This morning we woke up with the news that the suicide fact of well known Hollywood movie actor David Carradine is disputed. People close to him say David never called a suicide hotline, did not appear to suffer from depression and never mentioned receiving treatment from depression. Thai police says Carradine was not murdered and most likely died from asphyxiation, reports WashPost.
Below we found a very good coverage from "Write Where You Are", where the author discusses David Carradine's death, calling it a sad end for a talented actor.
David Carradine was a very talented actor. He had a long career in television, on stage and in the movies. He made an impression on many by the types of roles that he took. There was always a little mystery surrounding him as a person. He came across as a person who kept much of his life private; he was a shy person, according to some of his own statements. David came from a talented family of actors, so, it is no surprise that he was skilled at what he did.
If you grew up during the 70’s like I did, you remember him from his television days. He was on "Gunsmoke". Most noteworthy to a kid growing up during that time - he was a wise man on the show. He used his martial art skills in life to teach and inspire a young trainee on the television show "Kung Fu". Kids all around the nation wanted to be like “young grasshopper” with an adult who took the time to mentor him in life lessons.
"Kung Fu" made a huge impression on a whole generation of young Americans. It opened the door to learning martial arts for many. David, and his show, made it cool to study the various forms of martial arts. The show put David in a bit of a leadership position with his fans. Today, we sadly, learned that David Carradine was found dead of a suspected suicide in Bankok, Thailand. His body was discovered nude, hanging with a hotel curtain cord around his neck.
Some people who know him say, he would not have taken his life, at this time, even though he struggled with suicidal thoughts in his past years. Those who do not believe he committed suicide say that his career was in an upswing and so was his personal life. A few years ago, his career took on a new life with the movie "Kill Bill". He had pretty much been out of the entertainment industry, until then. David had made statements to others about his suspicion that not many industry leaders were willing to give him roles as he aged. After appearing in "Kill Bill", he began working again; in fact, he was in Bankok, Thailand to film a new movie. He had only been at the hotel for a few days when he was found dead.
At this point, suicide is only suspected but David’s death appears suspicious, at least to his personal co-manager, Tiffany Smith. David was found in a sitting position in the closet with the cord wrapped around his neck and the closet rod. The authorities have said there doesn’t appear to be any assault, no forced entrance to his room, no obvious crime, so I guess that means the authorities don’t suspect that he was murdered. No news has been released about whether there was a suicide note or not. In fact, some say it had to be an accident; those who know him say he would never commit suicide.
If it’s true that he didn’t commit suicide and he wasn’t murdered, then what? an accident? That seems a bit difficult to understand. I mean, how does a curtain cord accidently get taken down and wrapped around the throat of a nude person, unless it is something called the ”choking game”. The choking game is an accident waiting to happen. It is a serious and dangerous activity, one that has become a threat around the world. It is dangerous because there is always the danger that the person could lose consciousness and die without meaning to.
In that kind of situation, I guess it could be considered an accident when someone waits too long to loosen the cord or binding around their neck. That is not to say that this is what happened to David Carradine, but there are definately a lot of questions surrounding David’s death. His family is asking for privacy at this time. They respected him, loved him and were apparently close to him. They are shocked and grieving the loss of a loved one. It is hard enough to lose a loved one, let alone to have to do it in the eye of the public and in mysterious circumstances to boot.
There is an autopsy being performed. Hopefully it will help to put some of the questions surrounding his death to rest. Whether it was suicide or if David Carradine was murdered, there is still pain and grief for his family, friends, co-stars, and fans. It is a sad end for a talented man who appeared to try to live his life with dignity. We wish to extend sympathy to all who knew him and to those who felt like they did because of the roles he performed and the impact on their lives from watching him over the years. Rest in peace David Carradine.
If you know someone who struggles with suicidal thoughts please call the suicide prevention hotline or http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ .
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