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62-510: Kung Fu is an American action - adventure martial arts Western drama television series starring David Carradine . The series follows the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine , a Shaolin monk who travels through the American Old West , armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts, as he seeks Danny Caine, his half-brother. Many of the aphorisms used in the series are adapted from or derived directly from

124-415: A harpsichord played by Mike Lang helped to set the series in the 19th century. The percussion instruments included a waterphone , Chinese tom-toms , Chinese opera bells, woodblocks , and antique Chinese "dharma bells" (Asian nested bells). The percussionist Emil Richards collected over 90 of them and used them often for microtonal glisses . Everything resulted in an Eastern-Western combination that

186-523: A May 1973 interview, this happened because "one of the problems we're faced with is that Oriental actors did not have much opportunity to act in TV or movies before, and so there is no great pool to draw from. So far, availability of martial artists for the training and fighting scenes has been good." Asian actors who returned often to the series were mostly members of the East West Players , brought to

248-460: A buck and a quarter. He cannibalized every scene dock in the industry. It was amazing to watch." The Camelot Castle, already converted into a Shaolin temple and with some additions, became a main set for the 1973 musical Lost Horizon during its 1972 April to June shooting period. From late 1972 to early 1975, it became again a Shaolin temple while the Kung Fu episodes were in production, with

310-559: A concept for a television series called The Warrior , meant to star himself, about a martial artist in the American Old West (the same concept as Kung Fu , which aired the following year), but that he was having trouble pitching it to Warner Brothers and Paramount. In the interview, Pierre Berton commented, "There's a pretty good chance that you'll get a TV series in the States called 'The Warrior', in it, where you use what,

372-473: A monthly basis. Herman Miller developed the pilot into a series by writing the first three episodes, by including in the plotline Caine's search for his missing brother, and by giving it a style to which following writers could adhere. After a very positive reception to the first three segments, in November 1972 the network contracted for 12 more episodes, dropped Alias Smith and Jones and placed Kung Fu in

434-448: A regular contract that would have bound him for five years. At any rate, Carradine's warning to the production team that the third season was going to be his last one allowed the writers to plan the final episodes so that all of the remaining story arcs regarding Caine and his brother could be brought to a satisfying end. In his commentary to the episode Full Circle , Carradine regretted his decision to leave, because of how that had affected

496-687: A season 3 episode places the stories approximately between 1871 and 1875. In the pilot episode, we see a telegram dated 21 November 1873, indicating that most of the show's American story begins in November 1873. Although it is his intention to avoid notice, Caine's training and sense of social responsibility repeatedly force him out into the open, to fight for justice or protect the underdog. After each such encounter he must move on, both to avoid capture and prevent harm from coming to those he has helped. Searching for his family, he meets his grandfather (played by Dean Jagger ). Flashbacks are often used to recall specific lessons from Caine's childhood training in

558-413: A series rated in the top 30 of that season, all of which were at the same time slot. Contrary to some misconceptions, Kung Fu was not canceled. The series ended due to a combination of factors, among which the documentary The Tao of Caine cites the lead actor's burnout, changes in the writing and shooting that altered some of the most appreciated characteristics of the show, and above all the changes in

620-631: A set used for the 1967 film Camelot . It was inexpensively and effectively converted for the setting in China, by the Academy Award nominee Eugène Lourié as art director ; the set decorator was the Academy Award nominee Ralph S. Hurst . Even if Camelot won an Academy Award for its art direction and set decoration, the expensive castle (made with wooden beams, wooden frame structures, and building timber covered with faux stone siding)

682-537: A stable team of writers, but freelance writers pitched their stories to the production; they were told not to include temple scenes. It was John Furia's job to write them and make them relevant to the episode's plot, based on the research material the production had collected. Furia's job also included "to maintain and preserve historical accuracy in each script. To complicate matters, there is no single historical source on kung-fu upon which he can rely. He must make extensive research into various sources before he can render

