(CNN) -- American actor David Carradine has been found dead, hanging by a nylon rope in a hotel room closet in Bangkok, Thailand, according a Thai police official.
David Carradine became famous in the 1970s after starring in the television series "Kung Fu."
Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred as traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu," was 72.
The rope was believed to be from the hotel room curtains, Bangkok Police Lt. Col. Pirom Chanpirom said.
He said investigators found no sign of forced entry into Carradine's room.
An autopsy was being conducted at a Bangkok hospital, but no results will be available for another day, he said.
Police provided Carradine's family with the same information about their investigation, said Tiffany Smith, Carradine's personal co-manager.
Smith said she was "in complete shock" and that suggestions that Carradine took his own life are unbelievable.
"Knowing David, he would never commit suicide," and his death comes at a time when his "career is on a roll," she said.
Carradine was in Bangkok for filming of the movie "Stretch," being produced by a United Kingdom-based company, she said. He was the only American cast member.
Modern audiences may best know Carradine as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. He earned a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for his role in the second movie in the two-part saga.
His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work, according to the Internet Movie Database. See photos of some of his notable roles »
Carradine made appearances in television series including "Gunsmoke" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." His first starring role in a series was as the title character in "Shane" in 1966.
He worked with such directors as Martin Scorsese in "Box Car Bertha" in 1972 and Robert Altman in "The Long Goodbye" in 1973. iReport: Share memories of David Carradine
Carradine was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as folk music legend Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie "Bound For Glory," according to a biography on his official Web site.
Career Highlights
Television
"Shane," 1966
"Kung Fu," 1972-1975
"North and South," 1985
"Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," 1992
Film
"Bound for Glory," 1976
"Kill Bill: Vol. 1," 2003
"Kill Bill: Vol. 2," 2004
His theater career began while he studied drama at San Francisco State College in California.
He later landed roles on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun."
Carradine, who was married five times and divorced four, is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, according to People magazine. Watch Carradine talk about his 'Kung Fu' role »
He was the son of actor John Carradine, a character actor who had appeared in hundreds of films, plays and television episodes.
"David's career as an artist did not begin on the stage, though some of his early career was on and off Broadway. His earliest work was as a sculptor and painter," Carradine's official Web site says.
The site also includes an "Art Bio" in which the actor opens up about his life.
"I've always had an especially hard time with everything I've tried to do," Carradine wrote.
"I've made it pretty big as an actor in spite of being terminally shy. ... Invariably, I had huge obstacles to overcome in anything I tried. Had to work against my genes to achieve my dreams."
Source:CNN.Com
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A few Tuesday’s ago (May, 19th to be exact) we saw album releases from Busta Rhymes, Method Man & Redman, & of course, Eminem. This was so far the biggest release date of 2009. All three acts that I mentioned are veterans in the game and well respected by their peers. Another thing they have in common: They’re all over the age of 30. If you think about it, most of Hip-Hop’s elite are over the age of 30. I guess it’s no longer a young man’s game. So I was thinking, since you see a lot of lists with titles such as “25 Hottest Celebs Under 25” or “40 Richest Under 40”, why not The Best 30 Rappers Over 30? But for this list, we got set some ground rules. #1 of course is the most obvious; you gotta be over the age of 30 (That throws out people like Weezy, Lupe, Drake, & T.I.). #2, you have to be 30 as of this list (Both The Game & Joe Budden will be 30 this year, but aren’t as of yet). #3, you got to be active and releasing records with new material that relevant (Rakim & Big Daddy Kane are legends but they don’t make this list). Other than that, the only requirement is being 3-0 or older. So, here’s it: The Best 30 Rappers Over 30 (Ordered from oldest to youngest). 30 is the new 20! Did I forget anybody?
Ice Cube (June 15, 1969) - 39
Jay-Z (December 4, 1969) - 39
Raekwon (January 12, 1970) – 39
Q-Tip (April 10, 1970) - 39
Redman (April 17, 1970) - 39
Ghostface Killah (May 9, 1970) - 39
Fat Joe (August 19, 1970) - 38
Scarface (November 9, 1970) - 38
DMX (December 18, 1970) - 38
Method Man (April 1, 1971) - 38
Snoop Dogg (October 20, 1971) – 37
Common (March 13, 1972) - 37
Busta Rhymes (May 20, 1972) - 37
Black Thought (October 3, 1972) - 36
Eminem (October 17, 1972) - 36
Bun B (March 19, 1973) - 36
Nas (September 14, 1973) - 35
Mos Def (December 11, 1973) - 35
Andre 3000 (May 27, 1974) - 35
Styles P (November 28, 1974) - 34
Big Boi (February 1, 1975) - 34
Jadakiss (May 27, 1975) - 34
50 Cent (July 6, 1975) - 33
Talib Kweli (October 3, 1975) - 33
Rick Ross (January 28, 1976) - 33
Cam’ron (February 4, 1976) - 33
Kanye West (June 8, 1977) - 31
Ludacris (September 11, 1977) - 31
Young Jeezy (October 12, 1977)- 31
Fabolous (November 18, 1977) - 31
Source:NappyAfro.com
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A sultry interloper has ousted Oprah Winfrey from the top spot on the Forbes list of the celebrities with the most juice.
