The Carradine Brothers Have Had Long and Storied Careers in Hollywood

The news of Robert Carradine's death has many people looking back at his work in Hollywood, which includes playing the father on Lizzie McGuire. Even as some look back at his career, though, others want to learn more about the broader Carradine family, and the mark they have collectively left on Hollywood.

Robert was not the most prominent or famous of the Carradine brothers, but he was one of several members of the family who had success with a career in acting. Here's what we know about each of them.

All of the Carradine brothers were the children of John Carradine, a character actor who married four times and was in some of the greatest Hollywood movies ever made. David was the eldest of the famous Carradine brothers and worked mostly in B-movies early in his career. He starred in Boxcar Bertha, one of Martin Scorsese's early movies, and experienced a late career renaissance after being cast as the titular character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

David was also known for his skill as a martial artist and was posthumously inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame. He dealt with substance abuse issues throughout his life and was arrested multiple times, often for drug-related offenses. He died in 2009 in Thailand and was married five times over the course of his life.

Keith and Robert had a different mother than David, but all of them were John Carradine's children. Keith has had the longest and most varied career, which included early collaborations with director Robert Altman on films like Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Later in life, he would appear in a variety of roles on TV, including in Fargo and Madam Secretary, as well as on Dexter.

Robert never had the kind of career that either David or Keith did, but he worked reliably across both film and television for decades, making his debut on film in 1972. He was best known for his portrayal of Lizzie's dad in Lizzie McGuire, but also starred in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise and had guest-starring roles on everything from Blue Bloods to Nash Bridges.

Robert died in 2026, and the official statement from his family suggested that he struggled with bipolar disorder for almost 20 years prior to his death. "We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness. At this time, we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss," their statement added.

Although Robert, Keith, and David were the most prominent Carradine brothers, they also had two other brothers. Bruce, who was adopted by their father during his first marriage, and Christopher, an architect who became vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering. Christopher might not have worked in Hollywood, but ascending to the top of Disney is no small feat either.