David Carradin – RIP
June 5, 2009 by nopstar
Some of you may have seen the news but David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room. When I was a kid, I had a voracious appetite for martial arts. I had a subscription to Inside Kung Fu.. had to mow the line for weeks to pay it off. In addition to my magazine collection I spent my fair share of time whiling away the hours watching “Kung Fu”. I was so young and impressionable i’m sure it helped fuel my passion and interest for martial arts. He and the show did a great deal to increase interest and awareness of Martial Arts in the west.
I think he played a big hand in creating the image and stereotype of the wizened master and pupil , in the mind of western martial arts enthusiasts. We’ve mentioned in previous post, people yearn for this image of a “master”. I’m not hear to say whether it was a good or bad thing, but I think it’s important to recognize his influence on popular culture.
The idea of wandering the earth like Kane, still very much appeals to me. In fact i could think of a better way to spend my life.
Thought I would leave you with a classic clip of the shows intro.
Just saw it was an “accidental hanging”
That usually means one thing….
I saw this the other day on Yahoo News; I was completely shocked! Yahoo claims he was shooting a new film in Thailand at the time; I don’t know what the film was about however. Sad loss……..but something sounds fishy about his death.
i heard he was coming and going.
he was a cracker that tried to be chinese by speaking with a slow lisp and doing 1 mph kung fu kicks. i am surprised any fan of the martial arts has any respect for his joke of a career and portrayal of a chinese kung fu master.
“i heard he was coming and going.”
That was “low blow,” yknocka. He went “balls out” in every movie he did.
On a serious note, I doubt Carradine had anything to do with trying to portray a “master” of any sort. He was just playing a role, which turned out to be a classic.
So cum on!!
How ironic is this. A guy who made his fame playing an Asian guy in non-PC Hollywood dies in Asia of likely suicide. Sorry, I agree with SE.
SE and the others, he was an actor for christ sake. As an actor he achieved a lot, I’m really disappointed reading some comments. He was great in Long Riders and Kill Bill, show some respect.
Gusnark, They’re not lying.
http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/6/5/disbelief-at-carradine-s-death
David was a good actor, check out Bound For Glory or his little part in Scorcese’s Mean Streets.
Definitely to me suspicious the whole affair but hopefully the truth will come out at some point. Sometimes also a persons inner demons get the best of them in moments of weakness.
nop,
you WOULD like kung fu….
SE-
good one… in one post you manage to work in “Cracker” then insult me.
it was a joke. much like carradines role in kung fu.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/06/10/2009-06-10_thai_tabloid_david_carradine_photos_show_fishets_wig_womens_lingerie.html
Thai autopsy find Carradine died due to a ’sex accident’. 2/4 ex-wives agree he liked weird stuff.
so many potential jokes…but i will refrain.
You did catch the part where the Carradine attorney claims jealous Kung-Fu masters may have taken Carradine’s life? No joke that is what he said. Of course I might claim that too rather than acknowledge a 72-year old member of my family died due to furious jacking while wearing fishnets and women’s panties.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL ‘furious jacking’ indeed. i guess he may have had some speed after all. i didnt catch that part but i dont think there’s anyway kung fu masters would be jealous or give a shit about him. i did however catch the part about him going to hardware stores in preparations for a new jacking scenario and his abuse of horses. apparently there are accusations of incest as well. WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW NOPSTAR?
SE and Stack
Sure he stole Bruce Lee fame in that series, and sure he sucked at acting like a trained martial artist, and had it been another white actor who took that part, we would have remembered another name instead. The point being, that the show helped fuel the interest of martial arts, in a western world filled with over exponed sports like Basket and Baseball and Football. For many it is a memory of the first awareness of martial arts in their lifes, no matter how fluky it may get when you grow up, I mean come on Van Damme had a great influence on me, even though now a days im kinda ashamed for thinking he was the ultimate badass. I dont consider Carradines personal life or sexual life at all, Never have, Never will, but I do remember his kung fu part and Kill Bill part, and I enjoyed them. Almost always Sad when a human dies.
So Shady how valid do you think the Carradine attorney claim is that jealous Kung Fu masters crept up on David and killed him? His life style had absolutely everything with him dying I don’t really see how that can be ignored. Carradine not only sucked at acting like a martial artis but his version of a Chinese person is laughably bad. One of the final roles he played before death in 2008 was as ‘Poon Dong’. Yes 21st century black face lives on for some.
he was the equivalent to a white dude doing blackface in this day and age. if you’re of asian heritage and have any self respect whatsoever you are not a fan of this guy. straight up. and had it been any other white actor i would treat him the same. the idea is fucking outrageous. kill bill was also a horrible series.
he also stunted bruce lee’s mission of america gaining acceptance and tolerating asian actors. its bad enough bruce lee had to be the sidekick. carradins role on kung fu was another slap in the face to bruce and all asians/asian americans as far as im concerned.
