Ric Meyers is a former Inside Kung-Fu “Writer of the Year.” Ric Meyers is a former Inside Kung-Fu “Writer of the Year.”
“Where your talents and the needs of the world cross lies your calling.”
– Aristotle
“Just because fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.”
– Les Brown
He set out to become the superstar his father had wanted to be. Although today John Carradine is revered as a fan favorite for performances in everything from The Grapes of Wrath (1940) to Billy the Kid Vs Dracula (1966)—in a career that spanned 70 years and more than 300 films and TV shows—he apparently never felt he was allowed to be his best. His young son, David, decided to seek revenge for this paternal insult, but was soon at logger heads on which career path to properly take vengeance.
Shakespeare was down one road. But musicals were down another. Although he asked his father if he could take dancing lessons, John Carradine reportedly replied, “No son of mine will ever make a living with his feet.” The rebelliousness that was to underscore his entire career held sway, and David Carradine maintained that he found a way to learn dance without his father’s approval. That fleetness and lightness of foot was to come in handy.
A Monk’s Calling
But the one persona he never expected take on was the personification of the Shaolin monk in America, hunching to hide his 6-foot-2 frame, and even allowing a make-up crew to angle his eyes.
But he began on television in a variety of dramatic, crime, and western roles at the advanced age of 27. Prior to that he was finding his way through school and the stage. He continued his Western ways for his first film, 1965’s Taggart, based on a Louis L’Amour novel, but his greatest success that year was winning the Theater World Award for Best Debut Performance in The
Royal Hunt of the Sun on Broadway.
Unfortunately, that triumph held little water in Hollywood. He starred as the title character in a TV adaptation of the hit movie Shane, but that only lasted 16 episodes. Then he was relegated to the weekly grind of guest appearances on different television series and co-starring roles in minor movies—appearing in more than a dozen over the next six years.
Life Imitates Art
But unbeknownst to the established actor who was still struggling to find his way, a real-life drama was going on which would shape his fate. Hollywood honchos Ed Spielman (The Young Riders), Jerry Thorpe (The Untouchables), and Herman Miller (Coogan’s Bluff) had created a heartfelt, unusual script about Kwai Chang Caine, a Chinese Shaolin monk who righted wrongs in the American West using Buddhist philosophy, Taoist psychology, and martial arts skills. Now all they needed was a star to pull it off.
Those in the know begged for the man who co-starred as Kato on The Green Hornet TV show. Others, however, were concerned that their prime demographic (or, more specifically, the network sponsors) might not be thrilled with a “minority” actor in the leading role. Once executives heard about the incredible feats kung-fu was capable of, however, they insisted that a big, burly, muscular actor was the only way to go.
Spielman, Thorpe, and Miller knew that would be a disaster, so the crew suggested the sensitive, talented young man who had starred as Shane as a great compromise. Their gambit worked. Carradine satisfied all parties and the still-somewhat-struggling actor took to the role like a white crane in the Chinese marshes. His work on “Kung Fu” gave him great artistic and critical success, leading to nominations for Emmys and Golden Globes as well as awards from around the world.
A Star is Born
During his three-season run on the series he also found time to star in one of Martin Scorsese’s earliest films, Boxcar Bertha (1972), co-starring the beautiful Barbara Hershey, with whom Carradine shared an eventful, well-publicized relationship. The actor had hit his stride, and was on a roll.
He followed “Kung Fu” with the leads in the “grindhouse” classics Death Race 2000 (1975) and Cannonball (1976), then the mainstream milestone Bound for Glory (1976), where he starred in the life story of revered folk singer Woody Guthrie (the composer of “This Land is Your Land,” among many other standards). That led to another Golden Globe nomination and a “Best Actor” award from the National Board of Review.
But the excesses of that “tune in, turn on, drop out” era did not leave Carradine unscathed. Although he starred in Serpent’s Egg (1977), renowned Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s only completely non-Swedish production, his connection to the man many thought he replaced in the “Kung Fu” series was sealed in 1978 when he starred in Circle of Iron, which was a radically rewritten version of a screen story created by the late star of Enter the Dragon.
By then, battered on all sides by prying reporters and critics, Carradine sought solace in a wild mix of class acts (1980’s The Long Riders and TV movie Gauguin the Savage) and grindhouse goodies (1978’s Deathsport, 1982’s Q). But when the smoke cleared, everyone agreed that his greatest claim to fame was Caine, the earnest, serene, Shaolin “grasshopper” who had so much to both teach and learn.
Eventually he would become both Carradine’s bane and haven. Despite his kung-fu skills never appreciating to any comparable degree to the likes of Gordon Liu, Jackie Chan, or Jet Li, he was still in demand for martial art movies, TV roles, commercials, and even instructional videos—most notably in 1983’s Lone Wolf McQuade, where star Chuck Norris opined, “(He’s) about as good a martial artist as I am an actor.”
Nevertheless, his association with Caine and “Kung Fu” was a serene port in the stormy life of an actor. Amid many guest starring appearances, Carradine returned to the role in 1986’s Kung Fu: The (TV) Movie (co-starring Brandon Lee), and again in 1992’s Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, which led to its own spin-off series from 1993-1997. Despite dozens and dozens of jobs in a multitude of television shows and low-budget movies, Carradine didn’t return to his rightful place in the public eye until his title role in Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003) and Volume 2 (2004).