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744-504: A story to be within the realms of truth. Furthermore, because the story involves an ethnic group, and the tempers of our time do not tolerate ignorance and bigotry, he must not only make sure that the historical information regarding the group is accurate, but that these people are presented with dignity and respect." Questioned about whether having a half-Caucasian as a student at the Shaolin Temple (which did not accept foreigners)

806-433: Is a risk. I don't blame them. If the situation were reversed, and an American star were to come to Hong Kong, and I was the man with the money, I would have my own concerns as to whether the acceptance would be there." Action (genre) The intricacies of human relationships or the nuances of philosophy and psychology are rarely explored in action fiction, typically being fast-paced mysteries that merely seek to provide

868-642: Is also available for streaming . The series was filmed at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank (Laramie Street, the Backlot, and several stages), Old Tucson Studios , and on locations like Vasquez Rocks , the 20th Century Fox Ranch ( Malibu Creek State Park ), and the sand dunes in the Yuma Desert for the opening and closing credits. The Shaolin Monastery which appeared in flashbacks was originally

930-558: Is the David Henry Hwang Theater, housed within the historic Union Center for the Arts in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. The theater serves over 15,000 people each year, including low income audiences of whom are provided free and discounted admissions as well as deaf audiences via ASL -interpreted productions. EWP hosts an annual awards dinner to celebrate the achievements of individuals who have "raised

992-507: Is usually possible to identify the creative style of an action sequence, the emphasis of an entire work, so that, for example, the style of a combat sequence will indicate whether the entire work can be classified as action-adventure . Action is mainly defined by a central focus on any kind of exciting movement. East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As

1054-500: The Tao Te Ching , a book of ancient Taoist philosophy attributed to the sage Lao-tzu . Kwai Chang Caine ( David Carradine ) is the orphaned son of an American man, Thomas Henry Caine (Bill Fletcher), and a Chinese woman, Kwai Lin, born in mid-19th-century China. After his maternal grandfather's death he is accepted for training at a Shaolin Monastery , where he grows up to become a Shaolin priest and martial arts expert. In

1116-933: The stereotypical caricatures they were being limited to in Hollywood . An early statement of purpose read: "To further cultural understanding between the East and West by employing the dual Oriental and American heritages of the East-West Players." Current mission statement: As the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players produces artistic works and educational programs that foster dialogue exploring Asian Pacific experiences. Current vision statement: East West Players has been called “the nation’s pre-eminent Asian American theater troupe” for their award-winning productions blending Eastern and Western movement, costumes, language, and music. EWP has premiered over 100 plays and musicals about

1178-480: The 30 first rated shows, together with CBS Thursday Night Movie , which was at the same time slot, and tied in ratings with The Carol Burnett Show , which ran on Saturday nights. In its third and final season, 1974–1975 , Kung Fu ' s time slot changed three times, and it lost its place among the 30 first-rated shows. In the fall, it was moved to Saturdays night at 9 p.m., against CBS' The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show , sitcoms rated in

1240-497: The Asian Pacific American experience and has facilitated over 1,000 readings and workshops. Its emphasis is on building bridges between East and West; attendance estimates are 56% Asians and 44% non-Asians. In 1998, EWP Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang led the company’s move from a 99-seat Equity Waiver " black box ” into a new 240-seat venue at an Actors' Equity Association contract level. EWP’s mainstage

1302-472: The Dragon". Part of Chow's job was to add or eliminate fight scenes from the script, "settle differences of opinion" regarding their technical aspects among the martial artists participating in them, and make the scenes believable. Kung Fu was created by Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe , and developed by Herman Miller , who was also a writer for, and co-producer of,

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1364-528: The Emmy Award winner Antony Mondello and John Lamphear as set decorators. When visiting the backlot in 1980, Lourié was sorry to find out that a large number of the western streets had been bulldozed. As for the imposing castle/temple/lamasery, it lasted for a few more years until it was torn down and substituted by a parking lot and the Bridge offices building (1994). The series used slow-motion effects for

