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David Carradine ( KARR-ə-deen; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, 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 (1972) and Mean Streets (1973), 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. Early life Carradine was born John Arthur Carradine Jr., on December 8, 1936, in Hollywood, California, the eldest child of actor John Carradine (1906–1988) and his wife Ardanelle Abigail (née McCool) Carradine (1911–1989). He was a half-brother of Bruce, Keith, Christopher, and Robert Carradine, and an uncle of Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton, most of whom are also actors. Primarily of Irish descent, he was a great-grandson of Methodist evangelical author Beverly Carradine: 5  and a grandnephew of artist Will Foster.: 17 : 1  Called "Jack" by his family, Carradine had a turbulent childhood. His parents divorced and repeatedly remarried; he was born to his mother's second marriage of three, and his father's first of four. At the time of Carradine's parents' marriage, his mother already had a son by her first husband, whom John adopted. John Carradine had planned to have a large family, but later he discovered his wife had gotten two abortions without his knowledge, and afterward a miscarriage rendered her unable to carry a baby to term.: 47–49  Against this backdrop of marital discord, David almost succeeded in dying by suicide by hanging at the age of five. He said the incident followed his discovery that he and his elder half-brother, Bruce, who had been adopted by John, had different biological fathers. Carradine added, "My father saved me, and then confiscated my comic book collection and burned it—which was scarcely the point." After three years of marriage, Ardenelle filed for divorce from John, but they remained married for five more years. Divorce finally came in 1944, when Carradine was seven. His father left California to avoid court action in the alimony settlement. After the couple had a series of court battles over child custody and alimony, which at one point landed John in jail, David joined his father in New York City; by this time, his father had remarried. On December 25, 1947, David appeared in a live telecast adaptation of A Christmas Carol, with his father in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.: 72  For the next few years, David spent time in boarding schools, foster homes, and reform school. He also often accompanied his father to summer theater throughout the Northeast. Carradine spent time in Massachusetts, and a winter milking cows on a farm in Vermont. Oakland Eventually, David Carradine returned to California, where he graduated from Oakland High School. He attended Oakland Junior College (now Laney College) for a year before transferring to San Francisco State College, where he studied drama and music theory, and wrote music for the drama department's annual revues while juggling menial jobs, a fledgling stage acting career, and his studies. After he dropped out of college, Carradine spent some time with the "beatniks" of San Francisco's North Beach and southern California's Venice. During this time he collected unemployment insurance and sold baby pictures. He was also prosecuted for disturbing the peace. Army service Despite an attempt to dodge the draft, in 1960 Carradine was inducted into the United States Army, where he drew pictures for training aids. That Christmas he married his high school sweetheart, Donna Lee Becht. While stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia, he helped establish a theater company that became known as the "entertainment unit". He met fellow inductee Larry Cohen, who later cast him in Q, The Winged Serpent. He also faced court-martial for shoplifting. In 1962, Donna gave birth to their daughter, Calista. Carradine was honorably discharged after two years of active duty. Film and television career Early TV and film appearances Upon leaving the Army, Carradine became serious about acting. He was advised to change his name to avoid confusion with his famous father. In an interview from 2005 Carradine says his father encouraged him going into acting: "The first thing I ever did outside of school, which was a production of Romeo & Juliet, he came up from Hollywood to San Francisco to see it. And right after he just sort of opened up to me with all this advice. He became very proud of me." In 1963, he made his television debut on an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre, "Secret Document X256". Several other television roles followed, including appearances on Wagon Train, East Side/West Side, Arrest and Trial, The Virginian, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In 1964 Carradine appeared as "The Utah Kid" on The Virginian in the episode "The Intruders". Carradine got a contract with Universal. The studio gave him his feature film debut in Taggart (1964), a western based on a Louis L'Amour novel. It also cast him in Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965). In May 1964, Carradine joined the cast of the Broadway play The Deputy by Rolf Hochhuth, replacing Jeremy Brett. When the play ended he was still under contract to Universal, and resumed TV work. He spent a lot of time playing, in his words, "greenhorns in Westerns and villains in thrillers". Carradine guest-starred in The Trials of O'Brien in episodes that were cut together and released theatrically as Too Many Thieves (1967), and Coronet Blue. The Royal Hunt of the Sun Carradine's first big break came with.... Discover the William Coy Caine popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William Coy Caine books.