David Carradine Dead at 72: Suicide or Kinky Side?

When I got in from work last night to the news that veteran actor David Carradine had hung himself in a Bangkok hotel room, two words immediately came to mind: auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Why? Mainly, because Carradine never struck me as the brooding, depressed type. I never actually knew the guy, but in the few interviews he gave during his career, he always seemd fairly content with his life. He had a drug scandal or two, over the years, but it was usually pot or something tame like that. He never came off as self-destructive in that over the top, Lindsey Lohan kind of way.

Also because of Thailand's reputation as a sex tourism destination. I mean, come on. You can't tell me that when you hear the words "Bangkok hotel room" the idea of kinky sex doesn't pop into your mind. Besides, David Carradine always struck me as someone who pushed personal boundaries. It woudn't surprise me a bit to find that he had a wild side. Initial reports from the Bangkok Police Dept. seem to support that theory. From The Huffington Post:

BANGKOK — The body of American actor David Carradine, best known for the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu," was found in a hotel room closet with a rope tied to his neck and genitals, and his death may have been caused by accidental suffocation, Thai police said Friday.

The 72-year-old actor's body was discovered Thursday in his luxury suite at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel. Police initially said they suspected suicide, though Carradine's associates had questioned that theory.

Police Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope tied around his genitals and another rope around his neck.

"The two ropes were tied together," he said. "It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure."