Actor David Carradine died on the 3rd of June in Bangkok, Thailand, aged 72 years.

Carradine was the eldest son of legendary character actor John Carradine. He was born in Hollywood and educated at San Francisco State College, where he studied music theory and composition. It was while writing music for the Drama Department’s annual revues that he discovered his own passion for the stage, joining a Shakespearean repertory company and learning his craft on his feet.

His first break came when he was cast opposite Barbara Hershey in ‘Boxcar Bertha‘, but he would go on to become best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine (’Grasshopper’), a Shaolin priest travelling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired in 1972-75.  His subsequent career included more than 100 feature films, including the cult movie ‘Death Race 2000‘ as well as a return to TV, playing the grandson of his original character in ‘Kung Fu: The Legend Continues’ (1993-1997).

Carradine received the Best Actor Award from the National Board of Film Review as well as a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie in ‘Bound for Glory‘ (1976)  and won critical acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in ‘The Long Riders‘ (1980), and a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in ‘North & South‘ (1985).

While Carradine spent the majority of the 80’s & 90’s in low budget B movies Quentin Tarantino resurrected his career in 2003, casting him as the title character in ‘Kill Bill, Vol. 1‘, & ‘Kill Bill, Vol. 2‘, where his portrayal of ‘Bill’ the sinister sword wielding head of a team of crack assassins, gained him a new cult following & his fourth Golden Globe nomination.