David Carradine was an American

People of the United States

The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine

Kwai Chang Caine

Kwai Chang Caine [虔官昌 or 拐杖棍 Qián Guānchāng] is a fictional television character in the 1972–1975 western television series, Kung Fu. He has been portrayed by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a younger Caine and Radames Pera the child Caine and Stephen Manley as the youngest...

, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu

Kung Fu (TV series)

Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...

, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,...

. He was a member of a productive acting family dynasty that began with his father, John Carradine

John Carradine

John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...

. His acting career, which included major and minor roles on stage, television and cinema, spanned over four decades. A prolific "B" movie

B movie

A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....

 actor, he appeared in more than 100 feature films and was nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award

Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...

.