Despite the fact he was 72 years old, I was still taken aback by the news of David Carradine's death. Needless to say the early reports indicate that this story will continue to develop as the months go along, but such a macabre passing is oddly appropriate somehow for a guy who has always come across as an inconoclast and an oddball.
I don't mean that in a disparaging way either. Kung-Fu the TV show blew me away as a teenager. That quiet pool of a weekly story was filled with the kind of sombre philosophical goo that appeals to a teenager. The dramatic life of Kwai Chang Kane as he searched the Wild West for his roots and for meaning, all the while ministering to those distraught souls he found along the way, was a wonderful device for an episodic TV show. The thread of backstory was just strong enough to give broader meaning to the little lessons presented each week. And the laconic hero was totally different from the more typical spastic heroes of TV. Kung Fu was a craze that spawned a lot of odd bits of social jetsam, but that TV show was something memorable. I need to dig out those shows and watch them again.
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