Posts Tagged ‘David Carradine’

Kurt Schlichter

Has America Gone Crazy the Last Two Weeks?

by Kurt Schlichter

On a trip that included a leg in a Blackhawk helicopter, I stepped off a KLM jet at LAX Monday after nearly a day in the air and found that apparently, during a short 9-day absence, my country had gone insane. 

I was in Kosovo and largely out of touch with things happening back here in the States.  I had no Internet, limited phone connectivity, and access only to CNN.  This means that while I was gone I received nothing in the way of useful information.  So imagine my surprise at all the news when I returned home.

 

Maybe you were not aware of it, but apparently the United States government now pretty much owns General Motors. I’m going to say that again, because it’s nuts – especially to those of us a certain age (44) who always saw GM as pretty much the Cadillac of American capitalism. The government owns General Motors.  Let that notion roll around in your think-gourd for a few seconds. 

I’m not really clear on the technical political science term for this phenomenon, since at UC San Diego my major was Coors Light with a minor in failed relationships, but that sounds an awful lot like socialism.  (more…)

John Nolte

David Carradine: Bound for Glory

by John Nolte

Many artists long for one thing above all else and that’s a kind of immortality. They long to create or to be a part of something that will live on past them – that will live on for as long as there’s a civilization and maybe beyond. David Carradine achieved that early in a long career. Perhaps, too early.

A look at Carradine’s resume is a look at an actor who loved to work, relentlessly searched out paychecks, or both. My guess is that genetics might have played a part. His old man, John Carradine, has a list of credits longer than the end titles of a Michael Bay movie.

There are stories about David Carradine. Plenty of them. And if today’s reports prove true — if he indeed did hang himself in some Bangkok hotel room, well, obviously there was some bad news, personal demons, or a toxic mixture of both. Whatever it was, I’m not interested in hearing the story or passing it along. Unless it’s in self-defense, demystifying movie stars borders on the profane in this house.

Whatever it was, I hope he’s found peace. (more…)

S.T. Karnick

Legacy: David Carradine and ‘Kung Fu’

by S.T. Karnick

Prolific actor David Carradine, best known for the Kung Fu TV series, the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill, and a series of ads for telephone directories, has been found dead in the closet of his hotel room in Thailand, where he was about to begin participation in a new film.

Preliminary reports have the death as a suicide by hanging.

 

The circumstances of his death, however, should not be allowed to overshadow his accomplishments as an actor.

As the son of actor John Carradine, David Carradine both benefited from his Hollywood family connection and rebelled against the industry that employed him. He appeared in a few very good movies, such as Bound for Glory and The Long Riders, and many, many very poor ones. He played a wide variety of roles, with numerous appearances as villains, some of which were quite memorable, even in some very bad films. (more…)