Actor Robert Carradine, best known for his work on the 2001 Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire and leading the Revenge of the Nerds franchise, has died aged 71.
Hilary Duff, the titular star of the beloved sitcom series, revealed the actor’s passing via a heartfelt Instagram post on Monday, February 23.
“This one hurts,” she wrote in her caption alongside a carousel of two photos with Carradine on the Lizzie McGuire set . “It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend. There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him, his family and everyone who loved him.”
Duff’s on-screen brother Jake Thomas — who played the McGuire son Matt on the early-aughts show — also took to social media to share his sadness surrounding the loss.
“My heart hurts today,” he wrote on Instagram alongside an image of himself and Carradine while on set. “I was fortunate to know Bobby for most of my life. And he was one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric. He was a talented actor, musician and director. But more than anything, he was family. I have many fond memories of being with him and his family throughout my life. Good moments, challenging moments and lots of laughs in between.”
He added, “I looked up to him growing up. And later, I came to realize he thought I was pretty neat, too. So I guess I was doing something right in his eyes.”
Carradine was born in 1954 to actor John Carradine as part of the famous Carradine family of actors and performers. His brothers, Keith and the late David Carradine, were also actors, and their fourth brother, Christopher, was an architect-turned-Disney Imagineer.
The actor’s big break came in 1972, when he appeared with John Wayne and Bruce Dern in the western hit The Cowboys. Aside from McGuire and Revenge of the Nerds, Carradine was also known for his work in Escape From L.A., Bonanza, The Long Riders, Body Bags, and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.
Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
