It has been nearly 40 years since John Carradine passed away, but his legacy lives on through his five children.
The legendary House of Frankenstein actor, who passed away aged 82 in 1988, was born in New York City, the son of William Reed Carradine, a correspondent for the Associated Press, and his wife, Genevieve Winnifred Richmond, a surgeon.
And though he himself has left behind a big enough footprint across film and television thanks to his over 300 credits, his sons have continued the tradition, all but one following in his footsteps. Meet them below.
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© WireImageBruce Carradine
Bruce was John's first wife Ardanelle Abigail McCool's son, who he adopted. He was born in 1933, two years before his mom married John, and his first time on the screen was in 1979's The Carradines Together, an unreleased documentary depicting the camaraderie and musical talents of the famous Carradine clan.
He also appeared in Americana (1981), Q (1982), and Mata Hari (2013), his brother David's film, but appeared to have largely abstained from acting otherwise, and little is known about his personal life. He passed away aged 83 in 2016.
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© Getty ImagesDavid Carradine
David was Ardanelle and John's first and only son together. Born in 1936, he got his break playing Atahuallpa in the 1965 Broadway production of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and went on to accrue over 200 film and TV credits, including in the series Kung Fu, which ran from 1972 to 1975, and in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha (1972), as well as in both Kill Bill movies.
He was married five times, to Donna Lee Becht from 1960 to 1968, to Linda Gilbert from 1977 to 1983, to Gail Jensen from 1986 to 1997, to Marina Anderson from 1998 to 2001, and lastly to Annie Bierman, from 2004 until his death. He welcomed three children, Calista, shared with Donna, Tom, shared with his domestic partner from 1968 to 1975, Barbara Hershey, and Kansas, shared with Linda. David died aged 72 in 2009.
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© Getty ImagesChristopher is second from left in the glasses.
Christopher Carradine
Christopher, 78, was born to John and his ex-wife Sonia Sorrel. He did not pursue acting but rather a career in architecture, and later became Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering.
He has been married to Carolyn Martin since 1979, and they share three children, Richard, Caitlyn, and Henry.
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© Getty ImagesKeith Carradine
Keith, 76, was also born to Sonia and John, in 1949, and is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Nashville (1975), E. J. Bellocq in Pretty Baby (1978), and Mickey in Choose Me (1984).
Keith had a relationship with actress Shelly Plimpton, and together they welcomed fellow actress Martha Plimpton, though Shelly had then reunited with her husband Steve Curry, and he did not meet Martha until later in life. He was then married to Sandra Will from 1982 to 1999, with whom he shares sons Cade and Sorel, and in 2006, he married actress Hayley DuMond.
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© Getty ImagesRobert Carradine
Robert, 71, is Sonia and John's third child together, who made his first appearances on television in Bonanza (1959-1973) as well as in his brother David's TV series Kung Fu. He is also known for his role as fraternity president Lewis Skolnick in the Revenge of the Nerds comedy film series, as well as for playing Hilary Duff's on-screen dad in Lizzie McGuire.
He shares daughter Ever with Susan Snyder, as well as daughter Marika and son Ian with ex-wife Edie Mani, to whom he was married from 1990 to 2018.
