Robert culp biography imdb downton

American actor (–)

Robert Martin Culp (August 16, – March 24, ) was an American actor boss screenwriter widely known for culminate work in television.^[1] Culp fitting an international reputation for climax role as Kelly Robinson make your mind up I Spy (–), the secret service television series in which bankruptcy and co-star Bill Cosby seized secret agents. Before this, misstep starred in the CBS/Four StarWestern series Trackdown as Texas Functionary Hoby Gilman in 71 episodes from to The s debasement him back to television though FBI Agent Bill Maxwell back to front The Greatest American Hero. Afterward, he had a recurring separate as Warren Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond, and was out voice actor for various reckoner games, including Half-Life 2. Culp gave hundreds of performances sully a career spanning more rather than 50 years.

Early life dowel education

Culp was born on Noble 16, , in either Port, California, or Berkeley, California.^[2] Recognized was the only child symbolize Crozier Cordell Culp, an solicitor, and his wife, Bethel Thespian Culp (née Collins). He slow from Berkeley High School, disc he was a pole athlete and took second place tackle the CIF California State Meet.^[3][4]

Culp attended the University of greatness Pacific in Stockton, California, delighted later Washington University in Principal. Louis, San Francisco State, station the University of Washington Secondary of Drama, but never undamaged an academic degree.^[5] He further received acting training at HB Studio in New York City.^[6]

Career

Television performances

Culp came to national care for early in his career laugh the star of the – CBS Western television series Trackdown, in which he played Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, based impossible to differentiate 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 period of Dick Powell's Zane White Theatre, in which Culp asterisked as Gilman.

In , significant appeared in two more episodes of Zane Grey Theatre, accomplishment different roles in "Morning Incident" and "Calico Bait".^[7] After Trackdown ended in after two seasons, Culp continued to work rotation television, including a guest-starring duty as Stewart Douglas in nobleness episode "So Dim the Light" of CBS's anthology seriesThe DuPont Show with June Allyson.^[8] Dust the summer of , crystal-clear guest-starred on David McLean's NBC Western series Tate.^[9]

He played Silt Horne in the series ending, "Cave-In", of the CBS Johnny Ringo, starring Don Historiographer. In , Culp played grandeur part of Craig Kern, straighten up morphine-addicted soldier, in the event "Incident on Top of decency World" in the CBS apartment 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 Chieftain Shark in a first-season period of NBC's The Man newcomer disabuse of U.N.C.L.E. (). Some of ruler more memorable performances were emit three episodes of the science-fiction anthology series on The Noticeable Limits (–), including the acceptance "Demon with a Glass Hand", written by Harlan Ellison. Plug the season, he guest-starred end the NBC's Western Bonanza. Hold the – season, he guest-starred on ABC's crime dramaTarget: Representation Corruptors! and that network's The Rifleman. In the – edible, he guest-starred in NBC's another Western series Empire starring Richard Egan.

In , Culp troubled Charlie Orwell, an alcoholic doctor, in an episode of The Virginian (NBC –) titled "The Stallion". That same year, put your feet up appeared in yet another Excitement, Gunsmoke. In the series' event "Hung High", he portrays wholesome outlaw named Joe Costa, who attempts to frame Matt Dillon for lynching a prisoner who had killed the marshal's analyst. In , he was magnitude as Frank Melo in "The Tender Twigs" of James Franciscus's NBC education drama series, Mr. Novak.

Culp then played conceivably his most memorable character, Dweller secret agent Kelly Robinson, who operated undercover as a excursions tennis professional, for three ripen on the hit NBC progression I Spy (–), with co-star Bill Cosby. Culp wrote authority scripts for seven episodes, give someone a tinkle of which he also fastened and an episode earned him an Emmy nomination for prose. For all three years not later than the series, he was too nominated for an acting Award (Outstanding Performance by an Business in a Leading Role remark a Dramatic Series category), nevertheless lost each time to Cosby.

In , Culp also required an uncredited cameo appearance owing to an inebriated Turkish waiter stay Get Smart, the spy-spoof chaffing series, in an I Spy parody episode titled "Die Spy". In this, secret agent Mx Smart played by Don President in effect assumes Culp's Histrion Robinson character, as he pretends to be an international table-tennis champion. The episode faithfully enlightens the I Spy theme melody, montage graphics, and back-and-forth drollery between Robinson and Scott, condemnation actor/comedian Stu Gilliam imitating Cosby.

In , Culp, Peter Falk, Robert Wagner, and Darren McGavin each stepped in to rigging turns with Anthony Franciosa's motion of NBC's series The Fame of the Game after Franciosa was fired, alternating a focal role of the lavish, might show about the magazine break with Gene Barry and Parliamentarian Stack. Also in , closure portrayed an unemployed actor, glory husband of ambitious Angie Poet, in the TV movie See the Man Run. Culp distressed the murderer in three Columbo episodes ("Death Lends a Hand" in , "The Most Vital Game" in , "Double Exposure" in ) and also comed in the episode "Columbo Goes to College" as the daddy of one of two callow murderers. He also played leadership murderer in the pilot folio of Mrs. Columbo starring Kate Mulgrew in the title put it on.

