David Carradine
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Hollywood, California, USA
David Carradine was born John Arthur Carradine, eldest son of John Carradine, the beloved and very busy character actor, whose roles encompassed everything from John Steinbeck's Reverend Casey to Bram Stoker's Dracula. David Carradine's early adult life was one of exploration -- though born in Hollywood, he tried on a lot of sides of living before he finally turned to acting as a profession. He worked with various community and semi-professional dramatic companies in San Francisco; hitchhiked his way to New York; did Shakespeare in Akron, OH, and parts of New Jersey; and all of the other things that aspiring would-be actors are supposed to do. He got a few early screen credits in television productions such as Armstrong Circle Theater ("Secret Document"), and in various series produced by Universal Pictures' ReVue television division, including episodes of The Virginian, Wagon Train, and Arrest & Trial, plus The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He also made his big-screen debut thanks to Universal with a small role in the R.G. Springsteen-directed western Taggart (1964). His real professional breakthrough came a year later on the Broadway stage, however, in Peter Shaffer's The Royal Hunt of the Sun, in a cast headed by Christopher Plummer. He enjoyed an extended run in the Broadway production, which was accompanied by the first round of publicity for Carradine, even then focusing on his unpredictable, iconoclastic nature. He was lured back to Hollywood by the chance to star in the series Shane, based on the George Stevens movie and the Jack Schaefer novel. He was able to put his own stamp on the role, quite different from the portrayal that Alan Ladd had delivered in the film; but the viewing public had been swamped by westerns for a decade, and the series never had a chance to find an audience, lasting only 16 episodes. From 1967 until 1972, he was occasionally seen in one-off roles in dramatic series such as Coronet Blue and The Name of the Game, and was in a remake of Johnny Belinda with Mia Farrow and Ian Bannen, but was most often seen in westerns, including The Violent Ones (1967) and The McMasters (1969) (playing a Native American in the latter). In 1972 he was approached about the possibility of starring in a proposed series that was easily the most offbeat western ever considered by a network up to that time: Kung Fu. The public had long since lost interest in traditional westerns, but here was a story that combined a quest with a tale of pursuit and necessarily included philosophical conflict never before addressed in series television. The role appealed to Carradine, and he got the part of Kwai Chang Caine, the Chinese-American hero, despite knowing nothing of martial arts. Drawing on his ability as a dancer at his meeting with the producers, he was able to prove with one well-placed kick at a point above his head that he could pull it off. The series ran for three seasons, during which time Carradine put an increasing amount of himself into the portrayal. And the public responded, especially viewers under 40, who resonated to the character and the man behind it. Kung Fu became one of those odd cult shows, the fans of which were devoted beyond the usual casual weekly viewing. Carradine saw to it, however, even during the run of the series, that he kept busy on other projects, including the Martin Scorsese-directed Boxcar Bertha (1972), starring his paramour Barbara Hershey, and small roles in the Robert Altman revisionist detective film The Long Goodbye (1973) and Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973).Kung Fu made Carradine a star, but he eventually left the series, owing to disagreements with the producers. His withdrawal from the series could have damaged his career, but Carradine was fortunate enough to latch on to a script that Roger Corman was planning to produce -- a new kind of action movie, Death Race 2000 (1975), became a huge underground hit and proved that Carradine had some measure of big-screen appeal. He followed this
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
MOVIES
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | BOX OFFICE | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|---|
92% | Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel |
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$7.5k | 2011 |
57% | Archie's Final Project |
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— | 2011 |
64% | True Legend |
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$62.7k | 2011 |
No Score Yet | Stretch |
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— | 2011 |
No Score Yet | Richard III |
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— | 2011 |
No Score Yet | Eldorado |
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— | 2011 |
No Score Yet | Dinocroc vs. Supergator |
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— | 2010 |
No Score Yet | Detention |
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— | 2010 |
No Score Yet | Night of the Templar |
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— | 2010 |
No Score Yet | Six Days In Paradise |
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— | 2010 |
No Score Yet | Bad Cop |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Long Shot |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Break |
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— | 2009 |
64% | Crank 2: High Voltage |
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$13.7M | 2009 |
28% | Chatham (The Golden Boys) |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Camille |
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— | 2009 |
11% | Big Stan |
|
— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Absolute Evil |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | The Rain |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Kandisha |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Road of No Return |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Starz Inside: Unforgettably Evil |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | The Rain |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Autumn |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Life on the Road with Mr. and Mrs. Brown |
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— | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Kung Fu Killer |
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— | 2008 |
10% | Hell Ride |
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$0.2M | 2008 |
No Score Yet | Naked Movie |
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— | 2008 |
No Score Yet | Tattoos: A Scarred History |
|
— | 2008 |
No Score Yet | All Hell Broke Loose |
|
— | 2008 |
No Score Yet | Being Michael Madsen |
|
— | 2007 |
No Score Yet | Fuego |
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— | 2007 |
No Score Yet | Permanent Vacation |
|
— | 2007 |
0% | Fall Down Dead |
|
— | 2007 |
17% | Homo Erectus (National Lampoon's The Stoned Age) |
|
— | 2007 |
29% | How to Rob a Bank |
|
— | 2007 |
No Score Yet | Treasure Raiders |
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— | 2007 |
2% | Epic Movie |
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$39.7M | 2007 |
No Score Yet | The Last Sect |
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— | 2007 |
No Score Yet | Son of the Dragon |
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— | 2007 |
No Score Yet | Final Move |
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— | 2006 |
No Score Yet | Max Havoc: Curse Of The Dragon |
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— | 2006 |
No Score Yet | World War I: American Legacy |
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— | 2006 |
No Score Yet | Last Hour |
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— | 2006 |
No Score Yet | Miracle at Sage Creek |
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— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Kiss of a Stranger |
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— | 2005 |
50% | Dead and Breakfast |
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— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Brothers in Arms |
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— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Criminal Desire |
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— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Ringers - Lord of the Fans |
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— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon |
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— | 2004 |
No Score Yet | Last Goodbye |
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— | 2004 |
75% | Hair High |
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— | 2004 |
84% | Kill Bill: Volume 2 |
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— | 2004 |
No Score Yet | Video Game Invasion: The History of a Global Obsession |
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— | 2004 |
No Score Yet | UnConventional |
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— | 2004 |
No Score Yet | Ringers: Lord of the Fans |
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— | 2004 |
No Score Yet | Samurai: The Last Warrior |
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— | 2003 |
85% | Kill Bill: Volume 1 |
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— | 2003 |
No Score Yet | Lost Bullet (Bala Perdida) |
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— | 2003 |
No Score Yet | American Reel |
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— | 2003 |
No Score Yet | Modern Warriors |
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— | 2002 |
No Score Yet | The Outsider |
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— | 2002 |
No Score Yet | Balto II: Wolf Quest |
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— | 2002 |
No Score Yet | Crime School |
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— | 2002 |
No Score Yet | Out of the Wilderness |
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— | 2001 |
No Score Yet | Warden of Red Rock |
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— | 2001 |
No Score Yet | Code Name Jaguar |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | An American Tail 3: The Treasure of Manhattan Island |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | By Dawn's Early Light |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Nightfall |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Down 'n Dirty |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Isaac Asimov's Nightfall |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | The Monster Hunter |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Guaranteed on Delivery |
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— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Dangerous Curves |
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— | 1999 |
No Score Yet | Natural Selection |
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— | 1999 |
No Score Yet | Cybercity |
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— | 1999 |
0% | Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | Martial Law |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | The Rage |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | Macon County Jail |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | The New Swiss Family Robinson |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | Knocking on Death's Door |
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— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | Last Stand at Saber River |
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— | 1997 |
No Score Yet | Capital Punishment |
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— | 1996 |
No Score Yet | Justice Est Faite (Justice Is Done) |