In those seminal flicks, Carradine cemented his hard-fought reputation as a larger-than-life acting icon and martial art idol. And he never looked back. He did nearly 50 performances following that, and, at the time of his tragic, untimely, death, he had nearly 10 more lined up. David Carradine is survived by brothers, Christopher, Keith, and Robert; his son Free, his daughters Calista and Kansas, and perhaps millions of fans he influenced to seek, understand, and learn kung-fu.
“It’s all true,” he said to me when talking of his legend, and I take solace in the fact that, whatever his high and lows, he lived life on his own terms, experienced more than men twice his age, and was probably more surprised than anyone that he made it this far.
Rest in peace, David Carradine. Kwai Chang Caine will probably live forever.
Carradine on Caine:
“I wasn't like a TV star in those days, I was like a rock and roll star. It was a phenomenon kind of thing. It wasn't like someone in sitcom. It was very special.”
What Others Are Saying!
“In 1972, I was a wide-eyed, impressionable teenager searching for someone or something to believe in. A new TV show called “Kung Fu” starring David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine forever changed the direction of my life. David Carradine's’character, “Caine,” was a masterful Shaolin monk: virtuous, humble, honorable, brave and highly skilled in kung-fu. Within weeks of watching kung-fu, I started my own path to a life of martial arts.
“At that time, David Carradine's “Caine” ignited a kung-fu movement in the United States, unparalleled in scope and reach. The martial arts world owes David Carradine a debt which can never truly be paid. The legend continues.”
-- Sifu Joseph Simonet
“I was deeply saddened by the news of David Carradine's passing. We met when we made Boxcar Bertha together, almost 40 years ago. I have very fond memories of our time together on that picture and on Mean Streets, where he agreed to do a brief cameo. David was a great collaborator, a uniquely talented actor, and a wonderful spirit. He loved movies, acting in movies, making movies, and he was always extremely generous.”
--Martin Scorsese
“In the late 1960s through the 1970s, I became a law enforcement officer for the city of San Diego and later for the county. At this time I was also teaching martial arts to a few people. There were many acts of violence in the streets and schools but most were more content to turn their back to it . I tried to get the true act of martial arts into the schools, but no one was willing to take a chance. Teachers were very much opposed to the idea. They did not understand the concept and philosophies of the martial arts.
“Even the law enforcement agencies were against fellow officers getting involved in contact martial arts. They would allow judo or aikido, but not kung-fu or karate. Then came David Carradine and “Kung Fu.” Caine’s attitude and philosophy, the entire concept of the show, changed the thinking of many, including the school board, teachers, parents, even law enforcement. The airing of the TV show and the character “Caine” assisted those seeking the true meaning of the art. In some way he was the Bruce Lee of his time.”
-- Kara-Ho Kenpo Grandmaster Sam Kuoha
“David was one of the first actors I ever worked with when I started my career and the closest person to a brother that I ever had in my life. It is shocking to me that he is no longer with us. I had been thinking about calling him for the last several days and advise anybody who has been thinking about reaching out to a loved one to do so. I have so many great memories of David that I wouldn't even know where to begin. He has a very special place in my heart.”
--Michael Madsen
“The name David Carradine is synonymous with the art of kung-fu. With the tremendously successful TV series entitled “Kung Fu,” he became a household celebrity and a true icon. Through his travels in China and America, the young monk taught us all the virtues of honor, truthfulness with unequaled bravery. Through our TV sets we traveled with him on a weekly journey. We concord back guys while searching deep within ourselves.
“As a martial arts practitioner who has owned and operated a business since 1975, David Carradine became very important to me. His message was heard throughout the land and students wishing to emmulate the young monk flocked to our doors. Even now, over 30 years later, our children’s class still sits in front of a TV while we play the wondrous episodes for them. Carradine is still teaching good values to our children through his character “Caine,” as well as taking us all on continuous journey. Here is a big “ushhh” to you David Carradine.”
--Pai Lum grandmaster Glenn C. Wilson
“Martial arts was a very foreign concept. You saw little bits of it here and there, but it was by no means a mainstream thing like it is now, and he’s one of the instrumental elements that helped make that happen. He helped put it on the map and make it something that's very recognizable and mainstream.”
-- Marc Clebanoff, director of Break,
one of Carradine’s last films
“People like to knock other people, because it make them feel good. There is bad in all of us. It is easy to throw rocks at a dead man. I worked a lot of movies with David Carradine and he was away a pro. This man helped not only kung-fu but martial art in general. He helped put his art on the map.”
--“Judo” Gene LeBell
“My uncle David was a brilliantly talented, fiercely intelligent and generous man. He was the nexus of our family in so many ways, and drew us together over the years and kept us connected. I adored him as a child, and as an adult I admired and respected him. We will all miss him terribly, and are so grateful for everyone's condolences.”
--Martha Plimpton
“R.I.P. David Carradine. You were a true hero to so many of us children of the 70s. We’ll miss you, Kwai Chang Caine.”
--Rainn Wilson, via Twitter
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