1426-531: The Family and Bridget Loves Bernie , which were among the top 10 programs of that season. The other 12 episodes ran on Thursday nights, when they ranked among the 30 first-rated shows and tied in ratings with The ABC Monday Night Movie and The F.B.I. during the winter season, losing in ratings to Ironside , which was at the same time slot during the fall and summer seasons. In its second season, 1973–1974 , it ran on Thursday nights, when it remained among

1488-574: The Martial Arts in Western setting?" Lee responded, "That was the original idea, ...both of them [Warner and Paramount], I think, they want me to be in a modernized type of a thing, and they think that the Western type of thing is out. Whereas I want to do the Western. Because, you see, how else can you justify all of the punching and kicking and violence, except in the period of the West?" Later in

1550-478: The Thursday night slot at 9 p.m. The resultant good ratings led to the series' renovation for a second season. The series' story editor was John Furia Jr. At the time a freelance writer for TV and movies who also worked in production, he had declined offers as story editor before until Jerry Thorpe approached him with Kung Fu. He had seen the pilot and was fascinated by it, so he accepted. The series didn't have

1612-545: The US box office in early 1973. In its first season, 1972–1973 , Kung Fu ' s pilot was first aired as an ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week , which placed it in the range of the top 20 programs of the season, as determined by Nielsen Media Research . After the pilot's rerun in the summer, during the fall season, three more episodes were aired once a month on Saturday nights alternating with Alias Smith and Jones , against All in

1674-479: The action sequences, which Warner Brothers had previously utilized in the 1969 Sam Peckinpah film The Wild Bunch and were also subsequently utilized for the action sequences in the science-fiction series The Six Million Dollar Man . The music for the opening and closing titles, as well as the incidental music , was composed by Jim Helms. The series associate producer (later producer) Alex Beaton selected him after listening to several composer demos when

1736-402: The castle's nonspecific architectural style was perfect to give it a Chinese look for Western eyes, by adding characteristic roofs, a front wall with a massive wood-carved door, and brick walls with ceramic-grilled windows, while its terraces and stairs were fit for the stagings of the kung fu training sequences. For the temple's interiors, Lourié opted for showing only a portion of the set and let

1798-443: The concept for the series, which was then stolen by Warner Bros.: "Even before this [Longstreet], Warner Brothers had suddenly caught on to the fact that kung fu itself had captured the public's imagination and decided to launch a TV series," she writes. "Bruce himself had been working on the idea of a Shaolin priest, a master of kung fu, who would roam America and find himself involved in various exploits. The studio contacted him and he

1860-457: The first season it was revised and re-recorded several times, and the sound palette comprised about 19 musicians per session only. Even if half of them were string players, woodwinds, keyboard, and percussion were always more prominent. The flute themes were performed by Sheridon Stokes on alto recorder , since the type of bamboo flute featured in the series wasn't chromatic and was deemed impractical for scoring purposes. The constant presence of

1922-453: The hiring of Asian actors for the secondary roles, he said: "It not only adds authenticity, it's only proper that it should be so. Our series, I believe, hires more Orientals than any series on TV." The series aired on ABC from October 1972 to April 1975 for a total of 63 episodes. The series became one of the most popular television programs of the early 1970s, receiving widespread critical acclaim and commercial success upon its release. On

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1984-413: The interview, Berton asked Lee about "the problems that you face as a Chinese hero in an American series. Have people come up in the industry and said 'well, we don't know how the audience are going to take a non-American'?" Lee replied, "Well, such question has been raised, in fact, it is being discussed. That is why The Warrior is probably not going to be on." Lee adds, "They think that business-wise it

2046-540: The minute 6:39 of the Kung Fu DVD documentary The Tao of Caine: Production and Beyond , Herbie J. Pilato says: "One of the great things about Kung Fu is that it had this incredible A-list of guest stars. You know, there were stars then, and they became stars later (...) So, it was a breeding ground for A-1 talent and it was also just surrounded by A-1 talent, I mean, in front of and behind the scenes. They didn't settle for less." Jerry Thorpe added: "People wanted to do

