Original "Kung Fu" Actor Radames Pera has One Complaint about Reboot - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 04-21-2021, 04:33 PM

Last Surviving Member of Original "Kung Fu" has One Complaint about The CW Reboot
by Lynette Rice
April 21, 2021

The last surviving member of the original "Kung Fu" series that starred David Carradine as a wandering, mixed-race monk trained in the martial arts said he takes issue with The CW's update and how it uses the same title — especially when the two shows couldn't be more different.

Radames Pera, who played young Caine, or Grasshopper, in the original show that aired from 1972 to 1975, said Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine) used his training from a Shaolin Monastery only when necessary as he searched for his half-brother in the American old west.

"I want to be positive and not be critical of [the new version], except for the fact they're taking very big licenses with the original show," says Pera, who admits he's only read the pilot script of the show that premiered April 7. (He lives in France and can't access The CW shows).

"David Carradine once said that Kung Fu was an anti-revenge series. The character walked through life trying to make as few ripples as possible because of his mixed race status. But he'd immediately be the focus of people's negative attention and bigotry, so he would have to deal with these jerks coming at him," Pera explains to EW.

"Despite that, he always tried to do the least amount of harm," he adds.

"There's a beautiful ... and I'm not going to recall it word for word ... but Master Po says to young Caine to honor all life. The first rule of Kung Fu is to run away. If you have to confront, check rather than hurt, hurt rather than maim, maim rather than kill.

That was a very interesting thing to watch, a trained person make those kinds of decisions rather than use lethal force at all times, which is kind of what you're seeing in this new show."

Pera recognizes the legacy of the original "Kung Fu" is tarnished by the fact that he and Carradine were cast as mixed-race characters. Carradine, who died in 2009 at the age of 72, was born in Los Angeles while Pera, now 60, grew up in New York City. Both are white.

"They did the best they could at the time," recalls Pera, who was 11 when he first started on the series that was shot in Los Angeles. "They were taking heat from the Asian community from the onset. So they actually made a deal with some of the representatives from Asian American community to hire everybody in town, whether they were Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino who had a SAG card. They also gave cards to those who didn't have one by giving them their first job in a union production. Literally every Asian actor in town worked on that show."

https://ew.com/tv/kung-fu-original-c...per-cw-reboot/

04-21-2021, 04:33 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,041	Original "Kung Fu" Actor Radames Pera has One Complaint about Reboot *Last Surviving Member of Original "Kung Fu" has One Complaint about The CW Reboot* by Lynette Rice April 21, 2021 The last surviving member of the original "Kung Fu" series that starred David Carradine as a wandering, mixed-race monk trained in the martial arts said he takes issue with The CW's update and how it uses the same title — especially when the two shows couldn't be more different. Radames Pera, who played young Caine, or Grasshopper, in the original show that aired from 1972 to 1975, said Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine) used his training from a Shaolin Monastery only when necessary as he searched for his half-brother in the American old west. "I want to be positive and not be critical of [the new version], except for the fact they're taking very big licenses with the original show," says Pera, who admits he's only read the pilot script of the show that premiered April 7. (He lives in France and can't access The CW shows). "David Carradine once said that Kung Fu was an anti-revenge series. The character walked through life trying to make as few ripples as possible because of his mixed race status. But he'd immediately be the focus of people's negative attention and bigotry, so he would have to deal with these jerks coming at him," Pera explains to EW. "Despite that, he always tried to do the least amount of harm," he adds. "There's a beautiful ... and I'm not going to recall it word for word ... but Master Po says to young Caine to honor all life. The first rule of Kung Fu is to run away. If you have to confront, check rather than hurt, hurt rather than maim, maim rather than kill. That was a very interesting thing to watch, a trained person make those kinds of decisions rather than use lethal force at all times, which is kind of what you're seeing in this new show." Pera recognizes the legacy of the original "Kung Fu" is tarnished by the fact that he and Carradine were cast as mixed-race characters. Carradine, who died in 2009 at the age of 72, was born in Los Angeles while Pera, now 60, grew up in New York City. Both are white. "They did the best they could at the time," recalls Pera, who was 11 when he first started on the series that was shot in Los Angeles. "They were taking heat from the Asian community from the onset. So they actually made a deal with some of the representatives from Asian American community to hire everybody in town, whether they were Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino who had a SAG card. They also gave cards to those who didn't have one by giving them their first job in a union production. Literally every Asian actor in town worked on that show." https://ew.com/tv/kung-fu-original-c...per-cw-reboot/ Attached Images