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— | 1995 |
No Score Yet | Thunderbolt (Pik lik feng) |
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— | 1995 |
No Score Yet | Dead Center |
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— | 1994 |
No Score Yet | Karate Cop |
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— | 1993 |
No Score Yet | Kill Zone |
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— | 1993 |
No Score Yet | Field of Fire |
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— | 1992 |
No Score Yet | Double Trouble |
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— | 1992 |
25% | Evil Toons |
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— | 1992 |
No Score Yet | Distant Justice |
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— | 1992 |
83% | Roadside Prophets |
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— | 1992 |
No Score Yet | Animal Instincts |
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— | 1992 |
No Score Yet | Derrick contre Superman |
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— | 1992 |
No Score Yet | The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Project: Eliminator |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Deadly Surveillance |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Dune Warriors |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Night Rhythms |
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— | 1991 |
20% | Waxwork II: Lost in Time |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Capital Punishment |
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— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Sonny Boy |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Future Zone |
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— | 1990 |
32% | Bird on a Wire |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Think Big |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Midnight Fear |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Martial Law |
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— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Future Force |
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— | 1989 |
No Score Yet | Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2 |
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— | 1989 |
No Score Yet | The Cover Girl and the Cop |
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— | 1989 |
No Score Yet | Night Children |
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— | 1989 |
No Score Yet | Crime Zone |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Nowhere to Run |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | I Saw What You Did (I Saw What You Did... and I Know Who You Are!) |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Wheels of Terror |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Tropical Snow (Nieve tropical) |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Warlords |
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— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Six Against the Rock |
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— | 1987 |
No Score Yet | Oceans of Fire |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | P.O.W. the Escape (Behind Enemy Lines) (Attack Force 'Nam) |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | Bad Girls in the Movies |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | Kung Fu: The Movie |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | Film House Fever |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | Armed Response |
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— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | The Warrior and the Sorceress |
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— | 1984 |
No Score Yet | On the Line |
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— | 1983 |
57% | Lone Wolf McQuade |
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— | 1983 |
No Score Yet | Trick or Treats |
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— | 1982 |
70% | Q |
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— | 1982 |
No Score Yet | Americana |
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— | 1981 |
No Score Yet | Safari 3000 |
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— | 1981 |
No Score Yet | High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane |
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— | 1980 |
No Score Yet | Cloud Dancer |
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— | 1980 |
83% | The Long Riders |
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— | 1980 |
No Score Yet | Gauguin the Savage |
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— | 1980 |
No Score Yet | Mr. Horn |
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— | 1979 |
No Score Yet | Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider |
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— | 1979 |
43% | Circle of Iron |
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— | 1979 |
50% | Old Boyfriends |
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— | 1979 |
No Score Yet | Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel |
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— | 1978 |
No Score Yet | Deathsport |
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— | 1978 |
20% | The Serpent's Egg |
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— | 1978 |
63% | Gray Lady Down |
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— | 1978 |
No Score Yet | Thunder and Lightning |
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— | 1977 |
No Score Yet | A Look At Liv |
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— | 1977 |
No Score Yet | That's Action |
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— | 1977 |
86% | Bound for Glory |
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— | 1976 |
No Score Yet | Cannonball |
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— | 1976 |
