Robert Carradine Discussed His Brother's Struggles with Alcoholism 27 Years Before His Own Death
Robert Carradine Discussed His Brother's Struggles with Alcoholism 27 Years Before His Own Death
Virginia ChamleeThu, February 26, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC
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Actors David Carradine and Robert CarradineCredit: Mat Szwajkos/Getty -
Actor Robert Carradine died following what his family described as a "valiant struggle" with bipolar disorder
Decades prior, his brother — actor David Carradine — died in the shadow of his own public struggles with alcoholism
A 1999 PEOPLE profile featured both brothers
Years before he died at age 71 following a bipolar disorder diagnosis, actor Robert Carradine spoke about his half-brother David's issues with addiction — and how it was David who first pushed him into acting.
Robert — the actor known for his roles in Lizzie McGuire and the Revenge of the Nerds franchise – died on Monday, Feb. 23, following a "valiant struggle" with bipolar disorder, according to his family.
Deadline reported on Monday, Feb. 23 that he died by suicide. Carradine's family released a statement to the outlet writing, “It is with profound sadness that we must share that our beloved father, grandfather, uncle, and brother Robert Carradine has passed away."
Seventeen years prior to Robert's death, his brother David died after going public with his struggles with alcoholism — and David later spoke about how Robert convinced him to audition for the role that would see him star opposite John Wayne in 1972's The Cowboys.
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David Carradine was also an actor, and best known for starring as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu (he also famously played the title character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films). David was found dead in a hotel room in Thailand in July 2009.
Prior to David's death, he had been open about his alcoholism, telling PEOPLE in a 1999 profile: "I was drinking every minute I was awake. I got up to a quart and a half a day. Vodka, you name it — I would drink all day long."
In that same profile, his brother Robert explained how David's addictions had affected the family, saying, "It wasn't much fun to hang around David. He was pretty far gone."
"If he didn't have a drink in his hand, he was on his way to get one," Robert, 44 at the time, told PEOPLE.
Per PEOPLE's reporting at the time, David got sober in 1996, saying, "I haven't had one bad moment, and I haven't looked back. I feel like I'm the sole survivor of a shipwreck and I've reached the beach of a gorgeous tropical island with papayas and mangoes and beautifully colored birds."
The brothers and fellow actors were part of the Carradine Hollywood dynasty — David, born in 1936, was the son of John Carradine and Ardenelle McCool, and Robert, born in 1954, was the youngest son of John and Sonia Sorel.
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John Carradine was one of Hollywood's most prolific character actors, with a list of credits that included 1940's The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach and countless horror movies.
Actors David (L) and Robert CarradineCredit: Getty
Robert debuted onscreen opposite of John Wayne in The Cowboys in 1972 and he shared the screen with David in the 1980 Western The Long Riders.
It was David, he would later say, who convinced him to audition for his first film role.
"I didn’t want to be an actor. I was 18. My whole life, at that point, was cars and wanting to race. When The Cowboys came along around 1972, Bruce Dern eventually played the part of Long Hair, but it was offered to my brother David," Robert explained in an appearance at MidSouth Nostalgia Festival in June 2025.
Robert continued: “David said, 'I don’t want to be the guy who shoots John Wayne in the back... but hey, there’s a bunch of kids in this movie. Why don’t you go meet those people? You got everything to gain,’ he said, ‘and nothing to lose.’ I thought about that. Everything to gain and nothing to lose."
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Robert went on to appear in Martin Scorsese’s mafia crime drama Mean Streets in 1973, and in Hal Ashby’s Oscar-winning film Coming Home in 1978 with Jane Fonda and Jon Voight. The war drama-romance largely focused on the lasting impacts of the Vietnam War on veterans.
Carradine also starred in the comedy franchise Revenge of the Nerds as one of the titular nerds, Lewis Skolnick. He had a memorable role in Escape From L.A. opposite Kurt Russell in 1996.
In their statement about Robert's death, his family wrote, "In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon on light to everyone around him. We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby’s valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder. We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness. At this time we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss. With gratitude for your understanding and compassion."
Robert's surviving brother, Keith (also an actor) remembered his brother as "profoundly gifted" in a statement following his death, saying, “We want people to know it, and there is no shame in it. 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. We will take solace in how funny he could be, how wise and utterly accepting and tolerant he was. That’s who my baby brother was," Keith added.
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