Claim: David Carradine played the role Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk.

David Carradine -LRB- born John Arthur Carradine ; December 8 , 1936 -- June 3 , 2009 -RRB- was an American actor and martial artist . He was known for his leading role as a peace-loving Shaolin monk , Kwai Chang Caine , in the 1970s television series Kung Fu . He was also known for playing Frankenstein in the original Death Race movie and Bill in both Kill Bill films .   He was a member of an acting family that began with his father , John Carradine . Carradine 's acting career , which included major and minor roles on stage and television , and in cinema , spanned over four decades . A prolific `` B '' movie actor , he appeared in more than 100 feature films in career spanning over sixty years . He was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards , for projects such as the television series Kung Fu -LRB- 1972 -- 1975 -RRB- , the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory -LRB- 1976 -RRB- and the miniseries North and South -LRB- 1985 -RRB- . His final nomination came in the category of Best Supporting Actor for portraying the titular character in Quentin Tarantino 's Kill Bill : Volume 2 -LRB- 2004 -RRB- .   Films that featured Carradine continued to be released after his death . These posthumous credits were from a variety of genres including action , documentaries , drama , horror , martial arts , science fiction , and westerns . In addition to his acting career , Carradine was a director and musician . Moreover , influenced by his most popular acting role , he studied martial arts .   He was sometimes arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses , which often involved substance abuse . He died on June 3 , 2009 , in a hotel room in Bangkok , Thailand from auto-erotic asphyxiation .