Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Actor Biographies

Actor Biographies - as of 3/96

David Carradine (Kwai Chang Caine)

Born in Hollywood on December 8, 1936, David Carradine is the son of famous actor John Carradine, and portrayed the original Kwai Chang Caine in the series Kung Fu. The Carradine clan is fairly large, including his brothers Robert Carradine and Keith Carradine. Until recently, he maintained a horse ranch in California with his third wife, Gail Jensen, in addition to maintaining a home in Toronto, where KF:TLC is filmed. David and Gail are now pursuing a divorce.

David recently ran unsuccessfully for president of the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG). He secured a spot on the SAG board, and dropped his Co-Producer credit on KF:TLC to avoid a conflict of interest.

David's older daughter, Calista, has appeared on KF:TLC as Cheryl Hines. Younger daughter Kansas appeared in the episode "Quake!" in the third season of KF:TLC, as did Carradine's younger brother Robert (as Paulson). His son Free (who prefers to be called "Tom") has not yet followed the Carradine clan's footsteps into acting.

David is the author of two autobiographical books, Spirit of Shaolin and Endless Highway, and released two videos on Tai Chi and Kung Fu.

Some of David's credits include:
(information compiled by Lindy Cooksey and Jeanne DeVore)
Films
1964 Taggart
1965 Bus Riley's Back in Town
1967 The Violent Ones
1969 The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969 Heaven With A Gun
1969 Young Billy Young
1970 Macho Callahan
1970 The McMasters
1972 Boxcar Bertha
1973 The Long Goodbye
1973 Mean Streets
1975 Death Race 2000
1975 You and Me
1976 Bound for Glory
1976 Cannonball
1977 Gray Lady Down
1977 Das Schlangenei
1977 Thunder and Lightning
1978 Deathsport
1978 Fast Charlie--The Moonbeam Rider
1978 Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel
1978 The Silent Flute
1979 Cloud Dancer
1980 The Long Riders
1980 Safari 3000
1981 Americana
1982 Lone Wolf McQuade
1982 Q
1982 Trick or Treats
1983 A Distant Scream
1983 The Warrior and the Sorceress
1984 Rio Abajo
1986 Armed Response
1986 The Misfit Brigade
1986 P.O.W. the Escape
1988 Maniac Cop
1989 Crime Zone
1989 Future Force
1989 Night Children
1989 Nowhere to Run
1989 Sauf Votre Respect
1989 Sundown, The Vampire in Retreat
1989 Tropical Snow
1989 Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II
1990 Bird on a Wire
1990 Future Zone
1990 Fatal Secret
1990 Sonny Boy
1990 Think Big
1991 Dune Warriors
1978 Circle of Iron
1978 The Serpent's Egg
1979 Mr Horn
1980 High Noon: Part 2
1983 On the Line
1984 Jealousy
1985 The Bad Seed
1986 Bad Girls in the Movies
1986 Oceans of Fire
1988 Warlords
1990 Evil Toons
1990 Martial Law
1990 Night Rhythms
1990 That's Action!
1991 Deadly Surveillance
1991 Double Trouble
1991 The Dying Truth
1991 Project: Eliminator
Some Television credits:
North and South/North and South--Book II
Shane (1966) (title character)
Amazing Stories
Darkroom
Matlock
Night Heat
Saturday Night Live

(For more complete credits, see The Kung Fu Book, The Kung Fu Book of Caine, or The Spirit of Shaolin.)

Chris Potter (Peter Caine)

Born in Toronto on August 23, 1960, and raised in London, Ontario, Chris Potter is married with three children (daughters Jessie, Quinn and Clare). His wife Karen and daughter Quinn appeared in the KF:TLC episode "May I Ride With You." While he once hoped to be a professional athlete, Chris discovered acting, and started his career on the stage, including a stint in Neil Simon's autobiographical comedy, Biloxi Blues. Chris is also a member of the Hollywood All-Stars, a hockey team made up of people in the entertainment industry who play against local alumni and celebrity teams to raise money for local charities. See also Carolyn Cooper's Unofficial Chris Potter Home Page.

