LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- David Carradine 's wife and his manager disputed suggestions that the actor 's death was a suicide , while rescue workers and police in Bangkok , Thailand , said the actor 's neck and genitals were found bound with rope . David Carradine was the star of the 1970s TV series , `` Kung Fu , '' and appeared in more than 100 films . After Carradine 's body arrives back to the United States this weekend , an autopsy ordered by Carradine 's family will be conducted , according to the actor 's co-manager . `` They 're doing everything possible to get to the bottom of what really happened , '' said Carradine 's co-manager Tiffany Smith . Carradine , 72 , became famous in the 1970s when he portrayed the traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series `` Kung Fu . '' Bangkok police said Carradine was found hanging by a nylon rope in a Bangkok hotel room closet Thursday morning . `` Our preliminary assumption is that the cause of death was suffocation , because there was a rope tied to his neck , '' said Bangkok police spokesman Somprasong Yenthuam . Autopsy results will not be available for three or four weeks , said a high-ranking Thai police source who asked not to be identified . The actor 's body was released to the U.S. Embassy for a Saturday flight home after a judge signed the death certificate Friday , the police source said . A member of the emergency crew who was called to the hotel after a maid found Carradine told CNN that a yellow nylon rope was tied around the actor 's neck and a black rope was around his genitals . Police later confirmed that information . The same emergency crew source said Carradine 's hands were not tied , contrary to some media reports . Smith , the co-manager , also said media reports quoting the actor 's management saying the hands were tied were untrue . `` I do not know if you want to call it accidental , '' Chuck Binder , Carradine 's manager , told CNN 's Larry King on Thursday . He said Carradine 's career was on a roll . Binder said a producer of the movie , `` Stretch , '' which Carradine was to act in , called him from Thailand to tell him what was happening there . `` I do not want to get in the middle of this whole investigation , but this guy said to me for sure there was foul play , '' Binder said . Watch Carradine 's friends discuss loss '' Actor Michael Madsen told King that the one thing Carradine 's wife , Annie Bierman , wanted everyone to know is , `` David was not suicidal . '' Investigators found no sign of a forced entry into Carradine 's room , Bangkok Police Lt. Colonel Pirom Chanpirom said . Smith would not confirm Friday that Carradine 's family had hired private investigators to look into his death , but she did say a private autopsy would be done . Modern audiences may best know Carradine as `` Bill '' in Quentin Tarantino 's `` Kill Bill '' films . He earned a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for his role in the second movie in the two-part saga . Tarantino , also appearing on `` Larry King Live , '' called Carradine one of `` Hollywood 's great mad geniuses . '' `` He was a rock star at the time ` Kung Fu ' came out , '' Tarantino said , holding up a vintage metal lunch box with an image from the popular show . Watch Carradine discuss `` Kung Fu '' role '' `` I 'm in shock , '' he said . Carradine 's career included more than 100 feature films , two dozen television movies and theater work , according to the Internet Movie Database . `` He was clearly an actor who followed his own path , '' said Leah Rozen , movie critic for People magazine . See photos of some of his notable roles '' `` He was never a guy who talked a whole lot . You knew , as an actor , the characters he played , you knew they had a past , you knew there was probably some unhappiness there , but he was n't going to talk about it . '' Carradine was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as folk music legend Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie `` Bound for Glory , '' according to a biography on his official Web site . He also made appearances in television series such as `` Gunsmoke '' and `` Alfred Hitchcock Presents . '' His first starring role in a series was as the title character in `` Shane '' in 1966 . iReport : Share memories of David Carradine Carradine was married five times and divorced four , according to People magazine . He was the son of John Carradine , a character actor who appeared in hundreds of films , plays and television episodes . `` David 's career as an artist did not begin on the stage , though some of his early career was on and off Broadway . His earliest work was as a sculptor and painter , '' Carradine 's official Web site says . The site also includes an `` Art Bio , '' in which the actor opened up about his life . `` I 've always had an especially hard time with everything I 've tried to do , '' Carradine wrote . `` I 've made it pretty big as an actor in spite of being terminally shy . ... Invariably , I had huge obstacles to overcome in anything I tried . Had to work against my genes to achieve my dreams . '' CNN 's Jack Hannah , Kocha Olarn and A. Pawlowski contributed to this report .