David Carradine

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Birthday:

8 December 1936, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name:

John Arthur Carradine

Height:

183 cm

David Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the eldest son of legendary character actor John Carradine, and his wife, Ardanelle Abigail (McCool). He presided over an acting family that included brothers Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine as well as his daughters Calista Carradine and Kansas Carradine, 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 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. With that experience he returned to Hollywood, landing the lead in the short-lived TV series Shane (1966) before being tapped to star opposite Barbara Hershey in Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood film, Boxcar Bertha (1972). The iconic Kung Fu (1972) followed, catapulting Carradine to superstardom 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).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 (1976), and he won critical acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in The Long Riders (1980). "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), and a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in North and South (1985). Among his other notable film credits were Gray Lady Down (1978), Mean Streets (1973), Bird on a Wire (1990), The Long Goodbye (1973), The Serpent's Egg (1977) and Circle of Iron (1978). He returned to the screen in what could be his greatest performance, playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), 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 after a strangulation/masturbation session went wrong in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 3, 2009, aged 72. Show less «

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.

There's an alternative. There's always a third way, and it's not a combination of the other two ways. It's a different way.

[on his late friend and one-time co-star, Brandon Lee] He was always giving 110%, and it produced a light in the eyes, which is what you loo...Show more »

[on his late friend and one-time co-star, Brandon Lee] He was always giving 110%, and it produced a light in the eyes, which is what you look for in movies. Show less «

Every day, at least six people will come up to me and say, "Your show [Kung Fu (1972)] changed my life.".

[on his lengthy acting career] It's always seemed to me like a mission. A holy one, like the Blues Brothers. It's a marathon. You can't quit...Show more »

[on his lengthy acting career] It's always seemed to me like a mission. A holy one, like the Blues Brothers. It's a marathon. You can't quit; even coming in dead last has honor. Quitting doesn't. Look, I had absolute faith in my future when I was starving in New York and no one believed in me besides me and my girlfriend. I'd be stupid to lose that faith after I've become a fucking icon. Oh, yes. And I love the work. Show less «

It's not even a matter of physical fitness, it's a matter of mind, body, unity and achieving a little tiny bit of spirituality, in your life...Show more »

It's not even a matter of physical fitness, it's a matter of mind, body, unity and achieving a little tiny bit of spirituality, in your life. Show less «

[Before he played Kwai Chang Caine on Kung Fu (1972)] I wasn't like a TV star in those days, I was like a rock 'n' roll star. It was a pheno...Show more »

[Before he played Kwai Chang Caine on Kung Fu (1972)] I wasn't like a TV star in those days, I was like a rock 'n' roll star. It was a phenomenon kind of thing... It was very special. Show less «

[on his drug/alcohol abuse] There was only a period of a few years when I was drinking too much. I had a friend who was a mentor, and he sud...Show more »

[on his drug/alcohol abuse] There was only a period of a few years when I was drinking too much. I had a friend who was a mentor, and he suddenly said, "I've never seen you abuse a substance before." I said, "Am I doing that now?". And I was. That was spring of 1996. I like to think that I stopped drinking on St. Patrick's Day, but it was actually a month later. Show less «

[on when he realized Kung Fu (1972) was going to be a hit] Man, I read that pilot script and flipped! But I never believed it would get on T...Show more »

[on when he realized Kung Fu (1972) was going to be a hit] Man, I read that pilot script and flipped! But I never believed it would get on TV. I mean, a Chinese Western, about a half-Chinese / half-American Buddhist monk who anders the gold rush country but doesn't care about gold, and defends the oppressed but won't carry a gun, and won't even step on an ant because he values all life, and hardly ever speaks? No way! Show less «

[In 2004, on starring in so many low-budget films] All I've ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades a...Show more »

[In 2004, on starring in so many low-budget films] All I've ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades ago... is just to be in one. There isn't anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn't do. All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin's {Quentin Tarantino] courage to take and put me in the spotlight. Show less «

[In 2004, on his suicidal thoughts] I remember one time sitting at the window of the third or fourth floor of the Plaza Hotel for about an h...Show more »

[In 2004, on his suicidal thoughts] I remember one time sitting at the window of the third or fourth floor of the Plaza Hotel for about an hour, thinking about just tipping off. Show less «

[on playing Bill in the "Kill Bill" films] It's got to be done a certain way. You can see these poses.

[In 1991, on his signature role] What we did on Kung Fu (1972), stressing the philosophy and the desire for peace and the training, is somet...Show more »

[In 1991, on his signature role] What we did on Kung Fu (1972), stressing the philosophy and the desire for peace and the training, is something that has actually never been seen since then. Show less «

[In 1977] Acting was the last thing I thought of because it didn't seem like you did anything.

[on his passion for auto racing] There's no bullshit about it. It's real, you can't fake it, people actually die.

