Robert Culp
1930-2010

I am – Hercules The great Robert Culp, who was Harlan Ellison’s demon with the glass hand on “The Outer Limits” before he bantered and battled international evil with Bill Cosby on “I Spy” and oversaw the superpowered “Greatest American Hero” as FBI special agent Bill Maxwell, died in Hollywood Wednesday. He was 79. Culp was also a writer, snagging an Emmy nomination for one of the seven “I Spy” episodes he scripted. He also wrote episodes of "Cain's Hunted," "The Rifleman," and "The Greatest American Hero." He was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a drama all three years "I Spy" aired (but lost to co-star Cosby all three of those years). He played three different murderers on three early episodes of "Columbo": an angry private detective in 1971's "Death Lends A Hand," a football-team manager in 1972's "The Most Crucial Game," and a subliminal-advertising expert in 1973's "Double Exposure." He returned as a fourth character in the 1990 TV movie "Columbo Goes To College." I believe Culp was first to be contacted about the lead role of John Koenig in “Space 1999,” but he wound up not taking the part because he wanted to oversee the show’s creative direction, over creator Gerry Anderson's objections. I sometimes wonder what Culp, who always struck me as a pretty sharp guy when it came to storytelling, would have done with that franchise. (The role went instead to Martin Landau.) Culp shortly thereafter teamed with "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, playing occult investigator William Sebastian in the failed 1977 NBC "backdoor pilot" "Spectre." If all that doesn’t paint him a hero in your nerd eyes, he was married to Vietnamese hottie France Nuyen even as she was sexually enslaving Jim Kirk as Elaan of Troyius over on “Star Trek.” Younger audiences know Culp for his recurring role as Warren Whelen, father-in-law to the title character on "Everbody Loves Raymond." He also had a busy movie career. From Wikipedia:

Although primarily known from television, Culp has also 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 fiance of Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy Sunday in New York. He went on to star in the provocative Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in 1969, probably the height of his movie career. 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 he and Cosby 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 1994 murder mystery The Pelican Brief starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts. In all, Culp has given hundreds of performances in a career spanning more than 50 years.

And gamers know him as the voice of Dr. Wallace Breen in "Half Life 2":