2108-401: The monastery from his teachers, the blind Master Po ( Keye Luke ) and Master Chen Ming Kan ( Philip Ahn ). In those flashbacks, Master Po advises his young student "patience, Grasshopper", a nickname given from a playful lesson he taught to Caine as a child about being aware of the world around him, including the grasshopper that happened to be at his feet at that moment. During four episodes of

2170-789: The musical selections and a group of eight musicians for the incidental music underscoring dialogue taken from the Shaolin temple sequences. The LP was re-released in CD format in 2010, accompanied by the Man in the Wilderness movie soundtrack. "Caine's Theme" (with different arrangements) was included in the TV and film music compilations by Jack Hawkins his Orchestra and Singers (UK, 1974), Jack Parnell and his Orchestra (UK, 1975), and The Film Studio Orchestra (Japan, 1976). In her memoirs, Bruce Lee 's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell , asserts that Lee created

2232-475: The nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American experience today. Established in 1965 by Mako , Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo , Soon-tek Oh , James Hong , Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee, and Yet Lock as a place where Asian-American actors could perform roles beyond

2294-1127: The opportunity to work with many respected artists and faculty such as actors Dennis Dun , Danny Glover , Bill Macy , Takayo Fischer , George Takei , Tsai Chin , and Nancy Kwan , directors, Lisa Peterson and Oskar Eustis , musician Dan Kuramoto and instructors Calvin Remsberg and Fran Bennett . Over seventy-five percent of all Asian Pacific performers in the acting unions living in Los Angeles have worked at EWP. East West Players has provided training and opportunities to many emerging and professional artists who have gone on to win Tony Awards , Obie Awards , Emmy Awards , LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards , and Academy Awards . East West Players has collaborated with many organizations though its history, including Center Theatre Group , Robey Theatre Company , Cornerstone Theater Company , Ma-Yi Theatre Company , and Cedar Grove OnStage . EWP hosts an annual gala fundraiser in order to honor "individuals [as well as corporations and foundations] who have raised

2356-753: The past to maintain accessibility for students. Notable EWP alumni include actors Mako , Nobu McCarthy , Pat Morita , James Hong , Yuki Shimoda , John Lone , Rodney Kageyama , BD Wong , James Saito , Freda Foh Shen, Lauren Tom , Amy Hill , Alec Mapa , Alan Muraoka , Emily Kuroda , Sala Iwamatsu, Chris Tashima , Anthony Begonia, John Cho , Kal Penn , Daniel Dae Kim , Matthew Yang King , Parvesh Cheena , James Kyson -Lee, Masi Oka , Francois Chau , Jeanne Sakata , Rachna Khatau , Greg Watanabe, Dante Basco , and dramatists Wakako Yamauchi , Hiroshi Kashiwagi , David Henry Hwang , Philip Kan Gotanda , Roberta Uno, R.A. Shiomi , Judith Nihei and Soji Kashiwagi , and Clyde Kusatsu. East West Players has also had

2418-492: The pilot episode, Caine's beloved mentor and elder, Master Po, is murdered by the Emperor's nephew with a firearm; outraged, Caine retaliates by killing the nephew, with everyone unaware that the man was reloading his weapon to attack again. With a price on his head, Caine flees China to the western United States, where he seeks to find his family roots, and ultimately, his half-brother, Danny Caine. A recent tombstone dated 1874 in

2480-411: The pilot was in development. Helms, a guitarist and arranger, scored the pilot with a team of only eleven musicians. The result was mostly atmospheric instead of melodic, with a koto as the predominant instrument. This score did not include "Caine's Theme", which was added when the series began airing in 1972, in the opening and closing titles. That signature theme had two unusual characteristics: through

2542-474: The railroad camp location, a place close to Hollywood was needed, so the well-known Vasquez Rocks were chosen. As for the Western scenes, the old western streets on the Warners lot were easily adaptable to the series' multiple requirements. Lourié's solution of the temple and the other sets both in budgetary and visual terms was key in getting the go-ahead for the movie pilot from the production department, and for

