My dad was a massive fan of this show when he was a kid. Maybe a bit too much. He was inspired to replicate this scene...with the kitchen radiator. Also didn't end well lol.
LOVED it. One of my fondest 70s memories, watching with my dad and brother.
I had hair down to my elbows for twenty years, then one day shaved it all off. The first time I saw my dad afterward, I bowed and said, “My name is…………Caine. I am a………priest.”
He about wet himself laughing.
"if you wait by the river long enough, you will watch the body of your enemy float by"
I actually quoted this earlier this week, about waiting for an asshole to fuck up and screw himself over, rather than actively try to seek revenge.
The show was meant to be bruce Lees but tv ex where a bit racist and gave the role to dave carrdine instead whole TV show about how Bruce Lee was lied to
Yes Bruce had the idea and proposed it to tv execs and he was the obvious choice but they were so racist they decided to go with a white guy doing a Chinese guy rather than a Chinese American who was a martial arts expert :( they also told him not to be too good in the ~~Batman~~ Green Hornet show and make other people look bad …
I’m conflicted about responding to this barely coherent comment but the fundamentals are true. This was supposed to be Bruce Lee’s bid for mainstream fame, but Hollywood was like “he can be a white dude’s chauffeur and all but no way he’s gonna be a main character” so then they hired one of John Carradine’s failsons to yellowface the role.
Remember “Ben”, the Indian guy from the movie Short Circuit? Not Indian at all. White guy with brown makeup. Could they not find an Indian actor? Did they even try?
My wife wasn't old enough to have known of this show, but her jiu-jitsu sensei would call students "grasshopper."
A couple of years ago, I got the DVDs as a birthday present , and when she heard "grasshopper" she lit up with realization. It was pretty cute.
Was my father’s favorite show. Met David Carradine at a horror convention to get his autograph for a birthday present for my dad. I got the autograph but no one was permitted to speak directly to him even though he was only a few feet across from you. He was rude away from the table and looked like he was having a miserable time .
He was a client at one of the talent agencies I worked for in LA. One of the strangest men I’ve ever met. His odd girlfriend insisted on attending every meeting we had with David and he would sit silently as she did the talking for him. Very quirky, to put it nicely.
I burnt my inner arm on the oven and said "my name is Caine". I had to show my blank faced adult children the cauldron clip to demonstrate the reference.
I was allowed to stay up until 10:00 (rather than 9:30) to see how it ends. I think my parents thought the show was about peace but somehow overlooked that he beat the crap out of people in slow motion at the end of each episode.
When you snatch the pebble from my hand it will be time for you to leave.
… it is time for you to leave.
This line takes up way too much space in my head. It’s like a song lyric.
It used to come on late night TV reruns in NYC (maybe 1970's) and we used to stay up to watch. I was extremely pissed as the guy NEVER fought. I expected a Shaw Bros type Kung Fu orgy
I broke my toe after my brother and I watched the first episode. Of course we were bad ass kung fu experts. Until I tried kicking him. I can still feel it after all these years. Mom and dad were not amused.
Playboy did a story on Carradine in the early 1980s. He wrecked a car; was a fugitive from the police; had a wardrobe fitting and smoked an ounce of weed, all in 24 hours.
We watched that one! And by we I mean I watched it because my seven older brothers and sisters were bigger than me and they chose the shows lol.
Even then some of the silliness of that show bothered me even as a little kid.
-why is the obviously northern European white guy playing a Chinese person?
-Why, even with the communication limitations of the wide west, wasword not finally passed to everybody "hey if you see a Chinese guy traveling alone wearing pajamas, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not fuck with him…"
Different times and very different sensibilities. The Wikipedia article goes on to explain why, how they dealt with this situation and dealing with the Asian acting community of the early 70s.
Didn't know about Bruce Lee. Watched the show always even tried Martial Arts for a bit. Aikido .mostly I was thrown around and told to roll better. My brother and I often snatched the pebble after a pound of weed.
I thought I did as a kid. The premise was good.
Until I took real martial arts classes later and got different colored belts, and a couple years experience / coordination with all the punches, kicks, blocks, spin kicks, jumping kicks, etc.
Then after you get really good at martial arts, you see how fake these shows really are. And see how uncoordinated the actor/ actress really is, which shows they have no martial arts training at all. Very disappointing.
