Robert Culp 1930-2010
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flickgrrl
Robert Culp 1930-2010
Carrie Rickey, Film Critic
Athletic, nimble and blessed with California good looks, Robert Culp -- who died today at the age of 79 -- was the poster boy of 1960s anti-authority. (Interestingly, Culp was born in Oakland the same year as Clint Eastwood and died the same week as his more earnest peer Peter Graves.)
Culp's defining moments came in two defining '60s classics: I Spy ,(1965--1968), the hipster TV show about secret agents posing as tennis pros, opposite Bill Cosby; and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), the moralistic comedy about the new morality, alongside Natalie Wood, Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon. As Kelly Robinson in I Spy, he and Cosby effortlessly volleyed wisecracks like tennis balls. And as Bob in B & C etc., he swung between the poles of conventionality and counterculturalism like the peace sign hung around his neck. Culp was always in motion, it seemed, vibrating vitality and virility.
My favorite Culp movie is the criminally underknown Hickey & Boggs (1972). Culp both starred and directed this downbeat study of LA private eyes (Cosby played his partner) from a script by Walter Hill, and it's a seedy, unromantic look at a city and profession typically glamorized.
For the past 30 years he worked steadily in film (for instance, as the President in The Pelican Brief) and TV (in a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond). Everyone loved Culp, who possessed a joie de vivre that communicated both on small screen and large.
Your favorite Culp role? I've gotta say Hickey.
I always liked him as an actor - he was a cool guy - rest in peace— truthrising- A good guy, a good actor. Always a lot of fun. Will miss him.— mike l
- The show might've only been on a short time, but his talent elevated "Greatest American Hero". Also, look at his son Steven's fine work on Desperate Housewives and other places. The legacy is passed on...— Goodman
- I remember an episode of Columbo Robert Culp was in that was a good one.— BobbyD
- "Hickey and Boggs" rules! Yes, criminally underrated. I wish he would have directed more movies. Hell, I wish he would have starred in more movies. His Bob in the Mazursky film is brilliant.— Pash
- I liked him in "Greatest American Hero". In his later years, he and Donald Rumsfeld looked like twins.— The Baron
- how can we forget the great acting in the top guy movie of all time. THE MAGNIFICENT 7 or the ultra cool movie Bullet. What a cast in both those movies.The original cool ones are leaving us one at a time. RIP guys— sophwill
- The befuddled mayor in Turk 182.
- Varying the cliche a little bit, Robert Culp could perform reading the phone book or simply looking at the phone book, and be terrific. Handsome, virile, great voice, strong presence, incredibly cool. Wonderful to observe, enjoyable to think about, a memory you could share with friends. A Columbo credit also. What more can you ask?— ccjroberts
Robert Vaughn was in the Magnificent & and Bullitt..not Culp. Great acting, chemistry and action in the I Spy series shot around the world in locations such as Hong Kong and Acapulco.— wfs0868- my bad— sophwill
- Carrie....another mention of a Hollywood great..(enjoyed last week's column about Ginger Rogers). I loved him as the smarmy security company owner in the Columbo series...he was deliciously evil. As I recall, he was advising Ray Milland on how to investigate the murder of his Wife.— Frank_Drebin
- I can hardly wait until the press weighs in on my life, if ever there is a reason to do such. Warts and all, if I am paired with a person not of color,the results are stereotypical. Culp was hardly gallant about the fact that he was eclipsed by Cosby (his supposedly second banana and a black man to boot). There are many interviews from the 60s, where he all but said he did not get why folks were making such a big deal about Bill because he, (Culp) was the star of the show. While I make no attempts to detract from Culp's impact in TV and film, there is not doubt that Cosby (knucklehead-as-he sometimes-may-be) was at the nexus of a career that would take him up, up and away. It is nice that the media wants to paint their relationship as rosy in light of the fact that Culp is now deceased. But it was Culp (not Cosby) that was relegated to smaller, less impactual roles as time went on, while Bill set the tone for changes in how America viewed its minority families and actors. Maybe with a tinge of blood mixed in with all that Hollywood wine could we see their relationship as rosy! R.C. was bitter because his star in hollywood was mostly made because of the studio's choice of Cosby as his second. Even the "suits" did not understand what they were giving life to- (Think Gibson/Glover and a hundred other such parings). B.C. was the progenitor of a long line of minority men who did not have the backing of the shop to be the first named in a major venture but who rose from second fiddle to first chair in the choir of our attention. Talent played a large part. I don't think I have to spell out the other reason. America: we have work to do!— einreb
I gotta go with the "Columbo" appearance as well and I was stunned to see him show up doing a comedy cameo bit in an old "Get Smart" episode.- I liked this quote from Bill Cosby in the LA Times' obituary: "Those of us who are the firstborn always dream of that imaginary brother or sister who will be their protector, the buffer, the one to take the blows," Cosby said. "I'm a firstborn, and Bob was the answer to my dreams. He was the big brother that all of us wish for."— wwolfe
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- American Women Film Journalists
- Anne Thompson on Film
- Dave Kehr on Film
- David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
- David Edelstein's The Projectionist
- Dennis Cozzallo on Film
- Edward Copeland on Film
- Flickgrrl posts 2/07 through 5/08
- Glenn Kenny's Some Came Running
- Green Cine Daily