[Alluding to his character's philosophy expressed on Kung Fu (1972)] The quest is never attainable: You cannot expect to achieve the goal. I...Show more »

[Alluding to his character's philosophy expressed on Kung Fu (1972)] The quest is never attainable: You cannot expect to achieve the goal. It's the journey that's the point of it all. Again, in the modern series, Caine is asked where he's going, and he says, "Nowhere in particular." But the person insists, "Everyone has a destination." Caine says, "A destiny - yes. But not, necessarily, a destination." [That] implies some place to stop when you get there, while your destiny is a journey that continues. Show less «

[In 1997] I don't have that much to say. I'm glad some people showed up. You know it's April 1, and I still thought people would think it wa...Show more »

[In 1997] I don't have that much to say. I'm glad some people showed up. You know it's April 1, and I still thought people would think it was a joke. Show less «

[In 1993] There is something, dare I say, very Christ-like here: reaching out to lepers, the downtrodden, the profligates. That was one reas...Show more »

[In 1993] There is something, dare I say, very Christ-like here: reaching out to lepers, the downtrodden, the profligates. That was one reason I wanted to play someone like that. Whether or not that's the kind of guy I am, to be able to portray someone who has this sort of holy quality to him was very appealing. Show less «

With my tendencies as an anarchist and a revolutionary, this is the kind of place I would have wanted to blow up with a bomb in a paper bag....Show more »

With my tendencies as an anarchist and a revolutionary, this is the kind of place I would have wanted to blow up with a bomb in a paper bag. But I've reached a point now where I can see the limitations of Fidel Castro as easily as I can see the limitations of a Rockefeller. I don't want to be either of those guys. Show less «

I'm perhaps the most gifted actor of my generation.

[on his popularity while playing the 50-something Kwai Chang Caine on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993)] It's a mission. I've been workin...Show more »

[on his popularity while playing the 50-something Kwai Chang Caine on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993)] It's a mission. I've been working putting this thing together for--what is it? Could it be?--14 years. Show less «

[on whether he or his father, John Carradine, made the most films] I've read... that my father was the most indiscriminate actor in the hist...Show more »

[on whether he or his father, John Carradine, made the most films] I've read... that my father was the most indiscriminate actor in the history of movies. And I'm close to that. Show less «

I like to work, and you can only do what you're offered. If I'm offered something great, I'm going to accept it, for sure. If I'm not offere...Show more »

I like to work, and you can only do what you're offered. If I'm offered something great, I'm going to accept it, for sure. If I'm not offered something great, I'm going to do something not so great. There is a bottom line. I've never done an actual horror movie, or a porno. If it's something odious, I'm going to turn it down. There have been times when I've been desperate for money, hopelessly in debt, with the IRS on me and an ex-wife suing me. And I've been offered a lot of money to do something about a scientist who gets eaten by this giant spider he creates, and I say to myself, "I just can't do this", And I don't. I feel that rejecting that sort of thing is always leading toward the light. Show less «

[In 2008] Whenever I do an exhibit, I always specify. If you want to buy something, a great piece of it is going to go for Food for Africa. ...Show more »

[In 2008] Whenever I do an exhibit, I always specify. If you want to buy something, a great piece of it is going to go for Food for Africa. That's the way I do it and I'll always do it. Show less «

[In 2009] One foot, in front of the other, things happened, as I try to make them happen, so it wasn't exactly, no real surprises.

[on his 1986 marriage to Gail Jensen, who met him on The Long Riders (1980)] It works. We feel like we've known each other for a thousand ye...Show more »

[on his 1986 marriage to Gail Jensen, who met him on The Long Riders (1980)] It works. We feel like we've known each other for a thousand years. Something will happen, and we'll say, "Yeah, you did that to me 800 years ago.". Show less «

[In 1992, on trying to break into Hollywood without relying on his father, (John Carradine)] It took me a long time to realize that he was h...Show more »

[In 1992, on trying to break into Hollywood without relying on his father, (John Carradine)] It took me a long time to realize that he was having a hard time getting jobs himself. But I'm not sure he would have [helped] anyway--you were supposed to make it on your own. Show less «

[In 1992] I had a house in the Hollywood Hills that virtually every brother has lived in. It was like this safe harbor. We all took care of ...Show more »

[In 1992] I had a house in the Hollywood Hills that virtually every brother has lived in. It was like this safe harbor. We all took care of each other. Show less «

[on Chuck Norris]: How deep can you get into aikido? Aikido's aikido. Chuck Norris, as you know, has a very heavy competitive background. He...Show more »

[on Chuck Norris]: How deep can you get into aikido? Aikido's aikido. Chuck Norris, as you know, has a very heavy competitive background. He's originally trained in Tang Soo Do, then what he did was competition karate. Chuck is very fast and very precise. I think he's really good. But I don't think that the whole thing that is kung fu is even touched on by any of these guys. I just think all they're into is what they know about fighting and their movie mystiques. I don't think these guys know anything about the history, the philosophy, the inner truth you're supposed to be searching for. The stuff that we try to do in Kung Fu, which we did in the old series. That's why I decided to do it again. It just seemed like nobody's got the assets. They all thought it was a question of kicking and punching. Show less «