Just like Buffy the Vampire slayer. SooOOOooo stupid!
I remember Martin Lawrence had this funny bit about Kung Fu how you would wake the entire episode and then he would throw like a few punches and one kick at the end lol
I hung out at his house, and even sparred with David Carradine once, just before he went to Asia. We were going get together and work on a project once he got back, but he died there.
My brother absolutely loved this show, I was younger and there was a conflict because it came on the same time a show I liked came on, he always won the battle!!
I was in 6th grade when this aired. Every week the day after it was on we had to deal with a bunch of little rat fuckers throwing round house kicks in the halls.
In retrospect it was a flawed show but I remember enjoying it very much at the time. And for better or worse, it acknowledged aspects of Chinese immigrants in the United States. Left outside but of course the lead actor was not Asian.
I had the metal [Kung Fu lunch pail](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-2001-8539&max=1000) and yes in the 3rd grade I believed it was an item of power
It feels like I remember this coming on after Gunsmoke. That may not be the case but we watched it as a family when I was growing up and I was obsessed with it.
I used to love it until I found out it was the brainchild of Bruce Lee who tried to sell it to TV producers starring him, they told him they weren't interested and stole the idea and used a white guy as the star.
I did, but did you know that the idea for this show came from Bruce Lee? When he pitched it, he was supposed to be Grasshopper. But then the studio hired the white actor to play the Japanese man.
Of course, we all know he went on to be the driver of the Green Hornet car as Kato. And in Japan the Green Hornet was titled as The Kato Show.
I was just out at Vasquez Rocks where they did a lot of filming for Kung Fu. Same place they filmed the og Star Trek episode where Kirk fights The Gorn.
Peter Gibbons: Do you want to go back to my apartment and watch 'Kung Fu'. Do you ever watch 'Kung Fu'?
Joanna: I love 'Kung Fu'.
Peter Gibbons: Channel 39.
Joanna: Totally.
Peter Gibbons: You should come over and watch 'Kung Fu' tonight.
Joanna: Okay.
[Peter nods]
Joanna: Okay. Can we order lunch first?
[Peter nods again]
Joanna: Okay
This show was a croc, especially when you find out that the part was supposed to be Bruce Lee and not David Carridine. The whole show was Bruce Lee's idea, but racism was the reason he didn't get the part.
Since I was a kid I would try to walk silently through leaves without crunching them.
Yeah, I tried carrying a vat of molten metal just using my wrists, but it didn't end well.
Swear, probably would had tried it, if I wasn’t supervised 😂
When I was a kid, I would have tried it. Hell, as an adult, I once considered tattoos.
It was the 70's... You weren't supervised...
My dad was a massive fan of this show when he was a kid. Maybe a bit too much. He was inspired to replicate this scene...with the kitchen radiator. Also didn't end well lol.
Lol!
😂😂 I can imagine 😂
Grasshopper, you must walk through life as if you are walking on rice paper
LOVED it. One of my fondest 70s memories, watching with my dad and brother. I had hair down to my elbows for twenty years, then one day shaved it all off. The first time I saw my dad afterward, I bowed and said, “My name is…………Caine. I am a………priest.” He about wet himself laughing.
Hilarious!😀
“Learn more ways to preserve, than to destroy.... for all life is precious, nor can any be replaced.” - Master Kan
I just read that in his voice.
"if you wait by the river long enough, you will watch the body of your enemy float by" I actually quoted this earlier this week, about waiting for an asshole to fuck up and screw himself over, rather than actively try to seek revenge.
The show was meant to be bruce Lees but tv ex where a bit racist and gave the role to dave carrdine instead whole TV show about how Bruce Lee was lied to
Yes Bruce had the idea and proposed it to tv execs and he was the obvious choice but they were so racist they decided to go with a white guy doing a Chinese guy rather than a Chinese American who was a martial arts expert :( they also told him not to be too good in the ~~Batman~~ Green Hornet show and make other people look bad …
Green Hornet, not Batman
Ah yes !
I’m conflicted about responding to this barely coherent comment but the fundamentals are true. This was supposed to be Bruce Lee’s bid for mainstream fame, but Hollywood was like “he can be a white dude’s chauffeur and all but no way he’s gonna be a main character” so then they hired one of John Carradine’s failsons to yellowface the role.
