Robert Culp

Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor and screenwriter widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on '' I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played secret agents. Before this, he starred in the CBS/ Four Star Western series '' Trackdown'' as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman in 71 episodes from 1957 to 1959. The 1980s brought him back to television as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell on '' The Greatest American Hero''. Later, he had a recurring role as Warren Whelan on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', and was a voice actor for various computer games, including ''Half-Life 2''. Culp gave hundreds of performances in a career spanning more than 50 years.

Early life and education

Culp was born on August 16, 1930, in either Oakland, California, or Berkeley, California. He was the only child of Crozier Cordell Culp, an attorney, and his wife, Bethel Martin Culp (née Collins). He graduated from Berkeley High School, where he was a pole vaulter and took second place at the 1947 CIF California State Meet.

Culp attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and later Washington University in St. Louis, San Francisco State, and the University of Washington School of Drama, but never completed an academic degree. He also received acting training at HB Studio in New York City.

Career

Television performances

Culp came to national attention early in his career as the star of the 1957–1959 CBS Western television series '' Trackdown'', in which he played Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, based in the town of Porter, Texas. It was one of Culp's many appearances in TV Westerns. The pilot for ''Trackdown'' was "Badge of Honor", a 1956 episode of '' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'', in which Culp starred as Gilman.

In 1960, he appeared in two more episodes of ''Zane Grey Theatre'', playing different roles in "Morning Incident" and "Calico Bait". After ''Trackdown'' ended in 1959 after two seasons, Culp continued to work in television, including a guest-starring role as Stewart Douglas in the 1960 episode "So Dim the Light" of CBS's anthology series '' The DuPont Show with June Allyson''. In the summer of 1960, he guest-starred on David McLean's NBC Western series ''Tate''.

He played Clay Horne in the series finale, "Cave-In", of the CBS Western '' Johnny Ringo'', starring Don Durant. In 1961, Culp played the part of Craig Kern, a morphine-addicted soldier, in the episode "Incident on Top of the World" in the CBS series '' Rawhide''. About this time, Culp was cast on the NBC anthology series, '' The Barbara Stanwyck Show'' and in the NBC Civil War drama, ''The Americans''. Culp was cast as Captain Shark in a first-season episode of NBC's '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964). Some of his more memorable performances were in three episodes of the science-fiction anthology series on '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–1965), including the classic " Demon with a Glass Hand", written by Harlan Ellison. In the 1961 season, he guest-starred in an episode of NBC's Western ''Bonanza'' titled "Broken Ballad". In the 1961–1962 season, he guest-starred on ABC's crime drama '' Target: The Corruptors!'' and that network's ''The Rifleman.'' In the 1962–1963 season, he guest-starred in NBC's modern Western series ''Empire'' starring Richard Egan.

In 1964, Culp played Charlie Orwell, an alcoholic veterinarian, in an episode of '' The Virginian'' (NBC 1962–1971) titled "The Stallion". That same year, he appeared in yet another Western, ''Gunsmoke''. In the series' episode "Hung High", he portrays an outlaw named Joe Costa, who attempts to frame Matt Dillon for lynching a prisoner who had killed the marshal's friend. In 1965, he was cast as Frank Melo in "The Tender Twigs" of James Franciscus's NBC education drama series, ''Mr. Novak''.

Culp then played perhaps his most memorable character, American secret agent Kelly Robinson, who operated undercover as a touring tennis professional, for three years on the hit NBC series ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), with co-star Bill Cosby. Culp wrote the scripts for seven episodes, one of which he also directed and an episode earned him an Emmy nomination for writing. For all three years of the series, he was also nominated for an acting Emmy (Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series category), but lost each time to Cosby.

In 1968, Culp also made an uncredited cameo appearance as an inebriated Turkish waiter on ''Get Smart'', the spy-spoof comedy series, in an ''I Spy'' parody episode titled "Die Spy". In this, secret agent Maxwell Smart played by Don Adams in effect assumes Culp's Kelly Robinson character, as he pretends to be an international table-tennis champion. The episode faithfully recreates the ''I Spy'' theme music, montage graphics, and back-and-forth banter between Robinson and Scott, with actor/comedian Stu Gilliam imitating Cosby.

