Many fans are curious about David Carradine's financial success in April 2026. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What was David Carradine's Net Worth?
Carradine starred inMartin Scorsese's"Boxcar Bertha" in 1972, and he worked with Scorsese again in 1973's "Mean Streets." Around this time, he also appeared in the films "The Long Goodbye" (1973), "A Country Mile" (1973), "Death Race 2000" (1975), and "Cannonball" (1976), and he received his second Golden Globe nomination for 1976's "Bound for Glory." David appeared in more than 20 films in the 1980s, including "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1983), "Armed Response" (1986), "Wheels of Terror" (1987), "Run for Your Life" (1988), "Warlords" (1988), "Nowhere to Run" (1989), and "Night Children" (1989). He played Justin LaMotte in the 1985 miniseries "North and South," earning another Golden Globe nomination, and he narrated the 1983 documentary series "Faces of Culture." In the '90s, Carradine appeared in films such as "Bird on a Wire" (1990), "Martial Law" (1990), "Karate Cop" (1991), "Double Trouble" (1992), "The Rage" (1997), "Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror" (1998), and "The New Swiss Family Robinson" (1998), and he voiced Chief Wulisso in 1998's "An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island."
David Carradine was an American actor, musician, writer, director, producer, and martial artist who had a net worth of $500 thousand dollars at the time of his death. David, the son of actor John, Carradine, was best known for his leading role as Kwai Chang Caine on the series "Kung Fu" (1972–1975) and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1993–1997) as well as the more recent role of Bill inQuentin Tarantino"Kill Bill" series (2003–2004). Carradine appeared in more than 230 film and television projects, including the miniseries "North and South" (1985), the ABC series "Shane" (1966), and "Bound for Glory" (1976), a Woody Guthrie biopic in which he played the lead role.
After Carradine's parents split up, they battled over child custody and alimony, and after the divorce was settled, David moved in with his father, who was living in New York City. In 1967, David and John co-starred in a live telecast of "A Christmas Carol." Carradine spent a few years in reform schools, boarding schools, and foster homes before moving back to California. He attended Oakland High School, then he enrolled at Oakland Junior College. After his first year at Oakland Junior College, David transferred to San Francisco State College to study music theory and drama, and he wrote music for annual revues put on by the school's drama department. He eventually dropped out of college, and in 1960, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Carradine drew pictures for Army training aids, and while he was stationed at Virginia's Fort Eustis, he formed a theatre company that was known as the "entertainment unit." During his time in the Army, David was court-martialed after he was caught shoplifting at a base grocery store, and he was honorably discharged in 1962.
David Carradine was born John Arthur Carradine Jr. on December 8, 1936, in Los Angeles, California. His parents, John and Ardanelle, divorced in 1944, and David had four half-brothers,Keith Carradine, Bruce,Robert Carradine, and Christopher.
After leaving the Army, Carradine changed his first name to avoid being confused with his father. He made both his Broadway and film debuts in 1964, appearing in a production of Rolf Hochhuth's "The Deputy" and the Western movie "Taggart," and the following year, he performed on Broadway again, winning a Theatre World Award for Peter Shaffer's "The Royal Hunt of the Sun." In the '60s, David appeared in the films "Bus Riley's Back in Town" (1965), "Too Many Thieves" (1966), "The Violent Ones" (1967), "Heaven with a Gun" (1969), "Young Billy Young" (1969), and "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" (1969), guest-starred on television shows such as "Alfred HitchcockHour" (1965) and "Ironside" (1968), and played the title role on the 1966 Western series "Shane." From 1972 to 1975, Carradine starred as Kwai Chang Caine on ABC's "Kung Fu," which aired 63 episodes over three seasons and earned David a Primetime Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. He reprised his role on "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," which ran for 88 episodes from 1993 to 1997, and the 1986 television film "Kung Fu: The Movie."
Carradine was the uncle of actressesMartha Plimptonand Ever Carradine, and most of his half-brothers are actors as well. At age 5, David tried to hang himself after he found out that he and Bruce didn't have the same biological father (Bruce was Ardanelle's son from her first marriage, and John adopted him). He was saved by his father, who then confiscated and burned David's comic book collection.
Carradine wrote, directed, and co-produced the short musical "A Country Mile" (1973), and he directed the films "You and Me" (1975) and "Americana" (1981) as well as three episodes of "Kung Fu" and a 2001 episode of "Lizzie McGuire." David served as a producer on "Americana," "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," and several other projects, such as "Kung Fu: The Movie" (1986), "Crime Zone" (1988), "Future Force" (1989), "Crime of Crimes" (1989), and "Richard III" (2007). Carradine also wrote the books "The Spirit of Shaolin" (1991), "Endless Highway" (1995), "David Carradine's Tai Chi Workout" (1995), "David Carradine's Introduction to Chi Kung" (1997), and "The Kill Bill Diary: The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend" (2006), and he wrote and performed the theme songs for "Americana" and the 1989 film "Sonny Boy." David died in June 2009 while he was in Bangkok, Thailand, filming a movie. His death was ruled accidental asphyxiation.
Carradine guest-starred on "Just Shoot Me!" (2000), "Titus" (2001), "Alias" (2003; 2004), and "Medium" (2006), and he hosted "Wild West Tech" on The History Channel from 2004 to 2005 (his half-brother Keith was the show's original host). David was a cast member on the VH1 reality series "Celebrity Paranormal Project" in 2006, and he appeared on "Celebrity Ghost Stories" in 2009. In 2003, David co-starred withUma Thurmanin "Kill Bill: Volume 1," which grossed $180.9 million at the box office. He reprised the role of Bill in 2004's "Kill Bill: Volume 2," which was also a hit ($152.2 million) and earned Carradine several award nominations, including his fourth Golden Globe nomination. In the 2000s, David appeared in more than 50 films (some of them posthumously), such as "Epic Movie" (2007), "How to Rob a Bank" (2007), "Permanent Vacation" (2007), "Hell Ride" (2008), "Kandisha" (2008), "Crank: High Voltage" (2009), "True Legend" (2010), and "Eldorado" (2012). At the time of his death, Carradine was filming the French movie "Stretch," which was released in 2011.
In summary, the total wealth of David Carradine reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