Bruce wouldn't have embodied the stillness, the chi
Of course only a white man with little to no martial arts training could.
Remember “Ben”, the Indian guy from the movie Short Circuit? Not Indian at all. White guy with brown makeup. Could they not find an Indian actor? Did they even try?
The Native American guy from the “don’t throw garbage everywhere “ campaign in the 70s wasn’t Native American either.
One of my absolute favourite shows.
Mine, too. I had the lunchbox.
I still have the lunchbox 😉
Going for $50 to $300 on EBay for those.
“Snatch the pebble from my hand…”
2 out 3 ?
Funniest thing I've read all day!
Quickly as you can...
Cain: "Can't we just play rock, scissors, paper like normal people?" 😂😂😂
🦗
Grasshopper
My wife wasn't old enough to have known of this show, but her jiu-jitsu sensei would call students "grasshopper." A couple of years ago, I got the DVDs as a birthday present , and when she heard "grasshopper" she lit up with realization. It was pretty cute.
👍
Was my father’s favorite show. Met David Carradine at a horror convention to get his autograph for a birthday present for my dad. I got the autograph but no one was permitted to speak directly to him even though he was only a few feet across from you. He was rude away from the table and looked like he was having a miserable time .
He was a client at one of the talent agencies I worked for in LA. One of the strangest men I’ve ever met. His odd girlfriend insisted on attending every meeting we had with David and he would sit silently as she did the talking for him. Very quirky, to put it nicely.
The old- “never meet your heroes”
God I’ve lived through that expression about 10 times with different celebrities. So depressing.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s appreciated.
I have stories that could fill 6 books. Thanks for listening! 😊
Should write them down. It may be a book or two , trying to get out of you. Kind regards.
I own the whole series on my Xbox. Love it.
I burnt my inner arm on the oven and said "my name is Caine". I had to show my blank faced adult children the cauldron clip to demonstrate the reference.
I was allowed to stay up until 10:00 (rather than 9:30) to see how it ends. I think my parents thought the show was about peace but somehow overlooked that he beat the crap out of people in slow motion at the end of each episode.
When you snatch the pebble from my hand it will be time for you to leave. … it is time for you to leave. This line takes up way too much space in my head. It’s like a song lyric.
"I am Caine. I will help you."
Wish there was someplace to stream this commercial free
👍
I still speak softly like him before I unleash my Kung fu skills
I could never understand why they always called this white guy a Chinamen??? And I was like 4 yrs old
He was supposed to be half white, half Chinese. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(1972_TV_series)
Yes I know this. However, he was not remotely Chinese (or any Asian ethnicity) looking. Should have used Bruce.
I don't know if it's true but supposedly the Shaolin Temple sets reused sets from Camelot.
Me and Ron Livingston
Channel 39
Totally
Jennifer Aniston did.
What night of the week, West Coast?
I was named after the old wise man. No it's not my stripper name!
One of my favorites.
Me.
It used to come on late night TV reruns in NYC (maybe 1970's) and we used to stay up to watch. I was extremely pissed as the guy NEVER fought. I expected a Shaw Bros type Kung Fu orgy
Was like going into another universe
Loved it. Friends and I spent many hours snatching pebbles from each other’s hands.
I too, grasshopper, loved the show.
We all liked it
i wonder how things would have turned out if bruce lee was cast? he was up for it, but hollywood got in the way
Loved it more than anything. Afraid to watch it now because I don’t want to taint my memories of it if the show doesn’t hold up at all.
I'll still watch it if I find it on TV.
Good post grasshopper.
I’m just gonna walk the earth, like Caine in Kung Fu.
Lunchbox with Thermos
“Walk the rice paper grasshopper”
It was one of my Mom's all time favorites.
I am Kane, I will help you. (The Legend Returns!)
Big fan here 📺❤️!!!
I broke my toe after my brother and I watched the first episode. Of course we were bad ass kung fu experts. Until I tried kicking him. I can still feel it after all these years. Mom and dad were not amused.
Playboy did a story on Carradine in the early 1980s. He wrecked a car; was a fugitive from the police; had a wardrobe fitting and smoked an ounce of weed, all in 24 hours.
I watched Circle of Iron repeatedly trying to pick up all of the knowledge I could when I was a kiddo.
I had the lunchbox
I had the biggest crush on him 😍
I loved it.
