g/g is right that for a brief period Carradine’s start burned very brightly indeed but he lacked in equal measures both acting depth and self control and that doomed him personally and professionally. My Hollywood friends ran with the same crowd and the picture they give is of a man who at times struggled very hard for his sobriety and at others was almost unbelievably depraved.

As mentioned earlier on, Carradine died the way he seemed to have lived.

A very Buddhist passing so to say.

Agree with gorgeous gorgeous. Wonder if there are different translations/levels of “deference” in Thai?

BangkokDan

Thai Rath run endless photos of murder and car crash victims in all their bloody glory. So Carradine wasn’t getting treated any differently than most normal Thais.

What this really revealed – due to the death of such an iconic internationally recognized actor (Thai bloggers notwithstanding) – was the way Thais treat each other. In short, without any regard to internationally accepted norms or ethics.

Unless, of course, the victim or person involved is a poo yai/elite or can threaten serious violence. Then complete deference is the case.

It is the law of the jungle. To try and sell Thailand as a smiling hippy dippy land of ethical Buddhists is just utter BS.

I agree with you. And knowing who David was is not just an American thing, his early shows were popular in the U.K. too.

For your comment: “Let’s face it, one doesn’t go to Bangkok to be alone”

I did exactly that. BKK is a wonderful place to be alone for awhile.

But then again, that might be a female thing

(BD: Here’s the original.)

(But not, “There goes David Carradine!”)

Also, I don’t think the Thai media/authorities were venting “their contempt for a non-Thai.” Thai Rath ran that image for one simple reason: they obtained it, desired the scoop and thought it would sell papers.

And it seems to have worked. If you like Thai Rath – and MILLIONS of people do – then you wanted to see the picture. After the controversy erupted, I wanted to see the picture. A slew of Americans punching “david carradine bangkok death” into Google Image search wanted to see it too.

Dan is right — this reinforces Bangkok’s lurid image … but, really, if he did indeed die from this auto-erotic stuff, I’m thinking this could have happened no matter where he was filming: Egypt, Tokyo, Mexico City, wherever.

Carradine was a much liked and known actor well before his death. I’m surprised you never saw “Kill Bill” (he was “Bill”). He was also famous for his TV show “Kung Fu,” and his many movies (mostly ‘B’ but still a few good ones in there).

As to the death, it still feels “wrong.” By all accounts he was not suicidal, and solo-sex gone bad doesn’t sound convincing either.

Lets face it, one doesn’t go to Bangkok to be alone.