of the late character actor John Carradine, enjoyed a long career on Broadway, TV and in films. But he was most famous for his role in "Kung Fu," playing Caine, a martial arts specialist who wandered through the American Old West seeking wisdom and beating up bad guys.

I'm a lawyer.

In one memorable case a widow from New York was seeking fatal claim workers' compensation benefits for herself and young kids when her husband was found dead in his hotel room during a business trip. If the death had been natural, she was entitled to the benefits, but because our investigator found ample evidence to suggest autoerotic asphyxiation, she dropped the claim.

I certainly don't have direct experience with this, but know that it's done by young and old every day. Few actually hang themselves in a suspended state while many apparently tighten a belt or rope as tightly as they can at the critical moment.

By the way, I wonder if Carradine went through the airport turnstile sideways because I once recall Grasshopper in deep meditation say, "Man, who goes through airport turnstile sideways, always going to Bangkok."

o thats cool...with the lawyer part that is. i never heard that before though.

I know Klyd remembers the "Preppy Murder Case" here in New York back in the mid '80s. The defendant, Robert Chambers, actually used the autoerotic thing as his defense. He claimed that Jennifer Levin died during kinky sex, asking to be strangled just enough to increase her pleasure, but not enough to kill her, which would've made her death an accident. But he was a spoiled, lying, junkie piece of shit and the jury knew it. Guilty.

The photo that has been banned/the family is upset about that was leaked to the Thai tabloids:

David Carradine ex-wife reveals actor's 'kinky moments'

NY Daily News

David Carradine's third wife Gail Jensen has revealed intimate details of the actor's private sexual antics in a candid interview with Radaronline.com – including a fondness for tying himself up to "relax" and riding horses bareback while wearing a Speedo.

"He had his kinky moments," Jensen said.

Jensen was Carradine's third wife. The pair were together for 15 years and married for 10, she said.

She insisted she only saw him tie his hands and that it was "never, never" the sort of autoerotic asphyxiation that may have led to his death in a Bangkok hotel room.

"He told me it was for meditation because of all the pressure on his life and things, so he'd tie himself up and relax, and I mean, I didn't think it was a horrible thing, but to me, it was a little weird," she said.

Jensen told Radar that she’d often discover her husband nearly naked and bound at the wrists in their bedroom, or in front of the family fireplace.

The actor, 72, was found June 4 in a room at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel hanging naked from a closet with cords binding his wrist, neck and genitals.

Police first suspected suicide, but now believe the actor's death was accidental suffocation or heart failure.

Famed New York City forensic pathologist Michael Baden - who is familiar with the signs of autoerotic asphyxiation - was to perform an autopsy on Carradine's body in Los Angeles.

Jensen also said Carradine often fell asleep in their swimming pool and that his preferred attire at home was a skimpy Speedo swimsuit.

"The entire 15 years we were together he was in his Speedos," she said. "He liked to go horseback riding bareback in his Speedos."

When asked if it was for sexual gratification, Jensen said, "everything for him was for fun."

Jensen is not the first of Carradine's ex-wives to speak out on his sexual proclivities.

In 2003 court papers obtained by TheSmokingGun.com last week, his third and most recent ex-wife Marina Anderson accused the actor of "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly" and said he engaged in an "incestuous relationship with a very close family member."

In her Radar interview, Jensen also revealed Carradine's love of tattoos and piercing, describing a fish tattoo that stretched from his torso and down his leg.

"He liked piercing, he thought that was fun," she said.

Sounds like a typical day at my house.

Ahhh Grasshopper what has your re-incarnated self learned about tying yourself up to get off?

At least he didn't recruit a Boy Scout to help tie him up in knots.

Zing!

This thing is getting weirder and weirder :S

Report: Thai tabloid David Carradine photos show fishnets, wig, women's lingerie
BY Lauren Johnston
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 10th 2009, 11:09 AM



The photos of David Carradine's body printed in a Thai tabloid show the actor wearing what appear to be fishnets and a wig, according to a report in ABCNews.com, raising new questions about the circumstances of his mysterious death.

The images – which apparently show the actor hanging from a bar in the closet of his Bangkok hotel room – also reveal what appears to be red women's lingerie on a nearby bed, ABC reports.

Carradine's remains were due to arrive in Los Angeles this week and New York's famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden was scheduled to conduct an investigation.

"Baden is one of the most experienced forensic pathologists in the world. If there's something suspicious, he'll find it," his friend Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, chairman of the Department of Forensic Sciences at John Jay College of Criminal Justice told the Daily News Tuesday.

Thai authorities have ruled Carradine's June 4 death a"sex accident" due to autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong. The"Kung Fu" actor, 72, was found with his wrists, neck and genitals bound by a rope.

Transvestite role-playing – as suggested by the presence of women's undergarments – is often part of autoerotic stimulation.

Images from the actor's autopsy in Thailand have also circulated. A photograph from that autopsy viewed by the Daily News showed the actor's nude body laid out on a coroner's table with many visible tattoos. Those images have not been published.

Carradine's family members have continued to question that conclusion, wondering how the actor could have bound his own wrists and saying the evidence suggests foul play.

Filmmaker Robert Dunlap – who made a documentary about people who engage in deviant sex practices – echoed those doubts to ABCNews.com "This doesn't look like a solo act at all," Dunlap told ABCNews.com. "In order to have an orgasm, his hands would have had to be free."

Referencing the apparent presence of women's lingerie, he added,"You don't dress just for yourself … Usually there is some sort of show and someone else is involved. It probably went horribly bad and they left."

Two of Carradine's ex-wives have spoken publicly on his unusual sexual preferences.

His third wife Gail Jensen said he liked to tie himself up at home and ride horses bareback wearing nothing by a Speedo in an interview with RadarOnline.com.

His fourth wife Marina Anderson alleged in 2003 divorce papers obtained by theSmokingGun.com that Carradine practiced "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly" and said he engaged in an "incestuous relationship with a very close family member."

In a separate interview with TMZ.com , Jensen – who divorced Carradine in 1997 – said the actor was able to tie himself up without assistance and did so at home.

"He spent days planning a different feature. He would go to a hardware store and buy the stuff," Jensen said.

No plans for a funeral for the actor have been announced.