Several media outlets are reporting that actor Robert Culp has died after collapsing on a sidewalk near his home on Wednesday.
TV historians remember him most for his work on the 1960’s series I Spy; for me, it was his role as Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero that highlighted some of his best work. Maxwell was a bit blustery and could even be irritating if played by a lesser actor; with Culp, you couldn’t help but love watching him.
I had the pleasure of watching Culp speaking about his Greatest American Hero role at an event in 2008, and even though 25 years had passed, he still had the same energy, enthusiasm, and humor we saw on the series back in the day. May he have buddies with red jammies that he can boss around up in Heaven. Condolences go out to his family and friends.
In his memory, courtesy of Youtube, here are the opening credits for The Greatest American Hero. The entire series is on DVD as well, for those of you who want to revisit Bill Maxwell’s finest antics.