Film Credits:
None so far. We'd like to change that. He's working on financing for a film called "The Counselor" that he wants to make, and was recently sighted in Boston, MA (October, 1995) meeting with an entertainment attorney about a film deal.

TV Credits:
(information compiled by Lindy Cooksey and Deb Walsh)
Material World (Canadian sitcom, 3 seasons)
X-Men (voice of Gambit)
War of the Worlds - The Walls of Jericho (about 30 seconds of screen time)
Counterstrike - The Three Tramps
Rin Tin Tin K9 Cop - Fatal Obsession
The Hidden Room - Let Death Do Us Part
Street Legal
6 episodes of Top Cops:

Snidersich - Chris was Galleta, a cop who took a cop who'd been shot to the hospital.
Rocky Bridges - Chris was Henry Bunch, Bridges partner who was shot and killed by a guy they'd picked up.
William Freeman - Chris was Freeman, who's picked up a transient, then later found out he was wanted for murder.
Betty Jane Hendricks and Walter Crabtree - Chris was Wally Crabtree, a helicopter pilot.
Dave Driscoll and Robert Cea - Chris was Driscoll, a cop offered a bribe.
Mike Eubanks and Bob Kurowski - Chris was Eubanks. The were looking for a stolen car with a baby in it on Christmas morning.

Lonesome Dove - (October 1995)

Silk Stalkings from September 1996 on.

Robert Lansing (Paul Blaisdell)

Robert Lansing was born Robert Howell Brown on June 5, 1928, in San Diego, California, and died October 23rd, 1994, in New York, of the cancer he had been suffering from for some time. His career spanned more than a generation, in film, on stage, and on television. In addition to his wife Anne, he is survived by two children by previous marriages, Robert Frederick Orin Lansing and Alice Lucille Lansing.

(Credits compiled by Jeanne DeVore)
Film Appearances:
4D Man (also known as "The Master of Terror" and "The Evil Force") 1959
The Pusher 1960
A Gathering of Eagles 1963
Under the Yum-Yum Tree 1963
An Eye for and Eye 1966
Namu, the Killer Whale 1966
It Takes All Kinds 1969
The Grissom Gang 1971
Black Jack (also known as Wild in the Sky) 1973
Bittersweet Love 1976
Scalpel (also known as False Face) 1976
Empire of the Ants 1977
Acapulco Gold 1978
Island Claws (also known as The Night of the Claws) 1981
The Nest 1988
After School (also known as Private Tutor) 1988
Blind Vengeance 1990
Jungle Fever 1991
Television appearances Movies:
The Astronaut 1972
Widow 1976
Bionic Showdown 1989
Television appearances Series:
Young Dr. Malone 1958-1963
87th Precinct 1961-62
Twelve O'Clock High 1964-67
The Man Who Never Was 1966-67
Automan 1983-84
The Equalizer 1985
Televison appearances Pilots:
Killer By Night (also known as The City By Night) 1972
The Crime Club 1975
Deadly Triangle 1977
S*H*E 1980
Television appearances Episodic:
Kraft Theatre 1956
U.S. Steel Hour 1959-1963
The Dow Hour of Great Mysteries 1960
Sam Benedict 1962-3
The Virginian 1963, 1965, 1967
Wagon Train 1964
Twilight Zone 1964
Ironside 1968
Star Trek 1968
Name of the Game 1969
Gunsmoke 1969
Medical Center 1970
Bonanza 1970
Mannix 1970-1
The Evil Touch 1973
Great Performances, "Life on the Mississippi" 1980
Simon and Simon 1983
Hotel 1986
Appeared in episodes of General Electric Theatre, on "Monsters" and on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Camera Three"
Stage Appearances:
Stalag 17 1948
Cyrano De Bergerac 1953
Charley's Aunt 1953
Richard III 1953
The Lovers 1956
Cue for Passion 1958
Suddenly Last Summer 1958
Great God Brown 1959
All About Love 1959
Cut of the Axe 1960
Under the Yum-Yum Tree 1960
Antony and Cleopatra 1967
Brightower 1970
Finishing Touches 1973
The Father 1973
The Line 1977
Phaedra 1977
S.S. Glencairn 1977-8
The Dance of Death 1980-1
Damien 1981
The Little Foxes 1981
The Bathers 1983-4
The Cost of Living 1985
John Brown's Body 1989
Mi Vida Loca 1990
Major Tours:
Stalag 17 1952-3
Finishing Touches 1973-4
The Little Foxes 1981

