Thursday, June 4, 2009

David Carradine: Suicide or Accident?

UPDATE, June 5, 2009: Thai police: Carradine death may be accidental

The body of American actor David Carradine, best known for the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu," was found in a hotel room closet with a rope tied to his neck and genitals, and his death may have been accidental suffocation, Thai police said Friday.

...[O]ne of Carradine's managers, Tiffany Smith of Binder & Associates, dismissed the [suicide] theory.

"All we can say is, we know David would never have committed suicide," said Tiffany Smith, of Binder & Associates, his management company. "We're just waiting for them to finish the investigation and find out what really happened. He really appreciated everything life has to give ... and that's not something David would ever do to himself."

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The Associated Press is reporting that actor David Carradine apparently committed suicide.
BANGKOK (AP) -- Actor David Carradine, a born seeker and cult idol who broke through as the willing student called "grasshopper" in the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" and decades later as leader of an assassin squad in "Kill Bill," was found dead Thursday in Thailand. Police said he appeared to have hanged himself.

The officer responsible for investigating the death, Teerapop Luanseng, said the 72-year-old actor was staying at a suite at the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.

"I can confirm that we found his body, naked, hanging in the closet," Teerapop said. He said police suspected suicide.

A representative for David Carradine is saying that his death was accidental.

From TMZ:

We just spoke to a rep for David Carradine, who claims the actor's death was not a suicide.

The rep said David's death was "accidental." And there's this ... the BBC is now reporting that David's body was found hanging with a rope around his neck and "other parts of his body."

...David's rep added, "We can confirm 100% that he never would have committed suicide. It was an accidental death. Everybody is in shock."

Very sad.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

He had made previous comments that had some weird suicidal overtones, but it still is hard to see why he would do so when his career had finally begun to swing up. Though Thailand has been a quality ally and one of the few bastions of real cultural freedom in Asia, it is still a third-world country. This is gonna get interesting.

Mary said...

When I saw the story on the AP wire that he was found dead, I assumed it was of natural causes.

I didn't expect his death to be under these circumstances.

It certainly doesn't help that it happened in Thailand.

His family and friends must be devastated.

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

His family and friends must be devastated.

I know his son, Mary.

Mary said...

Oh, my God, WS.

I hope he finds some comfort in knowing that many, many people are praying for him and his family.