We'll Miss You, Grasshopper

[water_bug_62208]

Looks like we lost David Carradine.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...d/6458732.html

He certainly brought something quite unique in whatever role he played. The Wild West Tech series on the History Channel were pretty cool.

[jack c]

Kung Fu was on TV when I was in high school and college (1st time, I'm a retread). Groundbreaking show - 1st time use of slow motion for action and fight scenes - seems routine nowadays. Also a great supporting role in the Kill Bill series with Uma Thurman. Yeah, I kind of felt like someone punched me in the gut when I read today on YAHOO that he had died in Thailand. It's too bad that it looks like a suicide - what a waste.

[Weapon X]

Kung Fu was on TV when I was in high school and college (1st time, I'm a retread). Groundbreaking show - 1st time use of slow motion for action and fight scenes - seems routine nowadays. Also a great supporting role in the Kill Bill series with Uma Thurman. Yeah, I kind of felt like someone punched me in the gut when I read today on YAHOO that he had died in Thailand. It's too bad that it looks like a suicide - what a waste.

It's funny that you mention Kung Fu. I was just thinking earlier today about that one episode where the fugitive jumps into quicksand to save a kid and David pulled them out...never did see that episode again, or any clip from it, since I was a kid. I never did see the Kill Bill series, but I did like his other works. Damn, I feel like I'm getting old, what with these actors and actresses leaving us like this.

[Nessie]

I remember never missing that show when I was a teenager. Not only was it a good show, but for about a year I had a serious crush on the star.

I thought he was just totally cool.

This is sad.

Nessie

[MadMax359]

what i loved about Kung Fu (besides the opening scene, that never got old) was how hard he tried, really tried, to turn away violence with non-violence until he had no other option but to kick some ass

[Kookus]

It's too bad that it looks like a suicide - what a waste.

News from Thailand suggests it may have been more of an accident than a suicide.

[Robert]

I was a big fan of the kung-fu series but my favorite performance was in the movie "The Long Riders" he did with his brothers.

Rest in Peace David

[Mynock]

I'm too young to remember the Kung Fu series, but he was awesome in the Kill Bill movies.
Not sure what to think about how he died though.....

[Duncan Edwards]

I was at the age where Kung Fu inspired a lot of us to injure ourselves trying to mimick Mr. Carradine's skills. Like his father John, who appeared in EVERYTHING, he believed there were no small roles, only small actors. For some reason his role as the driver "Frankenstein" in Death Race 2000 really sticks out in my memory. Possibly because we snuck in to the Plaza theater and it was the first time I saw a naked lady in a movie. Great flick but I digress. Kill Bill returned some of the Kung Fu mystique in time for him to go out at the top of his game.

The latest news indicates that he may have left this world under questionable circumstances. It's a lesson everyone here should take so we don't have to explain anything of our friends or have them do likewise for us.

[jack c]

I prefer, like when John Lennon was shot, to focus on the entertainment and joy that, as a performer, David Carradine gave us, rather than the imperfections of his life, or death. I remember, in high school, when Kung Fu came on, everything stopped for every young person I knew - everyone watched every show weekly. It was a true cult phenomenon. The show, while frequently violent, did not promote violence. It portrayed restraint, with violence only as a last resort. I kind of enjoyed watching as, Caine went from shaved head to long hair (no haircuts in the old west) over the three seasons. I wished my parents would have afforded me the same flexibility. Good memories - rest in peace, David.