I'll Miss David Carradine

David Carradine was a true legend, and man of zen and collected calm who elevated any film or tv show he was in. He could even make a Yellow Pages commercial cool with his presence. Even if the movie wasn't that good, if Carradine was in it, I was watching.



David Carradine will be remembered best as Cain in the early-seveties television series Kung-Fu, a show that will always have a certain amount of controversy. Did the network steal Bruce Lee's concept? Did Hollywood racism lead to a caucasion actor taking a "yellowface" role? I'll leave that debate to others. When you watch Carradine practice his craft, it's clear that he portrayed martial arts and asian culture with a heartfelt respect to it's Eastern roots. Whatever the circumstances, he helped usher something new and exciting into Western entertainment.


He cemented his image as a master of zen in the terrific film Circle of Iron, (based on a story by Bruce Lee) where he took on four separate roles that were more about philosophy than kicking butt. It's an amazing, inspiring movie that will make you want to take a long walk in the mountains and think about life...


As much as I love his martial arts flicks, my personal favorite David Carradine movie is the 1976 Roger Corman classic Death Race 2000. Carradine plays a cynical anti-hero trained for the sole purpose of unleashing mayhem for our entertainment. (I get giddy just thinking about it!) It's a very different character from Kung Fu's Cain, but the cool factor is still there. It's exactly the right mix of twisted satire and black comedy....



During the eighties, He took on some villainous parts and showed that he did the bad-guy gig quite well. He clashed with Chuck Norris in Lone Wolf McQuade, which also happens to be my favorite Chuck Norris movie. The final fight scene is a classic moment of cable TV action-movie greatness.



Through the nineties he kept quite busy, offering his voice to animated films, and even reprising his role as Cain in a revival Kung-Fu series. And then into the new millennium you have Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, where Carradine delivers some of his most amazing and powerful acting.....



The man leaves behind an incredible body of work to be proud of. IMDB credits him with over 200 movies. He may not be with us anymore, but there's still plenty David Carradine has to offer. I look forward to the films I have yet to see.



Take care, Grasshopper. May you find zen.