
David Carradine (born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, playing Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk travelling through the American Old West. He also portrayed the title character of both of the Kill Bill films. He appeared in two Martin Scorsese films: Boxcar Bertha and Mean Streets. David Carradine was a member of the Carradine family of actors that began with his father, John Carradine. The elder Carradine's acting career, which included major and minor roles on stage, television, and in cinema, spanned more than four decades. A prolific "B" movie actor, David Carradine appeared in more than 100 feature films in a career spanning more than six decades. He received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his work on Kung Fu, and received three additional Golden Globe nominations for his performances in the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory (1976), the television miniseries North and South (1985), and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. 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. These posthumous credits were from a variety of genres including action, documentaries, drama, horror, martial arts, science fiction, and westerns. In addition to his acting career, Carradine was a director and musician. Moreover, influenced by his Kung Fu role, he studied martial arts. On April 1, 1997, Carradine received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Carradine, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Mike Jones's Video Boneyard archive currently preserves 50 physical recordings spanning 3 productions featuring David Carradine.
The following 3 canonical motion pictures and broadcast master recordings featuring David Carradine are preserved in the studio archives:
| Year | Production Title | Character / Role | Director / Studio | The Video Boneyard | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Night Gallery: S02E05 - The Phantom Farmhouse / Silent Snow, Secret Snow | Gideon | Unknown / Archive | Vault Archive Master | Archival Master |
| 1972 | Kung Fu 48 Copies | Kwai Chang Caine | Unknown / Archive | Vault Archive Master | Archival Master |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Killer | Leading Role | Unknown / Archive | Vault Archive Master | Archival Master |
Major theatrical features, landmark television appearances, and key credited roles across David Carradine's historic screen career:
| Year | Production Title | Character / Role | Department / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee | Actor (Television) |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Clint | Actor (Television) |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter | Actor (Television) |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self | Actor (Television) |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Edward Clarke | Actor (Television) |
| 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self | Actor (Television) |
| 1962 | The Virginian | The Utah Kid | Actor (Television) |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | Wally Carpen | Actor (Television) |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Fitzhugh | Actor (Television) |
| 1965 | Bus Riley's Back in Town | Stretch | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1965 | Taggart | Cal Dodge | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1966 | Shane | Shane | Actor (Television) |
| 1966 | Too Many Thieves | Felix | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip | Gene Gauge | Actor (Television) |
| 1967 | Ironside | Pogo Weems | Actor (Television) |
| 1967 | Johnny Belinda | Locky | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1967 | The Hunted | Gene Gauge | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1967 | The Violent Ones | Lucas Barnes | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1968 | The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest | Actor (Television) |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game | Jason Blake | Actor (Television) |
| 1969 | Heaven with a Gun | Coke Beck | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1969 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | Waco | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1969 | Young Billy Young | Jesse Boone | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1970 | Night Gallery | Gideon | Actor (Television) |
| 1970 | The McMasters | White Feather | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1971 | Macho Callahan | David Mountford | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1971 | Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring | Flack | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1972 | Boxcar Bertha | Big Bill Shelly | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1972 | Kung Fu | Kwai Chang Caine | Actor (Television) |
| 1972 | Kung Fu | Director | Director (Television) |
| 1972 | Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon | Kwai Chang Caine | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1973 | Mean Streets | Drunk | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1973 | The Long Goodbye | Dave aka Socrates (uncredited) | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1975 | Death Race 2000 | Frankenstein | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1975 | Les Rendez-vous du dimanche | Self | Actor (Television) |
| 1975 | Long Way Home | Craw Dantley | Actor (Feature Film) |
| 1975 | Midi Première | Self | Actor (Television) |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Self - Host | Actor (Television) |
| 1975 | The Family Holvak | Craw | Actor (Television) |
| 1975 | You and Me | Zeto | Actor (Feature Film) |