David Carradine

His documented ancestry included English, along with smaller amounts of Dutch, German, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. David's last traceable patrilineal ancestor is believed to have been a man named Parker Carradine, who was born in Georgia, in North America, c. 1755.

Father of Calista Carradine (born April 27, 1962) with Donna Lee Becht.

First came to public attention in 1963, appearing in an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950).

David Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the eldest son of legendary character actor John Carradine, and his wife, Ardanelle Abigail (McCool). He was a member of 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).

Began his contract career for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1969.

The iconic Kung Fu (1972) followed, catapulting Carradine to super-stardom for the next three years, until he left the series to pursue his film career.

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.

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).

His paternal half-brothers Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine, both appeared in The Long Riders (1980), with him.

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, Book I (1985).

Convicted of drunk driving in October 1989. Served 48 hours in jail and did community service.

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).

He sang duet vocals on his Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993) co-star Chris Potter's song "Kung Fu Blues".

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 1, 1997.

He returned to the screen in what could be his greatest performance, playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 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.

Was to have attended the Armaggeddon Pulp Culture Expo Convention in Wellington, New Zealand, in September 2004 as a special Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) guest but had to pull out at the last minute due to filming commitments.

David Carradine passed away on June 3, 2009, in a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. He was working on a movie entitled "Stretch".