In 1971, Culp, Peter Falk, Robert Wagner, and Darren McGavin each stepped in to take turns with Anthony Franciosa's rotation of NBC's series '' The Name of the Game'' after Franciosa was fired, alternating a lead role of the lavish, 90-minute show about the magazine business with Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Also in 1971, he portrayed an unemployed actor, the husband of ambitious Angie Dickinson, in the TV movie ''See the Man Run''. Culp played the murderer in three ''Columbo'' episodes ("Death Lends a Hand" in 1971, "The Most Crucial Game" in 1972, "Double Exposure" in 1973) and also appeared in the 1990 episode "Columbo Goes to College" as the father of one of two young murderers. He also played the murderer in the pilot episode of '' Mrs. Columbo'' starring Kate Mulgrew in the title role.

In 1973, Culp almost took the male lead in the sci-fi television series '' Space: 1999''. During negotiations with creator and executive producer Gerry Anderson, Culp expressed himself to be not only an asset as an actor, but also as a director and producer for the proposed series. The part instead went to Martin Landau.

Culp co-starred in '' The Greatest American Hero'' as tough veteran FBI Special Agent Bill Maxwell, who teams up with a high-school teacher who receives superpowers from extraterrestrials. He wrote and directed the second-season finale episode "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell", with free rein to do the episode as he saw fit. The show lasted three years from 1981 to 1983. He reprised the role in the spin-off pilot ''The Greatest American Heroine''. During that time, Culp was rumored to replace Larry Hagman as J. R. Ewing in ''Dallas.'' However, Culp firmly denied this, insisting he would never leave his role as Bill Maxwell.

Culp reunited with Cosby on ''The Cosby Show'' in the episode "Bald and Beautiful" (1987), playing Dr. Cliff Huxtable's old friend Scott Kelly. The name was a combination of their ''I Spy'' characters' names. In '' I Spy Returns'' (1994), a nostalgic television movie, Culp and Cosby reprised their roles as Robinson and Scott for the first time since 1968. Culp and Cosby reunited one last time on the television show '' Cosby'' in an episode entitled "My Spy" (1999), in which Cosby's character, Hilton Lucas, dreams he is Alexander Scott on a mission with Kelly Robinson.

Culp appeared on episodes of other television programs, including ''The Golden Girls'' where he played Simon, Blanche's beau, in the episode "Like the Beep Beep Beep of My Tom Tom" (1990) when Blanche needs a pacemaker, as well as ''Murder, She Wrote'', '' Matlock'', ''Who's the Boss?'', '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', ''The Nanny'', and '' Wings''. From 1995 to 1996, he was the voice of the character Halcyon Renard in the Disney adventure cartoon '' Gargoyles''. Culp also appeared on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' as Lyle Pike in the episode "Trust No One" (1995).

From 1996 to 2004, Culp had a recurring role on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' as Warren Whelan, the father of Debra Barone and father-in-law of Ray Barone. He played a CIA agent and the father of Dr. Jesse Travis on '' Diagnosis: Murder'' in the episode "Discards" (1997), along with Barbara Bain, Robert Vaughn, and Patrick Macnee. In 2007, he did a voice-over on the stop-motion sketch comedy ''Robot Chicken''.

Film performances

Culp worked as an actor in many theatrical films, beginning with three in 1963: As naval officer John F. Kennedy's good friend Ensign George Ross in '' PT 109'', as legendary gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok in ''The Raiders'', and as the debonair fiancé of Jane Fonda in ''Sunday in New York''.

He starred in ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' in 1969, with Natalie Wood. Another memorable role came as another gunslinger, Thomas Luther Price, in ''Hannie Caulder'' (1971) opposite Raquel Welch. A year later, '' Hickey & Boggs'' reunited him with Cosby for the first time since ''I Spy''. Culp also directed this feature film, in which Cosby and he portray over-the-hill private eyes. In 1986, he had a primary role as General Woods in the comedy '' Combat Academy''. Culp played the U.S. President in Alan J. Pakula's 1993 murder mystery, '' The Pelican Brief''.

Other appearances

Culp appeared in the 1993 live action video game '' Voyeur'' as the game's villain, industrialist/politician Reed Hawke. He lent his voice to the digital character Dr. Wallace Breen, the prime antagonist

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