Robert Culp, Star in ‘I Spy,’ Dies at 79

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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/24/arts/AP-US-Obit-Robert-Culp.html?_r=1&hp

Robert Culp, the actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking TV series ''I Spy'' and was Bob in the critically acclaimed sex comedy ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,'' died Wednesday after collapsing outside his Hollywood home, his manager said. Culp was 79.

Manager Hillard Elkins said the actor was on a walk when he fell. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead just before noon. The actor's son was told he died of a heart attack, Elkins said, though police were unsure if the fall was medically related.

Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Binder said no foul play was suspected. Binder said a jogger found Culp, who apparently fell and struck his head.

''I Spy'' greatly advanced the careers of Culp and Cosby and forged a lifelong friendship. Cosby said Wednesday Culp was like an older brother to him.
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Both he and Cosby were involved in civil rights causes, and when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 the pair traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to join the striking garbage workers King had been organizing.

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RIP, Mr. Culp. You brought me many hours of great entertainment when I was a kid.

(Ed to correct formatting.)

[hlthe2b]

1. OH my.... now I feel really old

I Spy was part of my early childhood... I loved that show. RIP, Mr. Culp. You were an elegant actor and a really decent human being.

[Lithos]

2. Wow, never knew of his ties to civil rights

Knew the show was ground-breaking, but never knew as a person he did so much.

God Speed Mr. Culp

L-

[virgogal]

3. Oh God,another one gone. (I'm 77 and it's constant loss).

[Canuckistanian]

4. That's too bad

He was a staple on TV and in movies when I was a kid. I never knew about his activism and his involvement with MLK's cause.

RIP, Mr. Culp.