John Arthur "David" Carradine was born in Hollywood, California on December 8, 1936. He was an American actor best known for his work in the 1970s television series Kung Fu and more recently in the Kill Bill films. He appeared in more than 100 feature films and was nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award. Carradine supported causes that faught abuse, sought a cure for AIDS, advocated childrens rights and fought against hunger and poverty.
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumvit, in central Bangkok, Thailand. A police official said Carradine was found hanging by a rope in the room's closet, and the Bangkok Post reported that his body was found curled up in the wardrobe with a shoelace tied around his neck. The same officer said: "Under these circumstances we cannot be sure that he committed suicide." Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot his latest movie, Stretch, and was expected to join the film crew for dinner on June 3. The crew noticed his absence when going out, but they assumed that he took a rest because of his age. On June 5, the Carradine family lawyer Mark Geragos spoke on Larry King Live and dismissed claims of suicide, stating instead that David Carradine could have been murdered by a secret sect of kung fu assassins, after it was revealed that Carradine had been attempting to uncover groups working in the martial-arts underworld.