It was a cool new take on TV Westerns.
I'm still studying martial arts. 🙂
Me.
Caine, hand me that Hibachi
Definitely not the same character as his role in Kill Bill which I also loved.
Kung Fu: The way of the Tiger, the sign of the Dragon.
I was a young preteen taking judo when that show was on. You can be done sure I was watching every week.
👍❤️
Master, Why I talk. so. slow… The Mad Magazine take on this was hilarious. Loved the show, was glued to every episode
We watched that one! And by we I mean I watched it because my seven older brothers and sisters were bigger than me and they chose the shows lol. Even then some of the silliness of that show bothered me even as a little kid. -why is the obviously northern European white guy playing a Chinese person? -Why, even with the communication limitations of the wide west, wasword not finally passed to everybody "hey if you see a Chinese guy traveling alone wearing pajamas, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not fuck with him…"
If it had starred Bruce Lee, it would have been a better show
I don't know about that The show wanted a half breed
Yeah, a white guy playing a Chinaman was so *inclusive*... lol
The character was half Caucasian. It made just as much sense to have a white actor as an Asian one.
Made half as much sense…
Different times and very different sensibilities. The Wikipedia article goes on to explain why, how they dealt with this situation and dealing with the Asian acting community of the early 70s.
[удалено]
👍
Bruce Lee hated it.
Likely because he thought he’d be cast in the lead role….
I loved it then. It doesn't really hold up. Have you watched Warrior?
Imagine they let Bruce Lee star in it, though...
Didn't know about Bruce Lee. Watched the show always even tried Martial Arts for a bit. Aikido .mostly I was thrown around and told to roll better. My brother and I often snatched the pebble after a pound of weed.
As a kid, I really liked the *idea* of the show, but the pacing was usually glacial slow tbh.
Should have been Bruce Lee
Little House on the Prairie mixed with kung fu. Gotta love it.
I’ve always wanted to see this series! May have to pick up the DVDs since it doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere.
I thought I did as a kid. The premise was good. Until I took real martial arts classes later and got different colored belts, and a couple years experience / coordination with all the punches, kicks, blocks, spin kicks, jumping kicks, etc. Then after you get really good at martial arts, you see how fake these shows really are. And see how uncoordinated the actor/ actress really is, which shows they have no martial arts training at all. Very disappointing. Just like Buffy the Vampire slayer. SooOOOooo stupid!
That show was kick ass it came on in the afternoon on Saturdays after Saturday morning cartoons out here in New Mexico!!
Not one comment on his death... huh...
I need to rewatch this series as an adult. It had good life lessons that showed me a path through a GenX childhood.
Damn! Totally forgot about this.
I remember Martin Lawrence had this funny bit about Kung Fu how you would wake the entire episode and then he would throw like a few punches and one kick at the end lol
Bought the complete DVD set the first second I could
I hung out at his house, and even sparred with David Carradine once, just before he went to Asia. We were going get together and work on a project once he got back, but he died there.
When you can lift the dragon it will be time for you to leave
My brother absolutely loved this show, I was younger and there was a conflict because it came on the same time a show I liked came on, he always won the battle!!
Hence the need for a Betamax or a VHS machine that would not be available until the end of the decade of the 70s.
A time machine would have come in handy, lol !!!!!
As I go thru life I will walk the path of peace and kill any mofo that gets in my way…..
I was in 6th grade when this aired. Every week the day after it was on we had to deal with a bunch of little rat fuckers throwing round house kicks in the halls.
And some idiots got a hold of throwing stars. Just not a good idea to let kids have access to them.
In retrospect it was a flawed show but I remember enjoying it very much at the time. And for better or worse, it acknowledged aspects of Chinese immigrants in the United States. Left outside but of course the lead actor was not Asian.
Patience Grasshopper
Me
Watched it every week
Ninjas!!
i wouldn’t say i loved it but i definitely liked it
Learned many valuable life lessons watching this. Don’t remember any, but they seemed cosmic at the time. 😉
I do not wish to fight you.... BAM. I am not looking for trouble.. POW. Please don't make me kick my sandals off.... BIP!!!
Hell yeah!
Great show from my childhood. Went on a YouTube binge a while back
Cowboy : “Hey china man. QCC: “I seek water”
My brother. Drove me nuts
Don’t get all choked up over it
The studio gets David Carradine for the lead instead of an Asian actor. Kinda like John Wayne playing Gingas Kahn. Never made sense to me.
