Remembering the character Bill Maxwell

[greenguy]

For the last few days I've poured over the hundreds of items written about the passing of Robert Culp. It seems to me most of those are no more than a copy and paste job of the material written before, and most center around his accomplishments on I Spy. While I admit television history was made with that series, I hated to see the character he brought to life on TGAH ignored. Maxwell was an original, and I will admit to have complained privately to friends that Maxwell should be remembered along side other TV icons such as Lucy Ricardo, Paladin, Archie Bunker, etc. and that due to the nature of the series, the program itself and its actors, etc are overlooked and dismissed as if it was just a kids show. I even complained to Variety and my comments while not damning or slamming were immediately removed. One of my good friends replied by saying: "Don't take the TGAH thing too hard. YOU AND I KNOW that the 'Bill Maxwell' character was a great one, and we'll leave it to the discerning public to realize we're right. Those in the know, know better". and he is right. Well this morning while browsing the web I came upon an article by Mr. John Nolte. While I may not be articulate enough to organize my thoughts and give Culp and Maxwell a fantastic tribute, Mr. Nolte in my opinion has done so. Please take a couple of minutes and click the link below to read the piece about Culp and our favorite Fed.

www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2010/03/26/rip-robert-culp-one-of-the-greats/

[HoudiniDerek]

Very good article you found, GG.

I would like to hear more about his work in TRACKDOWN. I have never seen it.

[mmderdekea]

Yes, I read this article and posted it up at the "I Spy Forum". It is a amazing article and captures the nuances of Maxwell's character so profoundly. I disagree with his off-hand comment of Maxwell's "lonely" personal life, as the episodes showed the opposite. Bill hung out with Capt Winslow, cared for his old partner Harlan, kept in touch with another old partner Teddy, played on the FBI softball and bowling leagues, and probably hung out now and then with his police friend Tommy. So, he had a busy life even before Ralph entered into it. Outside of that, however, Nolte's analysis of Maxwell's complicated personality is really magnificent, and definitely elevates TGAH from just a comedy show into a TV series whereby characters had true depth.

I doubt anyone but Culp could have created such an amazing man as Bill Maxwell. It's wonderful to know that Culp himself loved his creation. As did so many others!

Mona

[prometheus74]

Very nice article, and a fitting tribute to a "titan of television".

[MrsMaxwell]

Wow! What a great article. It was nice to finally see his work as Maxwell given the recognition it deserves. Seems like every obit and/or tribute I have read seems to come across as dismissing GAH as some minor, insignificant, 80's show that is remembered simply because the main character's last name was the same as President Reagan's attempted assassin.

Great find Greenguy...and thank you!

[Team Blue]

I agree, this was a great article and great tribute to Our Man Maxwell! ;D

[MelMac]

Mar 27, 2010 21:26:27 GMT -5 HoudiniDerek said:

Very good article you found, GG.

I would like to hear more about his work in TRACKDOWN. I have never seen it.

Unless they're pulled down from there, there are a few episodes of "Trackdown" on YouTube. Been watching them for some time (I enjoy watching westerns - the steampunk kind of the old "Wild Wild West" and more traditional ones), and they're actually quite good.

Just search "Robert Culp in "Trackdown""

[Maxwell - F.B.I.]

Definitely "One of the best".

And leave it to Scott to find the best article so far on Culp and his career.

Bravo.

[greenguy]

Mar 28, 2010 17:13:14 GMT -5 MrsMaxwell said:

Wow! What a great article. It was nice to finally see his work as Maxwell given the recognition it deserves. Seems like every obit and/or tribute I have read seems to come across as dismissing GAH as some minor, insignificant, 80's show that is remembered simply because the main character's last name was the same as President Reagan's attempted assassin.

Great find Greenguy...and thank you!

Hey, you are very welcome mrsmaxwell! Thanks for taking the time to read it.

[greenguy]

Apr 2, 2010 12:54:19 GMT -5 Maxwell - F.B.I. said:

Definitely "One of the best".

And leave it to Scott to find the best article so far on Culp and his career.

Bravo.

Thanks!