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2604-440: The ratings of the series, what Radames Pera described as sabotage. Carradine himself acknowledged that it had been detrimental to audience ratings. From a broader point of view, Carradine's decision stemmed from the fact that he, from the beginning, hadn't wanted to commit long-term to a series or stay in it for an extended period, due to his foremost interest in pursuing a career in filmmaking, which he said led him to avoid signing

2666-761: The reader with an exhilarating experience. Action fiction can also be a plot element of non-literary works such as graphic novels and film. Action genre is a form of fiction whose subject matter is characterized by emphasis on exciting action sequences. This does not always mean they exclude character development or story-telling. The action genre is also related to non-literary media including comic books , graphic novels (such as manga ), anime , action film , action television series, and action games . It includes martial arts action, extreme sports action, car chases and vehicles, hand-to-hand combat , suspense action, and action comedy , with each focusing in more detail on its own type and flavor of action. It

2728-553: The reduced budget of a TV production was a challenge, but Lourié had learned in France how to work with little money for sets. He was both interested and intrigued by the story, as the action moved back and forth between the Wild West's present and the memories of the Shaolin temple. Lourié decided to emphasize that contrast visually. The practical need for making the project monetarily viable meant style compromises. With that in mind,

2790-521: The series by Guy Lee, who would take charge of Bessie Loo 's Talent Agency when she retired. David Chow acted as the technical and kung fu advisor, and guest-starred in the pilot as the Little Monk, Caine's enemy at the climactic fight scene. His technical role was later undertaken by Kam Yuen , who guest-starred as Lin Wu in the s1e3 episode "Blood Brother" and as Wong Ti in the s3e1–2 episodes "Blood of

2852-572: The series' crew. Kung Fu started to broadcast in syndication on September 1, 1979, on 23 local channels. The series was later broadcast on cable television by the TNT channel, on weeknights at 7 p.m., ET. This series was internationally broadcast in its original run, later distributed in DVD format, has been re-broadcast in cable channels specialized on vintage TV shows like TCM Latin America , and it

2914-438: The series. (For the series concept's history, see Bruce Lee's involvement .) Spielman-Friedlander's 160 page movie script was transformed by Jerry Thorpe and writer Herman Miller into a 90-minute TV movie (with commercial breaks, so it actually amounted to about 75 minutes of screen time). "Since the rule of thumb on a script is that one page equals one minute, the script was literally cut in half." Directed by Jerry Thorpe, it

2976-406: The show because it was unique, it's as simple as that. Yes, it was fairly easy to cast people that normally wouldn't do a series television." This list does not reflect the full extent of Asian American actors' participation, since most of them were billed in the series' closing credits. It can be noticed that a group of Asian actors appeared repeatedly in the series. According to John Furia Jr. in

3038-459: The studio offered Kung Fu a large stage on which there was a standing set of the big hall from Camelot . That presented the advantage of ready-made stone walls if the side wings of the temple were to appear in a take. The scenes among the flickering candles would become a signature of the series. For other Chinese sets, he used carved wooden partitions to enhance plain walls, or giant sculptured lions to give simple gardens an aura of grandeur. For

3100-452: The subsequent series. In his memoir, Eugène Lourié praises Jerry Thorpe's vision, courage and inventiveness to undertake the Kung Fu project with a reduced TV budget. At the minute 4:32 of the documentary The Tao of Caine , Jerry Thorpe says about him: "The art director, Eugène Lourié, his talents were unending. He converted a medieval castle that had been built for Camelot on the backlot into an AD 2nd to 3rd century Shaolin monastery, for

3162-548: The third and final season ("Barbary House", "Flight to Orion", "The Brothers Caine", and "Full Circle"), Caine finds his brother Danny ( Tim McIntire ) and his nephew Zeke ( John Blyth Barrymore ). This list comprises a selection of actors billed in the opening credits, and some actors whose characters were decisive in the episode plot's development or who later became widely recognized for other productions. Among them there are nominees and winners of Academy Awards , Emmy , Golden Globe , Tony , and other film and theater awards. At

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3224-441: The time slot, which led to the audience's decline. However, the most important factor was David Carradine's decision to leave. It has been said that Carradine left the show after sustaining several injuries that made it impossible for him to continue. While injuries were a feature of his career, Carradine's decision to quit Kung Fu was influenced by the bad publicity that a drug-related incident attracted on him and which affected

3286-473: The top 20 of the season. Between the fall and winter seasons, it ran on Fridays at 8 p.m., which placed it against NBC's sitcoms Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man , both rated in the top 10 of the season. Then in winter, Kung Fu' s time slot changed to Saturdays at 8 p.m., which placed it against CBS's All in the Family , The Jeffersons (sitcoms rated in the season's top 10), and NBC's Emergency! ,

3348-407: The viewers complete it in their minds. He decided on a church-like appearance, with a Buddhist mural on the back wall, multileveled wooden candleholders and burning candles between columns, a constant haze, and the projection of strong rays of light as if coming through high church windows. That visual conception made it unnecessary to build long and high stone walls for those sets, especially because

3410-640: The visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft." EWP offers a growing array of educational programs training over 200 multicultural artists each year – the Actors Conservatory (performance workshops and an intensive Summer Conservatory); David Henry Hwang Writers Institute; the career program, Alliance of Creative Talent Services (ACTS); and the touring Theatre for Youth (reaching an estimated 50,000 K-8th graders and their families via in-school performances and festivals). Scholarships have been offered for these programs in

3472-614: The visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft." There are five awards: the Visionary Award, Corporate/Foundation Visionary Award, Made in American Award, Breakout Performance Award, and the Founders Award. Past honorees include Tia Carrere , John Cho , Tim Dang , Prince Gomolvilas , Amy Hill , Mako , Mike Shinoda , BD Wong , and Michelle Yeoh . The event itself comprises

3534-490: The week ending May 6, 1973, Kung Fu became the No.1 show on US television , drawing a regular audience of 28 million viewers. Around the same time, Bruce Lee's Hollywood debut Enter the Dragon was being completed. It was part of what became known as the " chopsocky " or " kung fu craze " after Hong Kong martial arts films such as Five Fingers of Death ( King Boxer ) and Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury ( The Big Boss ) topped

3596-465: Was broadcast on February 22, 1972 (just after the meeting of President Nixon with Chairman Mao ), and rerun the following summer, to great acclaim: "(...) ABC and Warner Brothers were deluged with letters, telephone calls and telegrams, all praising the show." ABC ordered just four more segments and placed them in what was called the "death row," the Saturday night slot opposite All in the Family , on

3658-462: Was criticized for its unspecific style placed in a landscape evidently Californian, which resulted in that castle being the last attempt for a studio to construct a large scale set that represented a foreign location. By November 1971, when Jerry Thorpe asked Eugène Lourié to design the art for Kung Fu , the castle was derelict to the point that Lourié believed that it still stood only because the cost of demolishing it would be prohibitive. Working with

3720-433: Was historically accurate, John Furia Jr. declared: "There is, of course, a certain amount of dramatic license involved in producing a show of this nature. As for David Carradine playing the part of a half-American half-Chinese, I can honestly say that we haven't found anyone, before or since the series began, who can play the part better. One of the reasons for the success of the series is Carradine's portrayal of Caine." As for

3782-412: Was soon deeply involved. He gave them numerous ideas, many of which were eventually incorporated in the resulting TV success, Kung Fu, starring actor David Carradine." (Linda Lee, The Man Only I Knew , pp. 130–31.). There is circumstantial evidence for this in a December 8, 1971, television interview that Bruce Lee gave on The Pierre Berton Show . In the interview, Lee stated that he had developed

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3844-568: Was unique in American television. Variety referred to Helms' work as "especially interesting... sensitive... a decided asset." Given the success of Kung Fu ' s first season, Warner Bros. Records released internationally in December 1973 a " concept album " of dialogue and music from the show, based on the pilot and the first nine episodes; "Caine's Theme" was also released as a single . The record used an expanded 45-piece orchestra for

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