BANGKOK, Thailand (BNO NEWS) — “Kung Fu” and “Kill Bill” star David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok on Thursday, a U.S. State Department official told BNO News. He was 72-years-old.

Carradine had been in Bangkok since Tuesday to shoot an upcoming movie called “Strand”. A U.S. State Department official said that Thai officials had notified the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok that Carradine had died but further details were not immediately released out of consideration for his family.

Thai police officials, however, say that Carradine failed to show up when he and his film crew were supposed to dine at a Thai restaurant on Wednesday but the film crew assumed he took a break because of his age.

On Thursday, a hotel maid found the star dead in a closet when she opened his suite at around 10 a.m. local time. There were no visible signs of a struggle but officials now believe he may have died from accidental suffocation or heart failure due to an orgasm. Thai police say suicide has not been ruled out either.

Officials told reporters that the actor was found naked, curled up inside the wardrobe with one end of a shoelace tied around his penis and the other end fastened around his neck. Both of his hands were bound with a cord which was also tied around his neck.

It is believed Carradine died some 12 to 24 hours before he was found by the hotel maid. The head of the autopsy division at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital called his death “abnormal”, but did not elaborate, according to local media.

Forensic experts have also reportedly found a footprint on the bed which did not match the shoes worn by the actor, the Bangkok Post reported. There was also a glass of water in the room and experts are checking to see if the drink had been tampered with. It is unclear if a second person was with him in the room when he died.

Carradine’s manager, however, told CNN’s Larry King that he had been told “there was foul play” involved.

• David Carradine

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