Hey guys, I was absent for a while but I’m back now. I missed yall.
Anyway……..As much as I agree 99% with SE and Stack (except for the “cracker” reference)……There’s a time and place for everything but I really don’t think this is the appropriate time to discuss his legibility as a martial artist, his performance as an actor or any other easily recognizable flaw we might have held against him when he was alive.
The man just died, he is gone forever and he will never come back…..We need to reflect upon the fact that we have lost a person who (whether we want to accept it or not) has pioneered and helped embed the status of Martial Arts into western civilizations. Where’s the respect?? I thought we were all either martial artist ourselves or fan of MA !!! Aren’t all MAs strongly based on respect for one another (amongst other things)??
Damn!…I really wasn’t expecting to be reading all of this jokes and insults about a man who has just passed away not even a week ago. Especially not on this post and especially not from such knowledgeable guys.
Rest in Peace David, you will be missed.
First welcome back. You were missed.
Second, the topic is Carradine’s death and all known circumstances point to him dying via masturbation accident. You can choose to ignore that if you wish but those are the circumstances surrounding his death. The other events in his history of bizare fetish, alleged incest, and history of suicidal thoughts are extraneous I’d agree.
Last, I think you are way over-rating Carradine’s influence via racial pantomime. Being a fan or martial artist doesn’t mean one openly absorbs or accepts every racist pantomime presented to the world in the guise of martial arts. That’s just a patented silly thing for anyone with the remotest capability for rational thought to accept. Pioneers and innovators do something new or educate people all in the goal of enriching their art or furthering it. Carradine did neither. He’s only a dead fetishist with some bad movies and the most notable of those based on 21st century black face. May be it only offends Asian people and everyone else thinks Carradine was just wicked awesome but you cannot get mad at people for recognizing the news for what it reports.
“He’s only a dead fetishist with some bad movies and the most notable of those based on 21st century black face”.
Stack, you sound like a guy, who doesn’t have a taste for good movies, lol… ok, you’ve made your point. Only SE agrees with you, so it would be probably the best to stop arguing about it. Cause that’s what’s going on.
RIP David.
A taste for good movies? A lot of people thought Little brown sambo in the USA was fine literature too. What can I say? The more educated people become the less racism seems cool.
guess what? kill bill was fucking stupid too. ill stick to reservoir dogs and pulp fiction. a white guys interpretation of a ‘kung fu’ flick complete with random white actors and stupid samurai swords. no thx.
It’s kind of hard to explain isn’t it? It’s like black Americans trying to explain to white kids why saying the n-word to a black person isn’t a cool or funny thing. Some guys understand it right away and some guys don’t.
First, thanx for the warm welcome Stacks…lol…It’s good to be back.
I never ignored the reasons for his death…..as twisted as it may have seem. I might not have been as articulate as I had wished to be previously. what I’m saying that I just find it wrong to spit on a man’s grave. I just figured that most people who had nothing but criticism to say about David ( such as myself) would wait a while before returning to their “F- David Carradine” routine. I say the man just died 5 days ago, so let’s talk about the goodness that he brought during his life rather than the bad things (That’s the media’s job).
Now as far as “racial pantomime” ( and I admit I had to pull out my dictionnary for the word “pantomime”….lol) I agree….as I agree with anything you have said I just didn’t feel like this was the right time. However I do realize that we have fought hard for freedom of speech so ultimately you are entitled to raise your opinion when you feel like it….lol.
S.E……Vivica Fox and Lucy Lui were in Kill Bill………How can u go wrong wit a cast including those two…..Oh and let’s not forget the great Gordon Liu.
This will be my last post on the subject…..RIP David Carridine.
i kind of went all out cus well, THIS IS A MUAY THAI BLOG. i expect more from it. especially our little nopstar.
I agree with Spyda
And I think SE and Stack have good arguments, but Im just not thinking in those lines, when the man just lost his life. Respect to all humans, isnt that what we all want. Yes he came from a Racial discriminating American TV industry, he didnt build it. I also learned about Bruce Lees struggle in america and the Racism he faced, but thats not Carradines fault. RIP
What a way to go…getting freaky in Bangkok!