The Hollywood-born actor, who charmed a generation of Disney Channel fans as the warm and steady Sam McGuire, passed away on February 23, 2026. His family confirmed he had fought bipolar disorder for nearly two decades.
Robert Carradine, the actor who brought warmth, wit, and an unmistakable gentleness to the role of Sam McGuire on Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire, died on Monday, February 23, 2026. He was 71. His family confirmed the news in a statement released to Deadline, sharing that Carradine had died by suicide after a nearly twenty-year struggle with bipolar disorder.
For an entire generation who grew up watching Lizzie McGuire on Disney Channel in the early 2000s, Robert Carradine was simply “Lizzie’s dad” — the kind, slightly goofy father who anchored the McGuire household alongside Hallie Todd as his wife Jo and Jake Thomas as younger brother Matt. Opposite Hilary Duff’s iconic lead, Carradine played Sam McGuire with an effortless, lived-in warmth that made the character feel genuinely real. He reprised the role in the 2003 theatrical The Lizzie McGuire Movie, bringing the family dynamic to the big screen as Lizzie navigated Rome. In 2020, he briefly returned when Disney+ launched a revival series — a moment that thrilled the fanbase before the project was ultimately shelved. His portrayal of Sam McGuire remained, for millions of viewers, the template for what a supportive, funny, and loving TV dad should look like.
“He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day. We will take solace in how funny he could be, how wise and utterly accepting and tolerant he was. That’s who my baby brother was.” — Keith Carradine
Born on March 24, 1954, in Hollywood, California, Robert Reed Carradine came into the world as the youngest son of the legendary character actor John Carradine and his wife Sonia Sorel. He grew up as part of what became one of Hollywood’s most enduring acting dynasties, alongside his brothers David Carradine, Keith Carradine, and Christopher Carradine. His niece, actress Martha Plimpton, and his own daughter, The Handmaid’s Tale actress Ever Carradine, continued the family’s presence on screen into new generations.
His entry into acting came with characteristic spontaneity. When he expressed curiosity about the business, his older brother David told him simply that by auditioning he had everything to gain and nothing to lose. The advice stuck. His first screen credit came in the 1972 John Wayne film The Cowboys, and what followed was a career that would stretch across more than five decades. He appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, Jane Fonda and Jon Voight’s Coming Home, and Samuel Fuller’s acclaimed The Big Red One in 1980. In The Long Riders — a 1980 Western about the James-Younger Gang — he starred alongside his brothers David and Keith, the three of them playing siblings on screen just as they were in life.
But it was 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds that made Robert Carradine a pop culture fixture for an earlier generation. As Lewis Skolnick, the sweet, determined, and proudly nerdy protagonist of that beloved comedy, Carradine created a character that resonated deeply with anyone who had ever felt like an outsider. The film spawned three sequels, a television movie, and a devoted cult following that lasted decades. He later revisited the legacy of Lewis Skolnick through the TNT reality competition series King of the Nerds, which he co-hosted from 2013 to 2015, delighting in connecting with fans who had grown up with the original film.
Beyond acting, Carradine was a man of passions that extended well off camera. Despite never receiving formal musical training or learning to read music, he was an avid guitarist who performed regularly with brothers Keith and David at the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride, Colorado, where he and Keith maintained homes. He also had a deep, lifelong love of motorsport — one that began when he was racing go-karts at age eleven and eventually led him to compete at the Grand Prix level in the late 1980s and 1990s, where he drove for Team Lotus alongside Paul Newman.
In their statement, Carradine’s family was open and deliberate about the circumstances of his death, emphasizing their desire to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. “In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon of light to everyone around him,” the family wrote. “We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby’s valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder. We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness.” His brother Keith echoed that sentiment directly, adding that there is no shame in it.
Robert Carradine is survived by his children — including actress Ever Carradine — his grandchildren, his brothers, and his extended family. The family has asked for privacy during this time.
For the generation that came of age with Lizzie McGuire, the loss of Robert Carradine is a deeply personal one. Sam McGuire was more than a supporting character — he was a constant, a comfort, a reflection of the kind of parenting so many viewers quietly hoped for. That Robert Carradine brought such genuine humanity to that role was no accident. It was who he was.
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.