He was a legend in his own right and it took my brain a few seconds to register him as the star of the hit TV series, Kung Fu, when he appeared on screen as Bill in Kill Bill.
Anyone in the world who recants into fancy kung fu stances or praises the Buddha in the style of (many) a martial arts flick upon hearing the word 'Grasshopper' wouldn't know what I'm talking about.
I am, of course, talking about David Carradine whose recent death is at once sudden and controversial.
His role in Kung Fu was a masterful piece of wooden acting and the story was ham-fisted in its approach but the concept was pure gold. Kwai Chang Caine, an orphaned Sino-American child is raised by in the Shaolin temple by the blind master Po and trained in the arts of Kung fu. Master Po is killed by the Emperor's nephew and the child, now a man, layeth the smack down on the nephew.
Implicated of murdering a relative of the emperor, Kwai Chang flees to the wild wild west where he wanders the frontier lands searching for his half brother, Danny. Along the series Kwai Chang comes to the aid of the downtrodden using his art to, yet again, lay down the law.
Why is this a good series? Well, the story wasn't stellar but the piece by piece episodes in themselves were well written and executed in a very graceful pace. Then there was the Aesop-like moral fibre in them - Kwai Chang's moral compass as a Shaolin monk prevents him from ignoring the people's plights yet he knows every move he makes somehow makes him easier to track down.
Finally, there's the martial arts aspect. It's not flashy or showy. People do not jump around with no respect to gravity. Ripping someone's heart out is not possible without scalpels, a degree in surgery and a strong stomach. The martial arts in the series are real and believable. Caine is not untouchable, just really really good at dodging. He prefers to choose practicality over pomp, tire his opponent out and end him with a swift, precise strike.
The show also used flashbacks to Caine's past in the temple as a device to understand the morals and motives of the character, fleshing out his being. Many of the teachings instilled into Caine by his masters are taken from Taoist and Zen teachings giving the show a touch of authenticity.
There are reasons for this which are more realistic than artsy. The show's concept, originally proffered by Bruce Lee in a different format, called for an actor of Asian origin who knew kung fu (ironically, Bruce Lee himself wanted the role of Caine). Studio heads at the time thought that an American audience would not identify with an Asian man being the lead of a primetime series and did not go ahead with Lee's idea.
When Lee left for Hong Kong to make 'The Big Boss', network executives picked up the concept and decided to cast an 'Asian-looking American' for the role. Carradine, with his one ninth Cherokee ancestry, fit the bill for the serene and poetic Kwai Chang Caine.
Of course, Carradine knew no martial arts and wasn't really trained in it for the purposes of the series. He held some credo as a dancer as well as being athletic and lithe. Going by what a Karate master at the time said that 'the only qualification that was needed to be trained in the martial arts was that you had to know how to dance' Carradine was perfect for the role.
Regardless, the show was a massive hit. It was a vehicle for many an Asian star in the US as many gained employment as actors depicting Caine's pursuers. It even starred Brandon Lee, ironically as the son of Caine, a role his biological father might have played.
David Carradine's death on June 4th 2009 was saddening. More so because of the circumstances surrounding his death than his age. He was found in his hotel room near Bangkok, dead by what forensics claim to have been 'autoerotic asphyxation'.
Even more saddening is the fact that the Carradine family lawyer, Mike Geragos, alleged on Larry King Live that Carradine was assassinated by "groups working in the martial-arts underworld." and that he did not want to go into "conspiracy theories" marshaling the FBI to Bangkok at the family's behest.
A man is dead. Best not to talk ill of one who is no longer with us, for even as we can surely see, we do not look.
I leave you with an clip from arguably the best scene in Kung Fu. Featuring a flashback of Kwai Chang's young days at the temple in which master Po gives him the iconic nickname of grasshopper.
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