David Carradine Marriage Was 'Roller Coaster'

June 7, 2009— -- Shocked to hear about the nude death photos that were published of her ex-husband David Carradine this weekend, Marina Anderson said her four-year marriage to the actor was a "roller coaster."

Anderson, the actress and artist who has been credited with resuscitating Carradine's film career, is writing a book about her turbulent relationship with the actor, who was found hanged in Thailand last week.

"The dynamics were pretty heavy," she told ABCNews.com. "I don't want to get into it or I will get emotional."

She also acknowledged that statements to a Los Angeles court when she filed for divorce from the actor were true -- that he engaged in deadly sex acts and incest throughout their marriage.

Over the weekend, Carradine's brother, Keith, also an actor, said the family was "profoundly disturbed" by photos published in Thailand that are said to be of Carradine's naked body hanging with ropes around his neck and genitals in a Bangkok hotel room.

Grainy Photos of Bound Body

A grainy photo published on the Saturday cover of the tabloid Thai Rath shows a naked body suspended from a clothes bar in a hotel closet, hands apparently bound together above the head and feet on the floor, according to Reuters.

The face is blacked out and other areas are obscured. Thai police said they believed it was a picture of Carradine's body taken by a forensics team.

"Oh my god, no," Anderson said, when she learned of the photos. "That is just horrible."

Thai officials say they suspect Carradine, who died last week, had engaged in auto-erotic asphyxia, a dangerous sex act that may have gone wrong. The family wants the FBI to undertake their own investigation, and the agency acknowledged the request.

The family has threatened legal action against any media outlet that reprints images of the actor in death.

"I'm a little crazed right now," said Anderson, who supports the family's desire to get the FBI involved. "All I can say is he is my ex-husband and I was very attached to him, and I don't think this is the time to go into details. I want to talk nice about him."

In 2003 court documents that were published on the Web site Smoking Gun, Anderson said he said her four-year marriage to the former Kung Fu star left her suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder like a soldier returning from battle.

"I stand by what I said," Anderson told ABCNews.com.

Carradine Practiced Deadly Sex

She told the court that Carradine practiced "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly." She also told the court that the actor had an "incestuous relationship with a very close family member."

She said Carradine and an unnamed relative had admitted to a taboo relationship, but that her "pleas for him to get counseling in regards to this matter were ignored and he wanted no part in the healing process the other person needed in order to get closure."

Family and friends have said the actor likely did not commit suicide; Anderson agreed. "David was always happy when he worked," she said.

Anderson, who was in her car when she took the call from ABCNews.com, said half-jokingly that she was "headed to Home Depot" to buy a security door after being barraged with telephone calls from the press.

A dual Canadian-American citizen, Anderson worked as Carradine's publicist and personal manager to get him cast in Quentin Tarrantino's 2003 film, "Kill Bill."

Reports on "E! True Hollywood Stories" and "E! Hollywood Wives Tales" acknowledged that Anderson was responsible for Carradine giving up drinking.

"When I first heard the news, I though they got it wrong," she said. "I thought for sure he had passed away from the alcohol. I was taken totally by surprise."

Anderson met Carradine in the 1970s, but they fell in love working in Toronto on the set of "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," a television series that aired from 1993 to 1997. She played a variety of roles in different episodes of the series.

The couple was married from 1995 to 2001, but had no children. That marriage and three others all ended in divorce. It was Anderson's third marriage.

"I got a phone call at 7 in the morning from a friend who had heard it from one of his relatives," said Anderson. "She was hysterical and I got hysterical and put a call into Bobby [half-brother Robert Carradine].

"He was a brilliant man, a composer and writer, very funny and charismatic," Anderson said about her former husband. "Everybody saw multifaceted sides to him. He was very complicated, which made him more fascinating. He was very generous and giving and very sweet."

Carradine Marriage in Book

Dividing her time between Toronto and Los Angeles, Anderson has begun her own jewelry line, The Flying Goddess, which she said has been worn by celebrities such as Shirley MacLaine, Fran Drescher, Maya Angelou, Jillie Mack (Mrs. Tom Selleck) and Jan (Mrs. Mickey) Rooney.

"I was just pulling out a charm bracelet that [Carradine] gave me, which was so very thoughtful," she said.

Anderson said she had remained close to Robert Carradine and his wife, and had "respect" for the family's privacy. Mutual friends in the film industry were "considerate and loving" after the divorce.

Talking about Carradine's death "brings up some stuff, and I want to be respectful of his passing," she said.

For the last eight years, Anderson has been writing a book about her marriage to Carradine and her "spiritual growth" after their tumultuous divorce.

"I was writing the book when we separated as therapy," she said. "It was an ongoing process and I was inspired to help other people who could learn by what I went through.

"It's been healing for me. I have to tell all about myself, and he was part of it," Anderson said.

Anderson said it was tragically ironic that she had just finished a male version of a "flying artist" necklace.

"I decided to do a winged, nude male -- the full monty -- the front and back," she said. "It's a freaky coincidence."