David Carradine’s Death May Not Have Been Suicide After All

Actor David Carradine’s death may not have been a suicide after all. The star of the movie series “Kill Bill” and the iconic “Kung Fu” was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, discovered by authorities in a gruesome scenario.

He had a rope tied around his neck and his genitals, leaving authorities to originally declare he’d taken his own life. But those who know the actor didn’t believe it and insisted there was another explanation.

And it turns out, they may be right.

Investigators now think the 72-year-old may have been involved in some kind of sexual activity involving strangulation, and that he could have accidentally killed himself while acting out the procedure. The results of an already completed autopsy are expected to sort out the details of whether he took his own life or died from heart failure due to an orgasm.

So far the results haven’t been released.

Authorities found a naked Carradine hanging in the closet of his luxury hotel room by a maid who entered after he failed to answer her knock at his door. At first they would only say he’d committed suicide under unusual circumstances. But slowly new theories began to emerge about what may have been the real cause of the actor’s sudden death.

He’d been in Thailand to begin work on a new film called “Stretch” and had several other projects lined up once that shoot was completed. Friends and co-workers recalled he was in good spirits before leaving the U.S. last week and instantly doubted the suicide claim.

Carradine leaves behind an impressive body of work. In addition to his turns in the ultra-violent “Kill Bill,” and his performance as Kwai Chang Caine in the influential 70s TV series “Kung Fu,” the man who descended from a famed acting family appeared in more than 100 films and worked with some of Hollywood’s elite, including Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby.

Carradine’s TV & film credits

Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

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