[BurgerAlertBoy]

Wow, so late to this moving thread, and even to the tragic news of Culp's death. I've spent the past year engaged too much in real life (lost jobs, found jobs, moving my family here and there). Last week, unpacking at my new digs in Indiana, I found my GAH DVDs and got my littlest daughter hooked (she loves physical humor and can't get enough of "the red hero man" crashing into walls. Although, God love her, she hates the goofy midflight screaming). Having successfully hooked a new generation, I rekindled my own interest and start googling around to see what was doing in the world of GAH fandom and saw Culp's obit. I always thought Maxwell was one cool customer, but now that I'm a little older, I've come to appreciate how much the character--and the actor who made him both utterly human and larger than life--carried the show. I wish I could name actors today who can carry on the legacy, but I'm at a loss. RIP, Mr. Culp. You will not be forgotten. --BAB

[Mr. H]

A long time coming but here's what I wrote about the passing of Robert Culp on the I Spy fan Forum back in April of 2010.

Hey gang,

I know it's been quite a long time since I poked my head in over here but obviously I felt compelled after hearing the sad news. This is the only time a celebrity death actually had people calling me to pass on condolences and general sharing of memories. I actually found out because a friend of mine called me too- I didn't find out online for once. I was upset when Peter Graves past away on the 16th but this was something else. Something that just left me deflated and in a funk.

I grew up with Robert Culp as Bill Maxwell on the Greatest American Hero. I wouldn't truly appreciate that performance he expertly delivered until I would re-watch and fall in love with the series all over again in the summer of 2000 when KDOC in Los Angeles gave the show a fresh airing. As a kid I enjoyed the show for William Katt and the super suit. Today I watch the show mainly for Culp. He's just so funny in that show and he usually got the best lines. In my top 5 favorite episodes stands "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell" which was written and directed by Culp. He created a backstory for Bill, gave him a romance and a lovely tale of espionage with an ill-fated romance to boot that was worthy of an I Spy outing. Culp often said that if the show couldn't grow, they were dea din the water. The network insisted on a 'kid's show' and this wasn't allowed. Add Cannell's drift over to the A-Team in 1983 and inevitably the show sank too soon. Lilacs though provides a tantalizing glimpse inot the growth the show deserved. Here was an episode that showed PROGRESSION of Ralph using his powers and more importantly how Bill and Ralph worked together. It successfully bult on the rules and powers previously established in the series and really showed them maturing as a partnership. It's a shame this wasn't allowed to continue but it showed how Culp's mind was always working.

Stepping back, to the early 1990's, my Dad who had already turned me on to James Bond, The Prisoner, Mission: Impossible and the Man From UNCLE would finally turn me on to the wonderfulness that is I Spy. I had technically seen an episode or two during the Nick at Nite run in the late 80's but it didn't HIT me til I found the handful of videos that were available in 1991. Carry Me Back to Old T'Sing Tao and So Long Patrick Henry were my favorites. They were simply FANTASTIC Quickly putting I spy on my favorites list despite only seeing about 6 episodes. When I first came out to LA for college my luck was holding and in the fall of 1995 I was finally able to see the entire run of I Spy thanks again to local station KDOC. What a revelation! How is it this show wasn't more well-known or shown? Sure Bill Cosby was great, the stories were solid, the production value a cut above the standard 60's fare- but at the center of it was Robert Culp as Kelly Robinson. I was doubly impressed with his writing as pretty much all of his 7 scripts were stand-up solid if not superlative work. Henry is probably still my favorite, The Loser was a great gift to Cos, but Home to Judgment was just a knock-out episode. If they had known the 3rd season was to be the last than how fitting would this have been as the final episode? Amazing script, and an equally amazing performance from Culp in that episode.

I remember coming home early from my SAT studies to watch I Spy Returns. My dad and I both groaned at the new theme and yeah it wasn't the best revival. But it was great to see them back. My Dad felt it wasn't as 'hip or cool' as the series. Appaeantly it was on an I Spy my Dad first heard the term 'Tough it out' in Anyplace I Hang Myself is Home. The show obviously had an effect on him because often I'd watch I Spy with my Dad and he'd tell me about a scene or quote a line that was coming up and bang on, he was right every time. Figuring he'd been sneak borrowing my tapes, I'd ask, "when did you last see this?" and he's answer "1966! In college!" I marvel at that memory.

