Kung Fu Star David Carradine Found Dead

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Kung Fu and Kill Bill star David Carradine has been found hanged in a hotel room in Bangkok.

David Carradine is found dead in a Bangkok hotel room



The American embassy in Thailand confirmed the 72-year-old had been found dead in the capital, where he was filming.

Reports said Caradine had failed to appear for a meal with the film crew on Wednesday and that his body was found by a hotel maid at the Park Nai Lert hotel the following morning.

Police said there were no signs of a struggle or other suspicious circumstances and are treating the death as suicide

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Noo! he was a hero of mine when the kung fu series was on.
an unnamed officer claimed the death may have been an attempt at auto-eroticism, seeing as he had a curtain cord wrapped around his neck and dangly bits,
Hmmm, another Michael Hutchance.

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KILL Bill star David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel wardrobe yesterday - sparking fears that he accidentally killed himself in a sex act.

A horrified maid discovered the 72-year-old actor's half-naked body hanging from a curtain rope inside the closet.

One cop said the cord was attached to the neck and genitals of the star - also famed for his role in the hit 1970s TV series Kung Fu.

Thai police would neither confirm nor deny suggestions that Carradine, who played Bill in two Kill Bill films, was attempting a practice designed to boost sexual pleasure.

A spokesman said: "We've nothing to add at this stage, apart from the fact that we do not believe anyone else was involved."

Some reports claimed the star died of natural causes or suicide.

But his manager Chuck Binder said he believed it was an "accidental death" and called the news "shocking".

He said: "He was always full of life, always wanting to work - a great person."
Suite

Five-times wed Carradine was staying in Suite Room 352 of the Park Nai Lert Hotel in Bangkok, which has a phallic shrine in its grounds. He had been shooting a movie titled Stretch in the city.

The actor, whose other films include The Misfit Brigade and The Long Riders, failed to turn up for dinner with the film crew on Wednesday night and they assumed he was resting. But at 10am yesterday the chambermaid discovered his body.

Mourners last night began paying respects at his star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

The star, dad to three children and four step-children, is survived by widow Annie Bierman, whom he wed in 2004.

The son of legendary star John Carradine, he was part of a leading Hollywood acting family.

He appeared in more than 100 films and gained cult status earlier this decade for his title role in Quentin Tarantino's two Kill Bill flicks.

But he was best known for his role in Kung Fu - which aired on television from 1972 to 1975.

He played Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and Chinese woman, who was raised by monks in a Chinese monastery and trained to be a Shaolin master.

The series followed his travels through 19th-century America in search of his half-brother - armed with his martial arts skills.

Dad John and Carradine's brothers Robert and Keith also appeared in the mystical series.

Fourth wife Marina Anderson,married to the star from 1998 to 2001, last night said she was "totally shocked" by his death.

She said: "David was always so happy when he was filming, so I don't understand why he would commit suicide.

"This is such sad news. I'm devastated by his passing and I know there will be a lot of speculation about the circumstances.

"We stayed on good terms since our divorce and I can't believe he is gone - I'm in a state of shock."

Carradine did chillingly talk about suicide in a 2004 interview.

He said: "I remember one time sitting in the window of the third or fourth floor of the Plaza Hotel for about an hour, thinking about tipping off. I thought, 'Who cares, man? Why don't I just split?'"

The actor also said he once considered shooting himself.

He said: "There was a period in my life when I had a single action Colt .45, loaded, in my desk drawer. And every night I'd take it out and think about blowing my head off - and then decide not to and go on with my life."

In another interview, he said: "I'm not afraid of anything. Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get in the way. But no, it doesn't scare me at all."

Carradine admitted using drugs - but said he had given them up.

INXS rocker Michael Hutchence was found hanged in his hotel in 1997, and it has been widely suggested his death was a result of a bungled sex act. However, the coroner's report stated suicide.

Conservative MP for Eastleigh Stephen Milligan was found dead with electrical flex tied in a noose around his neck in 1994.
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