David Carradine Sex Act Gone Wrong

As investigators try to determine how actor David Carradine wound up dead in a Bangkok hotel closet with a rope tied around his neck and genitals, it was revealed today that the famous actor was once accused of "deviant sexual behavior" by an ex-wife, according to a new report.

In a review of divorce court filings conducted by the Web site thesmokinggun.com, Carradine's most recent ex-wife once accused him of "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly."

Marina Anderson also alleged in a sworn declaration that Carradine -- best known for the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" --engaged in an "incestuous relationship with a very close family member."

Anderson's assertion was filed six years ago in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Thai officials, meanwhile, said Carradine's death may have been caused by accidental suffocation and there is no evidence anyone else was in his room at the time.

The 72-year-old actor's body was discovered Thursday in his luxury suite at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.

Police initially said they suspected suicide, but The Bangkok Post quoted officials who said the veteran actor, who is married, may have died from "auto-erotic asphyxiation."

He could have been trying to gain sexual pleasure by cutting off his breathing and accidentally suffocated, officials told the newspaper.

In regards to the allegations put forth by Anderson in 2003, the court papers do not detail Carradine's alleged "deviant sexual behavior."

Although the document was supposed to be filed under seal, it was mistakenly placed in the public court file where thesmokinggun.com found it.

As for the incest charge, Anderson reported that Carradine and the unnamed relative admitted the taboo relationship, but that her "pleas for him to get counseling in regards to this matter were ignored and he wanted no part in the healing process the other person needed in order to get closure."

Anderson, who was married to Carradine for four years, said today she stands by the allegations in her court filing, but declined to further discuss it.

However, the celebrity Web site TMZ.com quoted Carradine's manager Chuck Binder as saying that the actor was also found with his hands tied behind his back.

He also said he doesn't think Carradine took his own life -- nor does he think he died accidentally.

Police Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope tied around his genitals and another rope around his neck.

"The two ropes were tied together," he said. "It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure."

During a news conference, he did not rule out that Carradine "may have" died as a result of sex-play.

"Under these circumstances we cannot be sure that he committed suicide, but he may have died while masturbating," said Chewprecha.

Thai police completed an autopsy on Carradine today, but Police Col. Somprasong Yenthuam, superintendent of the Lumpini police station, which is handling the case, said results would not be ready for at least three weeks because the cause of death was unclear. He called the time lag "normal."

Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy Center, told reporters that the autopsy was conducted because of the "unusual circumstances surrounding Carradine's death," but did not elaborate.

Police Lt. Teerapop Luanseng had said Thursday that Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," and that police at the time suspected suicide.

From the start, Carradine's managers dismissed the theory.

"All we can say is, we know David would never have committed suicide," said Tiffany Smith of Binder & Associates, his management company. "We're just waiting for them to finish the investigation and find out what really happened. He really appreciated everything life has to give ... and that's not something David would ever do to himself."

Carradine had flown to Thailand last week and began work on a film titled "Stretch" two days before his death, Smith said.

He had several other projects lined up after the action film, which was being directed by Charles De Meaux.

Carradine was in good spirits when he left the US for Thailand on May 29 to work on the movie, Smith said.

"David was excited to do it and excited to be a part of it," she said.

Filming began on Tuesday, she said, adding that the crew was devastated by Carradine's death and did not wish to speak publicly about it for now.

Aurelio Giraudo, the hotel's general manager, said Carradine checked into the hotel this past Sunday and he last saw him on Wednesday.

He said Carradine chatted with staff and even played piano a few nights in the lobby as well as flute which the "guests really enjoyed."

"I was a fan. I had a very nice talk with him when he checked in," Giraudo told The Associated Press. "He was very much a person full of life. I mentioned to him that I had seen [the movie] "Crank" with my family and that was the last smile he gave me."

Giraudo said a maid discovered Carradine's body -- adding that she knocked and entered after there was no response.

Carradine, a martial arts practitioner himself, was best known for the TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75. He played Kwai Chang Caine, an orphan who was raised by Shaolin monks and fled China after killing the emperor's nephew in retaliation for the murder of his kung fu master.

Carradine also appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby.

He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill." Bill, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003's "Kill Bill -- Vol. 1."

In that film, one of Bill's former assassins -- played by Uma Thurman -- begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates, including Bill.