Angelina Jolie, who placed third last year, dethroned the media maven despite the fact that Oprah was once again the highest earner on the list.
Neither lady, however, made the cover. That honor went to Beyonce Knowles, who finished in fourth place behind a resurgent Madonna.
"Beyonce is the perfect example of how to succeed in the business of being a celebrity," Forbes Senior Editor Matthew Miller said.
"She became famous singing, and now is maximizing her earnings by singing, writing songs, endorsing products, selling clothes and staring in movies."
Both Winfrey ($275 million) and Madonna ($100 million) made way more more than Jolie ($27 million) in the last 12 months, but the Forbes' celebrity power ranking is also based on exposure.
Jolie garners loads of that as one of Hollywood's leading ladies - and as the better half of Tinsel Town's hottest couple.
Her squeeze is Brad Pitt, who was number 9 on the list, right behind Jennifer Aniston, the actress he dumped for Jolie
Source: New York Daily News
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HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Among the 147 Hawaiian Gardens gang members and associates named in five separate federal indictments, some 49 remained at large Friday, authorities confirmed.
The search, however, will continue, federal and local authorities vowed.
"Operation Knockout has led to federal indictments against 147 gang members, making it the largest gang sweep in U.S. history," United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said Thursday when the indictments were unsealed and the results of the pre-dawn raid were shared with media.
During Thursday's operation, a total of 88 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges. Of the 88 arrests, 63 were identified in one of five federal indictments.
With 35 defendants already in custody, there are now 98 people ready to be prosecuted in federal court and, if convicted, who will serve at least 85percent of their terms scattered among 118 federal facilities across the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The remaining 49 defendants named in the federal indictments are either fugitives being sought by authorities or individuals who investigators are working to identify and additional arrests are expected in this case, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Some of those being sought are
believed to be in the area while others are suspected to be out of state and out of the country, authorities said.
The indictments and subsequent roundup in Hawaiian Gardens - which included 1,400 law enforcement members from federal, state and local jurisdictions - were the culmination of almost four years of investigation into the tiny town's oldest and most notorious gang, authorities said.
Varrio Hawaiian Gardens waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community through attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday.
The indictments detailed numerous alleged incidents, including a charge that George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Flores also allegedly provided a young gang member with a weapon and instructed him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby, according to the main indictment.
Included in the gang's plotting was the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was shot in the head in June 2005 by a VHG member while Ortiz was investigating the attempted murder of a black man in the city, O'Brien said Thursday.
It was the cowardly slaughter of Ortiz - a newlywed and father of two sons - that prompted investigators from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department to the FBI to launch "Operation Knockout," O'Brien said.
Gang experts and investigators testified at length about the local gang's efforts to remove all black residents from the community during the 2007 trial for the killing of Deputy Ortiz.
Convicted killer Jose Luis Orozco was found guilty of Ortiz's murder in the 2007 trial.
Ortiz had been investigating the attempted murder of a black man by Orozco when Orozco shot the deputy while hiding behind a door.
The victim, who was hired to do some yard work and fix up a vacant rental property, was targeted by Orozco simply because of his race and because he was in Hawaiian Gardens, witnesses testified.
Orozco is awaiting execution on death row.
Source:presstelegram.com
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Murder accused Amanda Knox is expected to take the stand in an attempt to clear her name in Italy this month.
She and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are accused of killing Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher after she refused to participate in a drug-fuelled orgy.
She was found strangled and stabbed in the flat she shared with Miss Knox in Perugia, Italy where she was on a year-long exchange program.
The prosecution have finished putting their case forward and Miss Knox, 21, has said she will take the stand in her defence.
Mr Sollecito, 25, has indicated he will not be giving evidence.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution have aimed to highlight Miss Knox’s bizzare behaviour in the aftermath of the murder.
The court has heard she was seen doing cartwheels and splits before being questioned by the police.
Last week Edgardo Giobbi, a forensics expert, told the court when he handed Miss Knox a pair of shoe covers to prevent contaminating the evidence just hours after the murder she swivelled her hips and said ‘opla'.
He said: “I thought it was very unusual behaviour and my suspicions against her were raised.”
The court heard two knives may have been used in the murder as the wound in Miss Kercher’s throat is not compatible with the knife found.
A 30cm knife was found in Sollecito’s flat which was found to have Miss Kercher’s DNA on the tip and Miss Knox’s DNA on the handle.
Meredith Kercher’s family are reported to have flown to Italy and are said to be giving evidence to the court before the defence begins their side of the case.
Source:CroydonGuardian.co.uk
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