Scott Wentworth (Kermit Griffin)

Scott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved to Canada after joining the Stratford Festival company. He's about 40, married (to Marion Adler, an actress and lyricist), and has a son (Ned). He did musicals in community theatre as a teenager, and studied theatre at Boston University. Scott received a Tony Award nomination for "Welcome to the Club." In addition to acting, Scott has also written two musicals, and directed plays at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Detroit's Hilberry Theatre, and the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta.

Scott appeared in the play Antony and Cleopatra with MacBeth co- star Seanna McKenna in Montreal, Canada earlier this winter. He will be appearing in the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival this summer.

(Credits compiled by Merle Micklin)
Film Credits:
Sing
Simple Justice
Television:
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
The Terry Anderson Story
Theatre Credits:
1979, Three Men On a Horse
1979, Say Goodnight Gracie
1980, Romeo and Juliet
1980, Pal Joey
1980, Christmas Carol
1980, Rocket to the Moon
1980, Treats
1983, My Uncle Sam
1984, The Kuni-Leml
1984, Isn't It Romantic
1985, The Glass Menagerie (Stratford debut)
1987, Hedda Gabler
1987, School for Scandal
1987, Cabaret
1988, Taming of the Shrew
1988, Irma La Douce
1988, Richard III
1989, The Film Society
1989, Welcome to the Club (Tony nomination, featured actor in a musical)
1989, Man Who Came to Dinner
1990, Guys and Dolls
1990, Macbeth
1990, Julius Caesar
1991, Getting Married
1992, Gunmetal Blues (also book)
1992, Anna Karenina
1993, Taming of the Shrew
1993, King John
1994, Twelfth Night
1994, Othello
1995, Macbeth
1995, The Country Wife
Other Theatre Credits:
Lost in Yonkers
A Midsummer Night's Dream
She Stoops to Conquer
A Man for All Seasons
Hamlet
Henry VIII

Friday the 13th - The Series - The Prophesies
War of the Worlds -
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Two seasons as David)
Beyond Reality - The Bridge
Counterstrike
ENG: Child's Play
George's Island (1991)
Rin Tin Tin - K9 Cop (w/Michael Rhoades)
The Kissing Place
Top Cops (one episode)

[KF:TLC FAQ Main Page] [KF:TLC FAQ Index] [Operation Phoenix: KF:TLC the TV Movie]
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[Episode List] [Season 1 Episodes] [Season 2 Episodes] [Season 3 Episodes] [Season 4 Episodes]
[Production Credits] [Caine Family Tree] [Shaolin Philosophy]
[Jeanne DeVore's KF:TLC Fan Guide] [KF:TLC Internet Links] [Barbara Warne's Kung Fu Episode Guide]

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Online FAQ / Deb Walsh / debwalsh@aol.com

David Carradine (Kwai Chang Caine)

Chris Potter (Peter Caine)

Robert Lansing (Paul Blaisdell)

Scott Wentworth (Kermit Griffin)

Credits without Bios ...

William Dunlop (Chief Frank Strenlich)

Michael Rhoades (Donny Double D)

Nathaniel Moreau (Young Peter)

Victoria Snow (Mary Margaret Skalany)

Janet-Laine Green (Annie Blaisdell)

Belinda Metz (Jody Powell)

David Hewlett (Nick Elder)