David Carradine Found Dead

David Carradine (72) was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room Wednesday.

Carradine was staying in Room 352 of the Park Nai Lert Hotel in the Thai Capital while shooting a movie, Stretch, according to The Nation, a Bangkok-based newspaper. Carradine failed to appear with the rest of the crew for dinner on Wednesday and could not be contacted.

On Thursday around 10 a.m. a maid discovered his body. Carradine was found hanging in a closet half-naked with a curtain-rope around his neck, according to more than one report, though no official cause of death has been released.

Binder, the actor’s manager, told the BBC he found the news "shocking" and added: "He was full of life, always wanting to work."

We are equally shocked. Carradine has always been one of our favorite actors, ever since he appeared as a wandering Shaolin monk in the 1970s television series Kung Fu. We can’t imagine him taking his own life.

The hit show Kung Fu was created by real martial arts star Bruce Lee, who was supposed to appear in the series he created, but was replaced with Carradine because producers were concerned about Asian prejudice at the time hurting the success of the show.