BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues ran
in syndication for four seasons, from January 27, 1993, until January 1, 1997, and was produced by Warner Brothers.
It starred David Carradine as a Shaolin
priest named Kwai Chang Caine, the grandson of the same-named character he had originally played in the 1970s TV
western, Kung Fu.
Canadian actor Chris Potter, who later
went on to star in Silk Stalkings and Wild Card, played Caine's son, a hot-shot detective named
Peter.
Both Caine and Peter each thought the other
had died when their temple in northern California was destroyed by one of Caine's enemies. The series began with their
reunion, which occurred fifteen years after the temple's destruction, and focused on their relationship as they
learned how to relate to each other all over again.
RL was cast as Captain Paul Blaisdell,
head of the 101st Precinct, which was where Peter worked. In addition to being Peter's commanding officer, he
was also his foster father. Blaisdell had met Peter approximately twelve years before the series began when he
had given a talk at the orphanage where Peter was living. He was immediately drawn to the troubled teenager,
and he and his wife Annie decided to foster him. Peter was 15 when he came to live with the Blaisdell family.
Paul and Annie met on a blind date arranged
by a mutual friend named Steadman (played by Patrick Macnee of The Avengers). Annie is quite a few years younger
than Paul, and has been blind since she was three-months old. They have two daughters, Carolyn, who is a result of Paul's
first marriage (her mother is never named), and Kelly, who may or may not be Annie's biological daughter - it is never
specified in the show who her mother is. Carolyn is married to Todd McCall.
Before Paul became a cop, he worked as
a mercenary, and he still works for the government from time to time on top-secret missions.
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues was
created and produced by Michael Sloan, who wrote the character of Paul Blaisdell specifically for RL. The
two of them had worked together before on several projects, including one of the Six Million Dollar Man
reunion movies, The Equalizer, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Sloan knew beforehand that RL had
been diagnosed with cancer, but persuaded him to accept the role regardless. Even though his health declined
steadily over the course of the series, he was able to appear in 22 episodes over the first two seasons. His last appearance
aired in November 1994, about a month after his death, and was dedicated to his memory.
