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Name: David Carradine
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Date of Birth:
December 08, 1936
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Place of Birth:
Hollywood, California, USA
Mini-bio:
David Carradine is the eldest son of legendary character actor John Carradine and
now presides over an acting family that includes brothers Keith Carradine, Robert
Carradine and Michael Bowen as wel
...( read more)l as his daughter Kansas Carradine and nieces
Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton.
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.
After a two-year stint in the army, he found work in New York as a commercial artist
and later found fame on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun"
opposite Christopher Plummer. With that experience he returned to Hollywood, landing
the short-lived TV series "Shane" (1966) before being tapped to star opposite
Barbara Hershey in Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood film, Boxcar Bertha (1972). The
iconic "Kung Fu" (1972) followed, catapulting Carradine to superstardom for the next
three years, until he left the series to pursue his film career.
That career now includes more than 100 feature films, a couple of dozen television
movies, a whole range of theater on and off Broadway, and another hit series, Kung
Fu: The Legend Continues (1992) (TV). 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 Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory (1976), and won critical
acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in The Long Riders (1980). "Kung Fu" also
received seven Emmy nominations in its first season, including one for Carradine as
Best Actor. In addition he won the People's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival's
"Director's Fortnight" for his work on Americana (1983), and a second Golden Globe
nomination for his supporting role in "North and South" (1985) (mini).
Among his other most notable film credits are Gray Lady Down (1978), Mean Streets
(1973), Bird on a Wire (1990), The Long Goodbye (1973), The Serpent's Egg (1977) and
Circle of Iron (1978).
He recently returned to the screen in what could be his greatest performance to
date, playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) (Miramax), for which he received his fourth Golden Globe
nomination.
Carradine has also continued his devotion to music, and has recorded some 60 tracks
from various musical genres and sung in several movies. He makes his home in Los
Angeles with his wife Annie, her four children and their two dogs.