83% | Death Race 2000 |
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— | 1975 |
93% | The Long Goodbye |
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— | 1973 |
95% | Mean Streets |
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— | 1973 |
52% | Boxcar Bertha |
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— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Kung Fu |
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— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Macho Callahan |
|
— | 1970 |
No Score Yet | Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring |
|
— | 1970 |
No Score Yet | The McMasters |
|
— | 1970 |
20% | Good Guys and the Bad Guys |
|
— | 1969 |
No Score Yet | Young Billy Young |
|
— | 1969 |
No Score Yet | Heaven with a Gun |
|
— | 1969 |
No Score Yet | The Violent Ones |
|
— | 1968 |
No Score Yet | Bus Riley's Back in Town |
|
— | 1965 |
No Score Yet | Taggart |
|
— | 1964 |
No Score Yet | Crime School |
|
— | 1938 |
TV
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
6% |
Mental
2009
|
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7% |
In Case of Emergency
2007
|
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No Score Yet |
Celebrity Paranormal Project
2006
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Danny Phantom
2004-2007
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Eve
2003-2006
|
|
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85% |
Alias
2001-2006
|
|
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100% |
Lizzie McGuire
2001-2004
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Queen of Swords
2000-2001
|
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No Score Yet |
Family Law
1999-2002
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|
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No Score Yet |
Charmed
1998-2006
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Profiler
1996-2000
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
1993-1998
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No Score Yet |
Matlock
1986-1995
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Saturday Night Live
1975
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Kung Fu
1972-1975
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Gunsmoke
1955-1975
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Night Gallery
1970-1973
|
|
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No Score Yet |
Ironside
1967-1975
|
|
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No Score Yet |
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962-1965
|
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No Score Yet |
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
1997
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Quotes from David Carradine's Characters
Bill: | Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. |
The Bride: | Are you saying that I'm a superhero? |
Bill: | No I'm not saying that you're a superhero but I'm saying that you're a killer, a natural born killer. |
Budd: | I don't dodge guilt, and I don't jew out of paying my comeuppance. |
Bill: | Can't we just forget the past? |
Budd: | That woman deserves her revenge... And we deserve to die. (laughs) But, then again, so does she. So I guess we'll just see...Wont we? |
Budd: | That woman deserves her revenge... And we deserve to die. [laughs] But, then again, so does she. So I guess we'll just see...Wont we? |
Budd: | You tellin' me she cut her way through 88 bodyguards 'fore she got to O'Ren? |
Bill: | Nah, there really wasn't 88 of them, they just called themselves "The Crazy 88" |
Bill: | Nah, there really wasn't 88 of them, they just called themselves 'The Crazy 88'. |
Budd: | How come? |
Bill: | I don't know.. I guess they thought it sounded kinda cool. |
Cole Younger: | "First getting shot, then getting married - bad habits." |
Cole Younger: | First getting shot, then getting married - bad habits. |
The Bride: | What are you doing here? |
Bill: | What am I doing? A moment ago, I was playin' my flute. But this moment, I'm looking at the most beautiful bride these old eyes have ever seen. |
The Bride: | Why are you here? |
Bill: | Last look. |
Elle Driver: | Are you going to be nice? |
Bill: | I've never been nice my whole life, but I'll do my best... to be sweet. |
Bill: | When I first saw him... I like his hair. |
The Bride: | You promised you'd be nice. |
Bill: | No, I said I'd do my best. That's hardly a promise. |
Bill: | How do I look? |
The Bride: | You look ready. |
Bill: | Lucky for us all. That's not the case. |
Bill: | Was my reaction really the surprising? |
The Bride: | Yes it was. Could you do what you did? Of course you could. But I never thought you would or could do that to me. |
Bill: | I'm really sorry, Kiddo. But you thought wrong. |
Bill: | There are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard. |
Bill: | I like his hair. |
Bill: | You hocked a Hattori Hanzon Sword? |
Budd: | Yep. |
Bill: | It was priceless. |
Budd: | Well, not in El Paso, it ain't. In El Paso I got me $250 for it. |
Bill: | I suppose the traditional way to conclude this is, we cross Hanzo swords. Well, it just so happens, this hacienda comes with its very own private beach. And this private beach just so happens to look particularly beautiful bathed in moonlight. And there just so happens to be a full moon out tonight. So, swordfighter, if you want to sword fight, that's where I suggest. But if you wanna be old school about it - and you know I'm all about old school - then we can wait till dawn, and slice each other up at sunrise, like a couple real-life, honest-to-goodness samurais. |
The Bride: | How did you find me? |
Bill: | I'm the man. |
Bill: | I was very sad. And that was when I learned, some things, once you do, they can never be undone. |
Bill: | Baby, you ain't kidding. |
Bill: | Just seeing those steps again makes me ache. You're gonna have plenty of fun carrying buckets of water up and down that fucker. |