Robert Carradine, Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie McGuire actor, dies aged 71 | Film
Robert Carradine, a member of the famous acting family known for his roles in Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie McGuire, has died at the age of 71.
His family stated that Carradine committed suicide after living with bipolar disorder for years, and that they hoped it would raise awareness.
“It is with deep sadness that we must share that our beloved father, grandfather, uncle and brother Robert Carradine has passed away.” The Carradine family said in a statement to Deadline: On Monday.
“In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon of light to everyone around him. We are saddened by the loss of this beautiful soul and want to recognize Bobby’s courageous fight against his nearly two-decade battle with bipolar disorder. We hope his journey will shine a light and encourage us to address the stigma surrounding mental illness. At this time, we ask for privacy to grieve this incomprehensible loss. We offer our gratitude for your understanding and compassion.”
His older brother, fellow actor Keith Carradine, told Deadline that the family wanted the world to know about his brother’s mental illness.
“We want people to know that, and there’s no shame in that,” he told Deadline. “I want to congratulate him on his struggle with this issue and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was extremely talented and we will miss him every day. We will be comforted by how funny he could be and how wise and extremely accepting and tolerant he was. My little brother was like that too.”
In 2009, Carradine’s older brother David died of drowning in a hotel room in Thailand at the age of 72. Carradine later said his mental illness was triggered by his brother’s death, and he was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Born in 1954, Carradine was the youngest son of actor John Carradine. He had two older half-brothers, David and Bruce, from his father’s first marriage, and two older brothers, Keith and Christopher; They all started acting in some way.
Carradine made his film debut opposite John Wayne in 1972’s The Cowboys, followed soon after by a role in the Oscar-winning film Coming Home and a small role in Martin Scorsese’s 1973 film Mean Streets, where he shot his brother David.
In 1980, he starred in The Long Riders, opposite David and Keith, as the Young Brothers, a real-life outlaw family; Meanwhile, Randy and Dennis Quaid played the Miller brothers, Stacy and James Keach played Frank and Jesse James, and Christopher and Nicholas Guest played the Ford brothers.
Carradine’s biggest hit was the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Cow, starring Lewis Skolnick. Carradine went undercover at the University of Arizona, convincing real students that he was a real nerd. He returned for three sequels in 1987, 1992 and 1994.
Later in life, Carradine became known to a new generation as Lizzie McGuire’s father, Sam, and starred opposite Hilary Duff in 65 episodes of the hit children’s show between 2001 and 2004.
Carradine had a daughter, actor Ever Carradine, with Susan Snyder. He later married Edith Mani and they had two children, Marika and Ian, before divorcing in 2015 after 25 years of marriage. Mani during the divorce case in 2017 alleged Carradine tried to kill them both in a car crash in Colorado in 2015, and Carradine admitted he was in a “psychotic state” at the time.