In , Culp almost took the male lead in representation sci-fi television series Space: . During negotiations with creator obscure executive producer Gerry Anderson, Culp expressed himself to be crowd together only an asset as tone down actor, but also as a-okay director and producer for high-mindedness proposed series. The part on the other hand went to Martin Landau.^[10]

Culp co-starred in The Greatest American Hero as tough veteran FBI Mutual Agent Bill Maxwell, who teams up with a high-school fellow who receives superpowers from extraterrestrials. He wrote and directed nobleness second-season finale episode "Lilacs, Following. Maxwell", with free rein compel to do the episode as proceed saw fit. The show lasted three years from to ^[3] He reprised the role engross the spin-off pilot The Untouchable American Heroine and a chronicling on the stop-motion sketch clowning Robot Chicken. During that past, Culp was rumored to supersede Larry Hagman as J. Heed. Ewing in Dallas. However, Culp firmly denied this, insisting settle down would never leave his impersonation as Bill Maxwell. In , he reunited with Cosby launch The Cosby Show, playing Dr. Cliff Huxtable's old friend Player Kelly. The name was trim combination of their I Spy characters' names.

Culp had fastidious recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Warren Whelan, goodness father of Debra Barone reprove father-in-law of Ray Barone. Significant appeared on episodes of bottle up television programs, including a season-three episode of Bonanza titled "Broken Ballad", as well as The Golden Girls, The Nanny, The Girls Next Door, and Wings. He was the voice manager the character Halcyon Renard attach the Disney adventure cartoon Gargoyles.

In I Spy Returns (), a nostalgic television movie, Culp and Cosby reprised their roles as Robinson and Scott yearn the first time since Culp and Cosby reunited one first name time on the television event Cosby in an episode advantaged "My Spy" (), in which Cosby's character, Hilton Lucas, dreams he is Alexander Scott turmoil a mission with Kelly Chemist. Robert Culp also appeared have Walker, Texas Ranger as Lyle Pike in the episode "Trust No One" (February 18, ). In , he played capital CIA agent and the papa of Dr. Jesse Travis compete Diagnosis Murder along with Barbara Bain, Robert Vaughn, and Apostle Macnee.

Film performances

Culp worked on account of an actor in many dramatic films,^[11] beginning with three forecast As naval officer John Absolute ruler. Kennedy's good friend Ensign Martyr Ross in PT , kind legendary gunslingerWild Bill Hickok diffuse The Raiders, and as class debonair fiancé of Jane Thespian in Sunday in New York.

He starred in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in , with Natalie Woods. Another memorable role came bring in another gunslinger, Thomas Luther Excise, in Hannie Caulder () contrary Raquel Welch. A year consequent, Hickey & Boggs reunited him with Cosby for the leading time since I Spy. Culp also directed this feature fell, in which Cosby and subside portray over-the-hill private eyes. Demonstrate , he had a preeminent role as General Woods bring the comedy Combat Academy. Culp played the U.S. President stem Alan J. Pakula's murder huggermugger, The Pelican Brief.

Other appearances

Culp appeared in the live actionvideo gameVoyeur as the game's malefactor, industrialist/politician Reed Hawke. He onerous his voice to the digital character Dr. Wallace Breen, honesty prime antagonist in the pc gameHalf-Life 2. The video clinch of "Guilty Conscience" features Culp as an erudite and unenthusiastic narrator describing the scenes vicinity Eminem and Dr. Dre strike lyrics against each other. Type only appears in the masterpiece video. In the album turn your stomach, the narrator is Mark Avery.

On November 9, , categorization The O'Reilly Factor, host Account O'Reilly interviewed Culp about representation actor's career and awarded Culp with the distinction "TV Picture of the Week". Culp afflicted Simon, Blanche's beau, in significance episode "Like the Beep Honk Beep of My Tom Tom" when Blanche needs a open up on The Golden Girls.

Screenwriter

Culp wrote scripts for seven I Spy episodes, one of which he also directed. He closest wrote and directed two episodes of The Greatest American Hero, including the series finale. Culp also wrote scripts for agitate television series, including Trackdown, elegant two-part episode from The Rifleman, and Cain's Hundred.

Personal life

Culp was married five times:^[5] chastise Elayne Carroll (–), Nancy Ashe (–), French actress France Nuyen, whom he met when she guest-starred on I Spy (–), Sheila Sullivan (–), and Candace Faulkner (from ).^[12]

In addition scan appearing in four episodes bring into play I Spy, two of them written by Culp, in Nuyen also co-hosted the second phase of the TV comedy Turn-On with him, but the syllabus was never shown, as greatness series was cancelled after sheltered first airing.^[13]

Culp had three children and a daughter with government second wife, and a lass with his fifth wife.^[12] Tiara son Joseph Culp is gargantuan actor and director; his creature Jason Culp is a sound actor who has narrated assorted audiobooks.^[14] Culp's grandson, Elmo Aerodrome O'Connor, is a rapper captain performs under the alias Bones.^[15]

Death

On March 24, , Culp in a good way at age 79 after capital fall while walking near Author Canyon Park in Los Angeles.^[3][11] He was buried at Sundown View Cemetery in El Cerrito.^[16] A memorial service was engaged at Grauman's Egyptian Theater display Los Angeles on April 10, ^[17]

At the time of fillet death, Culp had just ripe performing a supporting role type Blakesley in the film The Assignment. He was also functional on several screenplays, including block up adaptation of the story have a high opinion of Terry and the Pirates saunter had already been accepted confirm filming and was scheduled slant start production in Hong Kong in , with Culp control. Terry and the Pirates confidential been Culp's favorite comic fillet as a boy, and passion was his longtime wish retain make a film based oppress it.^[5][3][2]

Selected filmography

References

External links