'Revenge of the Nerds' star Robert Carradine's family sues UCLA over his death

The family of actor Robert Carradine filed a lawsuit against the governing body of UCLA, saying that the “Revenge of the Nerds” star’s death by suicide in February at a university-affiliated psychiatric facility was preventable.

In a legal complaint filed Aug. 7 with Los Angeles Superior Court, the children of Carradine allege that the psychiatric care team at the UCLA health facility was reckless in its care and committed elder abuse and neglect.

Carradine, 71, had checked into the facility shortly before his death.

The 27-page suit names the UC regents as defendants, along with physicians, nurses, clinical care partners and other officials who are identified as “Does 1-100.” Plaintiffs in the suit include Carradine’s estate and his surviving children.

“He asked for help. He recognized that he was a danger to himself and voluntarily walked into a psychiatric hospital to be kept safe,” the family claimed in the suit reviewed by The Times. “He knew he was not safe to be left alone.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional or call 988. The nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Or text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.

Carradine had bipolar disorder, and the lawsuit says that he had admitted that he had “suicidal thoughts” when he checked into UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Westwood.

“Instead of walking into a safe environment, [Carradine] walked into a locked facility that broke a cardinal rule for a hospitalized psychiatric patient with active suicidal thoughts and a history of suicide attempts,” the lawsuit says. “UCLA let him walk into a locked psychiatric unit with a belt.”

The family also said hospital staff left him in a room with a table that had not been removed from his unit prior to being placed there, according to the lawsuit. He died about 19 hours after checking into the facility, the lawsuit says.

Robert Carradine, best known for the 1980s “Nerds” movies, struggled with bipolar disorder for years, his family said in a statement.

“None of this happened because UCLA lacked the knowledge, the policies or the means,” the civil complaint says. “It happened because UCLA took shortcuts with two safeguards that were meant to protect Robert’s life. UCLA gave Robert the means to hurt himself and then no one watched over him or checked on him for long periods of time despite orders to watch him every 15 minutes.”

The lawsuit says that UCLA staff was distracted during Carradine’s observation intake and that they falsified their records to reflect proper care.

The Times has reached out to the UC regents and UCLA Health for comment.

The youngest son of prolific character actor John Carradine , Robert Carradine was born on March 24, 1954, in Los Angeles. Known for both his film and television work, Carradine made his debut in a 1971 episode of the long-running western “Bonanza.” His first film appearance was in the 1972 John Wayne western “The Cowboys.”