Robert Culp died Wednesday after collapsing, or possibly tripping, on a sidewalk outside of his Hollywood home. Culp best known for his role in the pioneering TV series I Spy oppposite Bill Cosby. He was 79. He suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital, but paramedics were unable to revive him, his agent, Hillard Elkins said. Culp married five times and survived by wife Candace Falkner, three sons and two daughters, four of whom are from a previous marriage.Robert Culp’s career spanned more than a half-century.Perhaps his most notable movie was the provocative 1969 sex comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
His first starring role came on CBS’ Western series Trackdown, in which he played a gun-slinging Texas Ranger. Culp went on to play Kelly Robinson in the NBC series I Spy from 1965 to 1968 with Cosby. It was the first prime-time series with a black actor in a lead role.
After several smaller roles, he returned to television in 1981 as the lead in The Greatest American Hero. He also had a multi-episode arc on Everybody Loves Raymond and bit parts on shows such as Lois & Clark and Wings.