David Carradine: In Memorium

Tonight lets raise a glass my friends to those who didnt make it...

The one and only David Carradine passed away on June 3rd, aged 73 years. He was in Bangkok for the shooting of what would have been the latest in more than 150 movies and thousands of hours of Television.

I had the pleasure of working with David twice, back in 98 I took him to the Shaolin Temple as the host of the documentary 'David Carradine: A Martial Arts Journey', and most recently on Yuen Woo-ping's 'True Legend'. I remember when his name came up as the host of the show, and my first meeting with him, walking into the lobby of the Holiday inn in Zhengzhou, where he was sitting at a piano and entertaining the other guests and members of the crew.

This was David's first trip to Shaolin, and it was great capturing his emotions and reaction to finally entering the hallowed halls of Shaolin, and meeting the monks he'd portrayed so many times. The head abbot Master Xi, had agreed to met with us and the ice was broken when we showed him footage of a young David, playing a monk in the "kung Fu' pilot.

This was a man who lived his life to the fullest, struggling to overcome his own personal demons at time, but becoming a legend in his own right.

He had an incredible career appearing in so many classic films & Tv shows but it was the role of Kwai Chang-caine in 'Kung Fu' that most people will remember him for, its a show that many people seem to disregard and yes it was originally developed for Bruce Lee, but the network felt that Carradine could carry the show better, and while the action may never have been the greatest aspect of the show, it inspired generations around the world. When we did the documentary, we shot a conversation between David & Jackie Chan, where Jackie expressed his fondness for the show, and how he remembered being so impressed by the philosophy of the show, and hwo David was known throughout Hong Kong as 'Cho Man Jai/Grasshopper'.

He could at times be out-spoken and he didnt suffer fools gladly, but no matter what he was a professional. Its funny sitting down with him in Beijing in January, talking about the 'Kung Fu' series, his films, martial arts, and life in general it seemed as if he'd live forever.

Sadly that wasnt to be the case, but the man leaves a massive back catalogue of work to be remembered by. I think tonight I'm gonna sit back and watch the man in action and remember him well, and the time we shared

Rest In Peace David..you'll always be remembered