# Kung Fu's David Carradine Dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691 "2009-06-04T13:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/121 "2009-06-06T02:15:49Z")
The Thai news is saying the CCTV camera inside the hotel near Carradine’s room was not working, so they cannot positively say he was alone that night. Hmmm. Seems like these stupid cameras never work when they need them to. This is at least the third instance this year I’ve heard of about a camera missing a crucial event because it was not operational. The police did say there was only one glass used in the room and that no one else’s fingerprints had been found. Hmmm. _No one_ else’s?? Not even those of the maids or previous guests? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/122 "2009-06-06T02:16:13Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Oops! Actually, that’s pronounced “pawn tip.” But we farangs (Westerners) routinely say “porn tip” without even thinking about it. I too am saddened by Mr. Carradine’s death (I was a big fan of his film work). I feel sorry for his family as well- the whole thing must be very awkward and distressing for them. Also, in some English dialects (Particularly Australia and NZ), “Porn” and “Pawn” are homonyms, for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/123 "2009-06-07T01:12:17Z")
[Carradine’s family wants the FBI to investigate his death](http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-entertainment/ci_12533658). This one mentions that Bangkok policed had “reviewed surveillance footage outside his room,” but the Thai-language TV news claims the CCTV camera near his room had not been working. [Attorney believes Carradine was murdered](http://www.9wsyr.com/entertainment/story/Attorney-believes-Carradine-was-murdered/iPwUZt2l6EuU3Og4j53SXA.cspx?rss=118). Also heard Carradine’s family is aghast at all of the intimate information being freely passed about in the news over here, including by the government’s main pathologist, who is herself a local celebrity. In the West, you may have one police or family spokesman doling out information, but the Thais love their sensational deaths, and my advice is if you’re even halfway famous, try not to die in Thailand under unusual circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/124 "2009-06-07T02:42:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > the government’s main pathologist, who is herself a local celebrity. Hey, we had one of [those](http://www.idfiles.com/malakart8_13_92.htm). I’d managed to forget all about him. Thanks! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/125 "2009-06-07T02:59:32Z")
Ours is [Pornthip Rojanasunand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornthip_Rojanasunand). Always does the Goth look. But she really does do good work. She’s fought so hard against police cover-ups in the past that many are surprised she has not been bumped off by now. Was especially instrumental in identifying remains in the wake of the tsunami. Cancer survivor, too. Not-very-good photo [here](http://www.voanews.com/english/images/tv_13jan04_PornthipRojanasunan_150.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/126 "2009-06-07T03:57:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > … the choke and stroke, a revolutionary new product… You see, I would call it “the Catch and Release”… “for when you’re reelin’ in the Big One!” ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/127 "2009-06-07T15:35:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Hey, we had one of [those](http://www.idfiles.com/malakart8_13_92.htm). I’d managed to forget all about him. Thanks! > :rolleyes: [So did we](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Noguchi). ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/128 "2009-06-07T19:25:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You know, there’s probably money to be made if someone could patent a device that would allow you to choke yourself just enough to get yourself off – but not enough to off yourself. So…I was in London, at a store that sold, um… acoutrements :dubious:. They were showing stuff to other customers, and one of the items was a collar that went around your neck and pumped up like a blood pressure cuff. It had a hose that you had to keep plugged with your finger. The idea is if you pass out, your finger will slip off the hose and, hopefully, you don’t die. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/129 "2009-06-07T20:05:17Z")
You know, these people could just consider . . . holding their breath. In the extremely unlikely event that you pass out, you’ll start breathing again and live to jack off another day. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/130 "2009-06-07T20:41:14Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > You know, these people could just consider . . . holding their breath. Apparently that’s athing to do with some young people. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/131 "2009-06-07T23:37:53Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > So…I was in London, at a store that sold, um… acoutrements :dubious:. They were showing stuff to other customers, and one of the items was a collar that went around your neck and pumped up like a blood pressure cuff. It had a hose that you had to keep plugged with your finger. The idea is if you pass out, your finger will slip off the hose and, hopefully, you don’t die. Really? DAMN, I thought I was going to get rich! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/132 "2009-06-08T01:08:39Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > … > > Anyway, I’m proposing a toast, to the man who - amongst other achievements - made a mediocre TV action series into something mesmerizing. _Cheers_ _Cheers, David Carradine_ (clinks glasses with SP) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/133 "2009-06-08T02:18:41Z")
I have not seen it yet – not sure I want to – but I hear the Thai-language _Thai Rath_ daily newspaper has run a front-page photo of the body as it was found. Hanging in the closet all tied up. But the face is blurred – no doubt to protect his identity. :rolleyes: The police, who seem unconcerned about it, said it must have been taken by a member of the forensics team. I hear the Carradine family is threatening to sue any publication that reprints it. Adding to the surreality, there’s a local politician who has been making the news lately for other things, but to my mind he bears a striking resemblance to David Carradine’s Chinese-gangster character in the recent _Crank: High Voltage_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/134 "2009-06-08T02:28:46Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > [So did we](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Noguchi). As did the Pittsburgh area: [Cyril Wecht - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Wecht) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/135 "2009-06-08T02:36:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As did the Pittsburgh area: [Cyril Wecht - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Wecht) Oh, god, why did you have to remind me? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/136 "2009-06-08T03:02:29Z")
Sorry. I went to high school with one of his sons. Dr. Wecht was omnipresent in the Pittsburgh-area media, as you probably remember. You may have seen this very recent news: [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s\_627811.html](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_627811.html) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/137 "2009-06-08T03:03:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh, god, why did you have to remind me? I was going to post, “Honorable iron clad shoe is on the other foot”, but surely “Wecht is a resident of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.” is vengeance enough, is it not? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/138 "2009-06-08T03:23:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Sorry. I went to high school with one of his sons. Dr. Wecht was omnipresent in the Pittsburgh-area media, as you probably remember. You may have seen this very recent news: [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s\_627811.html](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_627811.html) Yeah, I read that. Thank god – I may not like the guy, but dammit, if you’re going to waste taxpayer money, at least find a better way to do it! Just curious, what was his son like? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/139 "2009-06-08T03:36:55Z")
While his passing is sad, I have to say that when it comes time to shuffle off this mortal coil, that’s not a bad way to do it. Either that or be pierced through the heart by a stingray. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691/140 "2009-06-08T03:56:54Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Another possibility is that he hired a “playmate” and when things went bad, the other person freaked and ran away, assuming he or she would be implicated in the death. Precisely. Given that he was a rich westerner in Thailand, it wouldn’t suprise me that there was a bar girl with him. Indeed, given his kung fu background, perhaps there were several of them hopping up and down in a circle around him while he went at it with one at a time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fus-david-carradine-dies/498691.md?page=8)