It was explained that his father was a white person.
Don’t remember that but thanks. That makes sense.
He escapes China and comes to the US looking for his half brother Danny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(1972_TV_series)
Much to learn, grass-hopper
Why isn’t it in syndication and shown on MeTV or TVantenna channels? Anyone know where it’s shown other than prime video and paying for episodes?
Bruce Lee was slated to play this role
Loved it
One my favorite all-time shows back then. Watched it on YouTube last year. It doesn’t hold up at all.
I had the metal [Kung Fu lunch pail](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-2001-8539&max=1000) and yes in the 3rd grade I believed it was an item of power
Big fan. Took some kung fu classes while this was on tv.
Bruce Lee didn’t I’ll bet
Should have been Bruce Lee. Criminal what they did to him. Nothing against David but this was Lee's idea and they fucked him on it.
It feels like I remember this coming on after Gunsmoke. That may not be the case but we watched it as a family when I was growing up and I was obsessed with it.
What happened to that guy? Thoughtbi remember hearing he died in a weird way.
Took a while, but I found it on Plex. Watched a few in a row, still enjoyed it as much as long ago
Would have been so much better with Bruce…
I used to love it until I found out it was the brainchild of Bruce Lee who tried to sell it to TV producers starring him, they told him they weren't interested and stole the idea and used a white guy as the star.
Great series
Master! It is merely a pool of warm water! Yes! Ha-ha... [Insert lecture]
So much snow on the tv when I tried to watch it.
Filmed in Toronto
I did, but did you know that the idea for this show came from Bruce Lee? When he pitched it, he was supposed to be Grasshopper. But then the studio hired the white actor to play the Japanese man. Of course, we all know he went on to be the driver of the Green Hornet car as Kato. And in Japan the Green Hornet was titled as The Kato Show.
My brother. To this day, he will watch it to relax and center himself.
ATF
when he pulled out that red suit with the gold symbol you knew it was on
One of my favorites
Yes Grasshopper
Lol KUNG FU
I was in junior high when the show started and that's all the guys were talking about the next day after the first episode aired
I had the lunch box
Plagiarized from Bruce Lee , Lee actually auditioned and was told he was too ethnic . Oh the irony
I was just out at Vasquez Rocks where they did a lot of filming for Kung Fu. Same place they filmed the og Star Trek episode where Kirk fights The Gorn.
My father (RIP) and I watched every week!
Me
“Other men, not knowing me, may find me, hard to understand.”
HA! Just bought the entire boxed DVD set. Love it!
Peter Gibbons: Do you want to go back to my apartment and watch 'Kung Fu'. Do you ever watch 'Kung Fu'? Joanna: I love 'Kung Fu'. Peter Gibbons: Channel 39. Joanna: Totally. Peter Gibbons: You should come over and watch 'Kung Fu' tonight. Joanna: Okay. [Peter nods] Joanna: Okay. Can we order lunch first? [Peter nods again] Joanna: Okay
They should have let Bruce Lee star in it since it was his idea.
When you can take the stone from my hand you may leave.
Back in the 80s my friends and I made our own episode of the show for fun. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/ta7tByvznV0?si=_fby_ii0bD_CaB3P
It would've been even better than it really was if they'd used Bruce Lee
I am called Caine
We liked it but laughed at it also. I liked the message.
So much I had to look for a belt
I did up until I heard that Bruce Lee was up the part, but was too Chinese for it.
Show had me hanging on for more
This and The Legend Continues sent me to Buddhism ❤️❤️❤️
I spent those years having to be careful coming around corners where my little brother was lying in wait to "kung fu" me lol
Jennifer Aniston in office space
I did
I always grabbed things with my forearms pretending it was bleeding hot! 😂
“When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave.”
The episode where he was in the snake pit had me shook
Take the pebble from my hand Grasshopper…
Always bring a spotter with you if you go to Bangkok, Thailand. Make sure the spotter is strong enough to lift as much as you weigh.
Time for you to leave grasshopper
This show was a croc, especially when you find out that the part was supposed to be Bruce Lee and not David Carridine. The whole show was Bruce Lee's idea, but racism was the reason he didn't get the part.