David Carradine

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Birth Name: John Arthur Carradine

Date of Birth: December 8, 1936

Place of Birth: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Death: June 3, 2009

Place of Death: Nai Lert Park Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Ethnicity: English, along with German, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch

David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist. He was known for his role on the television series Kung Fu, and in the Kill Bill films.

He was the son of Ardanelle Abigail (McCool) and actor John Carradine (born Richmond Reed Carradine), and the half-brother of actors Christopher Carradine, Keith Carradine, and Robert Carradine. David was married to Annie Bierman, until his death. He had a daughter with his former wife Donna Lee Becht; a son with his former partner, actress Barbara Hershey; and a daughter, actress Kansas Carradine, with his former wife Linda Gilbert. He was the uncle of actresses Martha Plimpton, Ever Carradine, and Sorel Carradine.

In an interview with Stuff (a website), David stated that he had Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian, and Cherokee Native American ancestry. David had English, with smaller amounts of German, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry (smaller to varying degees). However, no verified Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian, or Cherokee Native American ancestry appears in publicly available family trees of David Carradine.

The surname Carradine is sometimes said to have an Italian or Spanish origin. David’s last traceable patrilineal ancestor is believed to have been a man named Parker Carradine, who was born in Georgia, in North America, c. 1755. There is no evidence that Parker had Italian or Spanish ancestry.

In the Kung Fu series, David played the part of a Shaolin priest named Kwai Chang Caine, who is Eurasian. David had mentioned that many Chinese people actually thought that he had some Chinese ancestry.

David died at the age of 72, in a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 3, 2009. He was in Thailand to shoot a film at the time.

David’s paternal grandfather was William Reed Carradine (the son of The Rev. Beverly Francis Carradine and Laura Green Reid/Reed). William was born in Mississippi. Beverly, a Methodist religious author, was the son of Henry Francis Carradine and Mary Caroline Hewitt. Laura was likely the daughter of David Young Reid and Martha Alice Goss.

David’s paternal grandmother was Genevieve Winifred Richmond (the daughter of Horace Culver Richmond and Winifred/Winifrede “Winnie” Ryan). Genevieve was born in New York. Horace was the son of Killian van Rensselaer Richmond and Emily Culver, who was from New Hampshire.

David’s maternal grandfather was Ambrose Rucker McCool (the son of John S. McCool and Lucy C. Rucker). Ambrose was born in Illinois. John was the son of Thomas McCool and Hannah Dinsmore. Lucy was the daughter of Ambrose Rucker and Miranda Haase.

David’s maternal grandmother was Edith Foster (the daughter of William Bolliver Foster and Emma Koch). Edith was born in Ohio. William was possibly the son of Joseph Foster and Louisa Jane Coleman.

Sources: A discussion of the Carradine family’s origins – http://www.familytreecircles.com

Genealogies of David Carradine – https://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com

Genealogies of David Carradine (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com
https://www.wikitree.com