Police in Thailand are working to solve the mystery of actor David Carradine’s death last week in a Bangkok hotel, and they have said not to expect any answers for a month.
His family, however, is ready to settle at least one question: whether the media should publish photos said to be the actor’s body, discovered naked and hanging in his Bangkok hotel room on June 4.
Carradine’s death has sparked intense media speculation about how he died (Click here for that story). Theories have ranged from suicide to murder to accidental autoerotic asphyxiation. All are speculative, none are confirmed.
When a Thai newspaper, Thai Rath, which is known for lively coverage of crime and celebrities, published grainy photos on Saturday that it claimed showed Carradine’s hanging body, an attorney for the actor’s brother, Keith Carradine, said the family will take legal action against people or media outlets that publish the photos.
“The family wants it understood that … any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published,” said the statement from attorney Mark Geragos.
Thai police have declined to confirm the authenticity of the photos. (Click here for that story). They did say media were not present at the crime scene and the picture was not leaked by them. Thai Rath did not give a source for the photograph or show the face. We here on the Fan Fare blog have seen it online, and at best it appears highly suspect.
The events bring to mind the leaked police photo of Rihanna after she was allegedly attacked by singer Chris Brown back in February. The photo caused a stir and was not published by some media outlets but was published by others. A key difference was that it was said to be a police photograph, which was later substantiated, and it was clearly Rihanna.
Media outlets daily juggle questions of what should and should not be published, and each case often has a different answer depending on details. The story of Carradine’s death and the speculative information on how he died, as well as the photo published by Thai Rath, have again sparked debate here among some of our reporters on what details should and/or should not be published.
We thought Fan Fare readers might like a chance to tell us what they think. So, when does publishing salacious details — real or imagined – of a death and, perhaps, a real photo go too far? Or, put another way, when does the right to privacy trump the public’s right to know?
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15 comments so far
C’mon . . . everybody is entitled to some dignity in death, whether you are famous or not. This photograph should never have been published. There is no argument here about the public’s ”right to know.” It’s probably more pertinent to point out that grisly photographs often appear in Asian newspapers, so the standards are different. But the same rules apply . . . as in the West, you can bet that this photo was bought from corrupt sources, and that’s the other reason why it should not be published.
- Posted by FullforwardI don’t see why his death should be a cause for sick people who only want to read about some sick cause of his death. If it was their loved one how would they like this to happen to them. He was a lovely person and a good actor and has a wonderful wife and family. Its all speculation and we should stay out of it in kindness to his family. My sympathy to them all.
- Posted by Diana S FettermanAbsolutely, the photograph should not be printed. 1. If there is a murder, than publishing evidence jeopardizes the investigation.2. The feelings of the surviving family members should be respected. 3. The man, himself, should be respected. 4. The memories that his fans have of him should be respected. 5. The privacy of the deceased and his family trumps the medias greedy hunger for a steamy scandalous story.
- Posted by DBI am so sorry he is gone, however it happened. His engaging performances, his interest in martial arts, tai chi, etc., his liveliness, and his obvious sense of the humor and energy in life were inspiring. RIP, David Carradine; along with many others, I miss you.
- Posted by LoraCDavid was life inspiring and a good person.
He will be missed .
BobH
- Posted by BobHI hate to say it but I think the photo was a valid piece of news. The Thai police are saying that nobody else was in the room. But after seeing that picture, I find their comments hard to believe. His hands are firmly tied over his head. And somehow he also has a cord tied around his neck and penis. Hmm… quite a stunt, if he did this all by himself. While an actor, I don’t believe he is a magician. And that picture showed that it would have required Houdini-esque skills to have gotten in that position without the help of someone else. That is news.
- Posted by Tom HarkensThailand is a Buddhist nation. They have a different worldview than Americans and other western nations. They view death differently and they view privacy differently. In Thailand, death is a very public affair because they are more community orientated than individualistic. This was not some attempt to scandalize or to provide titillation for “sick” people. It was not done because it was David Carradine - it could have been Jo Blogs, they would still have published the photo. It is perfectly normal in Thai society to publish photographs of dead people - whether they have died in car wrecks, been murdered or committed suicide. The front pages of all Thailand’s newspapers have pictures of dead people on them - some are very gruesome. It may not sit well with us westerners, but thats how they do it in Thailand and unfortunately David Carradine died in Thailand.
- Posted by NickI agree with everyone else. Absolutely the pictures should not be printed. Please respect the family’s wishes and the dignity of the dead.
Deepest sympathies to the family and friends. May David rest in peace.
- Posted by Gigi Brigette[...] between privacy, security, delmarvaNow; Publishing David Carradine photo. Too much information?, Reuters Fan Fare Blog; and finally, Electronic Health Records and Privacy Law, Law.com. Category: daily [...]
