Robert Carradine, the youngest of his prolific Hollywood family and whose biggest hit was the 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds,” has died at 71.
In a Tuesday statement, his family said he lived with bipolar disorder for two decades. His brother told Deadline that Carradine died by suicide.
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“We want people to know it, and there is no shame in it,” Keith Carradine told Deadline. “It is an illness that got the best of him, and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it, and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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Known for both his film and television work, Robert Carradine worked steadily in the industry for over 40 years. Though he collaborated with some of the most respected directors of the day, he never gained the worldwide recognition of his more famous siblings Keith Carradine (also the father of Martha Plimpton) and half-brother David Carradine, who died in 2009.
Robert Carradine, a Los Angeles native and son to character actor John Carradine, was introduced to audiences with roles on the television series “Bonanza” in 1971 and in the John Wayne Western “The Cowboys” in 1972.
Despite his family background, acting wasn't his first calling, though.
“I always had a passion to be a race car driver, and that’s what I thought I was going to do, and at some penultimate moment … I think I was sitting with my brother David when ‘The Cowboys’ was being cast, and they were interested in David as the bad guy, and he didn’t want to be the guy that shot John Wayne in the back,” Carradine recalled in a 2013 interview with Popdose. “But he said, ‘You know, it is called The Cowboys, and they’re meeting all these young guys. Why don’t you go in?’”
In addition to starring in a short-lived television spinoff of “The Cowboys,” and appearing alongside David Carradine in his popular ABC series “Kung Fu,” he would go on to nab roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets,” Hal Ashby’s Vietnam drama “Coming Home,” and Samuel Fuller’s World War II film “The Big Red One.”
The heights of his brother David's success eluded Robert Carradine, but the two could often be seen in the same projects, including in Walter Hill’s “The Long Riders” and Paul Bartel’s “Cannonball.”
Robert Carradine’s biggest hit would come in 1984 with the off-color comedy “Revenge of the Nerds,” in which he played head nerd Lewis Skolnick, with his abrupt, infectious and guttural laugh. He reprised the role for the big-screen sequel and two made-for-television follow-ups, and continued to pay homage to the beloved character with a guest role on the series “Robot Chicken” and as a co-host (with “Revenge of the Nerds” co-star Curtis Armstrong) of the pop culture competition show “King of the Nerds,” which aired for three seasons.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, according to the family statement, Carradine realized his racing ambitions and was a driver for Lotus. In the 2000s, Carradine gained small-screen success in The Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire” as the eponymous character’s father.
“It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend,” Hilary Duff, who played Lizzie McGuire, wrote on Instagram. “There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering.”
Work remained consistent even if the projects diminished in prestige and quality. Then Quentin Tarantino, ever the champion of fading character actors, cast Carradine in “Django Unchained” as one of the trackers in the 2012 film after seeing a “very furry” photograph, as Carradine told Popdose.
In 2015, Carradine was cited for a Colorado crash that injured him and his wife, Edith Mani. They later divorced, after more than 25 years of marriage.
Carradine's survivors include his three children, actor Ever Carradine, Marika Reed Carradine and Ian Alexander Carradine.
“Whenever anyone asks me how I turned out so normal, I always tell them it’s because of my dad. I knew my dad loved me, I knew it deep in my bones, and I always knew he had my back,” Ever Carradine wrote on Instagram. “I think it’s partly because we basically grew up together. Twenty years age difference really isn’t that much, and while I never ever thought of him as a sibling, I did always think of him as my partner. We were in it together.”