I recall watching I Spy a lot with my friend Simon who I often did college Theater and student films with back in the day. Once I wrote in one of my scripts a particular direction for Simon that he give an actress a Robert Culp Smile or a Robert Culp Shoulder Shrug. It was something I knew only Simon would get and frequently the people asked me later "Who's Robert Culp?" and I was happy to enlighten them. I think Simon enjoyed the insider 'direction' but looking back, I realize I was always aiming for the high bar Culp had set creatively.

By the late 90's, my friend Dave Cole and I started the I Spy Definitive Site. We were both spurred a bit by the Cosby "My Spy" episode which had just aired on CBS (and I recall feeding an excuse to my boss to go home early to watch it). We felt all the other spy shows were well represented on the web and we wanted to redress the balance on the sorely under-represented I Spy. Form there the forum spring, the current version of which still stands here now thanks to the guidance of Debby/Tatia. While I feel sad we never truly 'finished' that site before it went down, or that we never wrote the 'definitive book' we wanted to on I Spy (but thankfully an even Better Book was eventually released - thank goodness!) but a lot of great meetings and friendships came form that site and this forum. It's because of these fan connections I got to meet the great Earle Hagen, Ernie Frankel and of course, Robert Culp.

Thanks to Tatia, I got to see a lot of Culp's other work on Trackdown, Inside Out, Spectre, Outrage, various guest shots and of course, his fabulous work on Columbo. Double Exposure is still my all-time favorite Columbo. Culp is really on his game and has some great exchanges with Peter Falk. Death Lends a Hand is another very good one. Thanks to those episodes I became a Columbo addict and now own every episode!!

I've only met Culp twice. The first was at SPYFEST in 2003 with many members of you here. My favorite memory was when he sat around with just a small group us recalling all those great I Spy stories for what felt like a good hour or so. The on-stage interview with Don was fantastic as well and it was a thrill to finally meet the great Bill Maxwell/Kelly Robinson! My only regret was I never got an autograph at that show from even though I was well within my right to ask for one, I was just too shy. Consequently, I have nothing I Spy related signed by him which is a shame. I recall standing next to him in line at the guest of honor dinner later that evening while picking over the fruit & cheese tray. I wanted to turn to him and gush a bit but I realized I wouldn't want to be bothered when I'm eating so I just gave him a smile and pointed him to some cheese he was looking for.

The second time I met Culp was in 2008 at San Diego Comic Con. I had a nice long chat with William Katt (who was promoting the GAH comic book which was debuting that fall), because of the fact I work with his ex-GAH co-star Rob Weaver (Coach Ray Buck) at my day job. Katt then introduced me to Culp and I finally got my autograph on the standard publicity shot. At least I got a moment to tell him how much I enjoyed his work and writing, and how my friends and I always meet every few months for a Spy Marathon (a tradition that continues today and I assure you I Spy makes the roster every time) and how much a group of twenty or so people aged 20 - 45 still admired his work. I made special mention of So Long Patrick Henry and Home to Judgment. He seemed pleased but I have a feeling he was a little weirded out by me because I was dressed as Dr. Who at the time (not the way I would have planned it I assure you!) but I got a great picture with him.

After hearing this kind of news I normally need some time to re-watch or re-read an individual's work - a way of celebrating them and reminding myself of the good memories they brought me. In Culp's case because he's been a closer part of my life, I decided to put on a number of my favorite interviews instead since as others have noted, he's so candid and funny in them! There's a couple of great ones I have during his time on GAH talking about the state of the Television industry I enjoy and then of course there are the wonderful I Spy commentaries. I hadn't listened to those in about 8 years, so it was just beautiful and bittersweet to hear them again. It was like he was still with us, as if he was sitting by in my living room and just providing a little insight into a series and friendship he loved. I know in memory our little group we'll be having a 'Culp' Themed viewing day next month in honor. The great thing about actors is they're never truly gone, they have their work to still live on and entertain us. This is more than the case for Robert Culp as I always find new facets in his work when I watch him. He had astounding wonderfulness in his acting and always delivered top class stuff in his writing "scenarios." Like everyone on here, I shall miss him dearly.

-Scotty/Mr. H