David Carradine

David Carradine ( KARR-ə-deen; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, martial artist, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage, spanning more than six decades. He was widely known to television audiences as the star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, playing Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk traveling through the American Old West.

A member of the Carradine family of actors, he got his break playing Atahuallpa in the Broadway play The Royal Hunt of the Sun. He appeared in two early Martin Scorsese films: Boxcar Bertha and Mean Streets, and played Woody Guthrie in the critically-acclaimed biopic Bound for Glory (1976), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He received nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his work on Kung Fu.

Later in his career, he became known for his B movie and martial arts roles, but experienced a resurgence after playing the title character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill duology. He received additional Golden Globe nominations for his performances in the television miniseries North and South (1985), and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. On April 1, 1997, Carradine received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Throughout his life, Carradine was arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses, which often involved substance abuse. Films that featured Carradine continued to be released after his death. In addition to his acting career, Carradine was a director and musician. Moreover, influenced by his Kung Fu role, he studied martial arts, particularly Shaolin quan.