LOS ANGELES – Robert Culp, a dashing actor who earned his most enduring fame for his starring role opposite Bill Cosby in the hit 1960s espionage TV series I Spyand as part of the swinging quartet of suburban lovers in the 1969 film comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Los Angeles after a fall near his home. He was 79.
Although he appeared on Broadway and sporadically in movies, Culp was mostly a familiar presence to several generations of television viewers. Tall and lithe, with smoothly combed black hair, he was adept at conveying charm and wit. As the years passed, he developed an appealing grumpiness on such TV series as The Greatest American Hero as an FBI agent, and Everybody Loves Raymond as Ray Romano’s father-in-law.
Beginning in the 1950s, Culp appeared in several Broadway productions and in early TV series. He proved his versatility in a supporting role in PT 109 (1963), in the romantic comedy Sunday in New York(1963) with Jane Fonda and in The Raiders(1964).
In later years, his aged good looks and debonair style led to many roles as elected officials, including in Turk 182!(1985) as the mayor of New York, and The Pelican Brief(1993) as the commander-in-chief.
Television historian Robert Thompson said Culp's greatest legacy was his co-starring role in I Spy, which Thompson called one the "hippest TV shows to have ever aired". The espionage adventure, which was on NBC from 1965 to 1968, was groundbreaking in casting the little-known nightclub comedian Cosby. The series was one of the first to present a black male actor in a leading role.
In plotlines, they out-schemed foreign governments and engaged in shoot-outs with evil henchmen atop skyscrapers in exotic locales. When the show was recalled in later years, Cosby’s historical role often overshadowed the easy chemistry between Cosby and Culp, who was regarded as the finer actor.
Robert Martin Culp was born in August 16th, 1930, either in Oakland or Berkeley, Calif, according to biographical sources. He attended several colleges before entering drama school at the University of Washington.
He reportedly dropped out shortly before earning a degree to move to New York, and he soon began to win small parts on Broadway.
Culp was married and divorced several times, including once to actress France Nuyen. Information on survivors could not be confirmed. – (Washington Post/Bloomberg)