David Carradine, the star of the 1970s TV series Kung Fu and the Kill Bill films, has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room.
The 72-year-old was in Thailand filming his latest film Stretch, according to his personal manager, Chuck Binder.
Police have told the BBC that Carradine was found in a hotel wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body. This supports initial claims in the Thai press that Carradine had hanged himself.
His agent said the news was "shocking", according to the BBC, adding: "He was full of life, always wanting to work... a great person."
A spokesman for the US embassy has confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor, according to AP. He said Carradine died either late on Wednesday or early today, but he could not provide further details "out of consideration for his family", AP reported.
During his career Carradine appeared in more than 100 films and TV dramas.
He is best remembered for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s US TV series Kung Fu and more recently starred as Uma Thurman's nemesis, Bill, in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill feature films. Tarantino was a fan of Carradine.
As well as his role in Kung Fu, the spin-off movies and TV sequels in the 1980s and 1990s, other notable parts included starring role as folk singer Woody Guthrie in the Oscar-nominated Bound for Glory in 1976 and as a railroad union organiser in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha in 1972. Scorsese then cast Carradine as a drunk who is shot while urinating in a bar in Mean Streets in 1973.
Born John Arthur Carradine, the eldest son of actor John Carradine, he was also known for producing and starring in several exercise videos teaching the martial arts of tai chi and qigong, in which he became interested after starring in Kung Fu.
He is survived by his two daughters, Calista and Kansas, his son, Tom, and his fifth wife, Annie Bierman, and her children.
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