- Posted by daily dispatch | PLLDAILYIt was not done because it was David Carradine - it could have been Jo Blogs, they would still have published the photo. It is perfectly normal in Thai society to publish photographs of dead people - whether they have died in car wrecks, been murdered or committed suicide.
- Posted by David CarradineI want to respond to what Tom said about the photo proving that he did not kill himself. In the the first place,there is no way of knowing that the photo that Rath printed was in fact David Carradine nor do we know if the photo that you saw on the internet is the one that was published in Rath. Photoshop can do miracles.
I have heard, from people who have supposedly seen the picture, that his hands were in front of him, in back of him and over his head. I have also read that the over the head position is the one that would be most common in the case of auto-erotic asphyxiation. It is not for us to decide. His family has lawyers, they have the FBI and they have his body. It is up to them to find out if the Thia police botched the investigation-not us. There is only one reason the newspaper printed that photo-greed!
As his fans, it should not matter if he killed himself or not. It should not matter if it was his intention or not. It only matters that he is gone and that he left family, friends, fans and plans unfinished.
We should let him rest in peace and let his family grieve in peace. he gave so much to us, that is the least we can do for him.
- Posted by DBPlease don\’t. The family\’s been through enough, and it\’s horrifying to think someone would just publish these without a care of how his family would feel if they saw them.
Leave them in peace and stop being bloody voyeurs!
- Posted by NicoleLook I loved the man in KungFu the TV show but the more and more I think of it the more I think that all of it needs to be exposed the whole lot. This way each and every person surrounding his tragedy can start to investigate can help solve this mystery. The world doesn’t need another great martial artist legend going down without the truth being revealed and if the world can’t give their input it just stays a mystery until 10 20 30 years passes and there’s a movie about the life and death of David Carradine. Please bring all of the news out the world desires it. And let’s face it Dave was a man in the public eye and a man in the film/TV industry. He’s in heaven right now hoping that the world can know the truth of his death. Think about it just if he did die of a hit by a Secret Society shouldn’t everyone around do their part to get to the bottom to honour his name. Isn’t it just typical of a culture as Thailand and its people to kill someone and exploit it for money? I read the other day that Thai people are barbaric in nature especial when killing someone they often leave their victims in humiliating positions. Take the crime scene for instance the footprint on the bed. Just what if David Carradine made a call for a prostitute to come to his room and the Secret Society showed up instead he opened the door to his room to a hooker he was in the moment a couple of men made their way in the door straggled poor Dave explaining the red marks around his neck, as reported in the media. His lifeless body hung in the closet with his hands bond from behind him as he hung. This would collaborate the media coverage about hands being bond from behind. The secret society group leaves the room gets the surveillance video by paying off the security for the hotel. Explaining why there was no coverage of anyone leaving or entering David’s hotel room after he entered it. And just what if someone was already in the room just waiting. This would explain why there was no sign of struggle as reported in the media. Then some hours later the next morning the body is discovered by the maid not involved. I really think investigators need to probe the calls that where made out of the room before his death to confirm if there was a call to a prostitute like service. This just might help to get more insight into what happened. Hopefully question the call girl service; they could question the hooker or hookers that went to Dave’s house call for the hotel room that he was staying in. God bless him he was a wonderful actor and my heart goes out to his family but it’s time that investigators pull their finger out and get to it and stop the B..S..ing around so the truth can get out and he can finally rest in peace. He would want the truth to be know on how he died, for his family, friends, and those who appreciated his work in film and TV would be able to move on and have some closure. God bless you David Carradine, who really cares about your kinky sex life I think people would just like to remember you for your dedication to film and TV for over 35 years. Go in peace grasshopper we all love you.
- Posted by David BashTo Tom - I have to wonder what photo you were looking at where you could see a cord tied around his neck & penis, because the photo I saw was a backshot. Some websites have said that the police report said he had a cord running from his neck to his penis, but looking further I found that report went back to the Bangkok Post (more sensationalism just so that they can sell more papers). One final thought for everyone regarding this photo:
Was it also part of Carradine’s supposed sexual fantasy to have short curly black hair? Hmm.
- Posted by A. GrayThe irony is that the teen-drama he was in that recently won a film award in Germany was the upcoming “My Suicide” (IMDb) which will broach that subject. We also heard he was playing the piano in the lobby and was in good spirits. In the world of martial-arts one was placed under house-arrest in Japan, the story goes, tied up in the “art” of the rope and tying the body, out of which has been a recent reuse in pornography. Maybe there was more to it than “house arrest”?
- Posted by George Myers