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Robert Carradine, best known for his roles in Lizzie McGuire and the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds, has died at 71, his family has announced.<\/p>\n
Tributes began flowing shortly after the news of Carradine\u2019s death was made public on Tuesday (US time) by his family. The actor had struggled with bipolar disorder for two decades.<\/p>\n
Hilary Duff, his co-star and fictional daughter in the popular Disney television series Lizzie McGuire, said her heart ached for Carradine and his family.<\/p>\n
![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/80bd8fb1f373aecc407d384a3310faf31dd7d0f5.jpeg\")
Robert Carradine was best known for his roles in Lizzie McGuire and Revenge of the Nerds.Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one hurts. It\u2019s really hard to face this reality about an old friend,\u201d Duff wrote on Instagram<\/a> on Tuesday night. She also shared two photos of her and Carradine while shooting the show.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I\u2019ll be forever grateful for that. I\u2019m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie Lee Curtis, who previously dated Carradine, also shared a lengthy tribute on Instagram<\/a>, reminiscing about when they first met on the set of The Dinah Shore Show, where they became \u201ca little family\u201d and where she first experienced \u201cdomesticity, motherhood and partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was my first crush in the movies and I didn\u2019t realise it,\u201d Curtis wrote. \u201cWe remained friends after we broke up and Ever [Carradine\u2019s daughter] and I have as well. The long and winding road. Rest in speed and humour and love, Bobby.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement shared with entertainment news website Deadline<\/a> on Tuesday, Carradine\u2019s brother Keith said the family wanted people to know about Carradine\u2019s mental health struggles, and that there is \u201cno shame in it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an illness that got the best of him, and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it, and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day,\u201d Keith said.<\/p>\n Known for both his film and television work, Carradine worked steadily in the industry for over 40 years. Though he collaborated with some of the most respected directors of the day, he never gained the worldwide recognition of his more famous siblings Keith (also the father of Martha Plimpton) and half-brother David, who died in 2009.<\/p>\n Carradine, a Los Angeles native and son to character actor John Carradine, was introduced to audiences with roles on the television series Bonanza in 1971 and in the John Wayne Western The Cowboys in 1972.<\/p>\n However, despite his family background, acting wasn\u2019t his first calling.<\/p>\n \u201cI always had a passion to be a race car driver, and that\u2019s what I thought I was going to do, and at some penultimate moment \u2026 I think I was sitting with my brother David when The Cowboys was being cast, and they were interested in David as the bad guy, and he didn\u2019t want to be the guy that shot John Wayne in the back,\u201d Carradine recalled in a 2013 interview with Popdose. \u201cBut he said, \u2018You know, it is called The Cowboys, and they\u2019re meeting all these young guys. Why don\u2019t you go in?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to starring in a short-lived television spinoff of The Cowboys, and appearing alongside his half-brother David in his popular ABC series Kung Fu, he would go on to nab roles in Martin Scorsese\u2019s Mean Streets, Hal Ashby\u2019s Vietnam drama Coming Home, and Samuel Fuller\u2019s World War II film The Big Red One.<\/p>\n Related Article The heights of his sibling David\u2019s success eluded Carradine, but the two could often be seen in the same projects, including in Walter Hill\u2019s The Long Riders and Paul Bartel\u2019s Cannonball.<\/p>\n Carradine\u2019s biggest hit would come in 1984 with the off-colour comedy Revenge of the Nerds, in which he played head nerd Lewis Skolnick, with his abrupt, infectious and guttural laugh. He reprised the role for the big-screen sequel and two made-for-television follow-ups, and continued to pay homage to the beloved character with a guest role on the series Robot Chicken and as a co-host (with Revenge of the Nerds co-star Curtis Armstrong) of the pop-culture competition show King of the Nerds, which aired for three seasons.<\/p>\n In the late 1980s and 1990s, according to the family statement, Carradine realised his racing ambitions and was a driver for Lotus. In the 2000s, Carradine gained small-screen success in Lizzie McGuire as the eponymous character\u2019s father.<\/p>\n Work remained consistent even if the projects diminished in prestige and quality. Then Quentin Tarantino, ever the champion of fading character actors, cast Carradine in Django Unchained as one of the trackers in the 2012 film after seeing a \u201cvery furry\u201d photograph, as Carradine told Popdose.<\/p>\n In 2015, Carradine was cited for a Colorado crash that injured him and his wife, Edith Mani. They later divorced, after more than 25 years of marriage.<\/p>\n Carradine\u2019s survivors include his three children, actor Ever Carradine, Marika Reed Carradine and Ian Alexander Carradine.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever anyone asks me how I turned out so normal, I always tell them it\u2019s because of my dad. I knew my dad loved me, I knew it deep in my bones, and I always knew he had my back,\u201d Ever wrote on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cI think it\u2019s partly because we basically grew up together. Twenty years age difference really isn\u2019t that much, and while I never ever thought of him as a sibling, I did always think of him as my partner. We were in it together.\u201d<\/p>\n With AP<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline<\/a> on 131 114 or Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636.<\/p>\n Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist<\/a> delivered every Thursday.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/986c628b692464da990a33ed482bf3f1aeaa001a.jpeg\")
Robert Carradine (right) played the head nerd Lewis Skolnick in Revenge of the Nerds.Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/66bc5058bda73cd8e875fb86da1597f9bfd10e2a.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bf6765fc3491ecec6a1be3d93ca3d24528c0b306.jpeg\")
Robert Carradine worked across film and television since the early 1970s.Richard Shotwell\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n![\"Nell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771805289_356_bc62508ef19b6e2feedd5afa6e558d56c3864d75.png\")
Nell Geraets<\/a> is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners