Robert Culp

Culp and Cosby even had their own comic book.

By Dan Hagen

Years ago, I interviewed the actor/ writer/ director Robert Culp for my friend DAK's magazine.
Having admired him on I Spy and The Greatest American Hero, I had a nice time doing it, and asked him, completely unprofessionally, to do a phone answering machine message for Paul Beals, Jim Jenkins and me. He said he would, but we talked for another hour or so and I thought he'd forgotten about it. I didn't have the heart to bring it up again before we said goodbye.
I was pleased with the interview but feeling slightly disappointed when the phone rang. It was Culp, who had tracked down my number from his publicity agent and said, "Hey, didn't you want to do that phone thing?" He recorded a cheeky greeting using our names and telling callers to leave a message, as long as they weren't looking for money. That was a sweet thing for him to do.
Quoting Arthur Conan Doyle, Culp said that mediocrity recognizes nothing above itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius. He said he recognized it at once when he met two men: Sam Peckinpah and Bill Cosby. Proving his point, I think, my talented friend Patrick Hasburgh, who worked with Culp as a writer on Greatest American Hero, described him as a pain in the ass and a genius.I watched a long interview with him recorded a couple of years ago. His memory is spotty, but I found him as enjoyable as ever and, for a Hollywood guy, pretty honest. He talks about starting out as an actor working for minimum pay and, after several successful TV series and the movies, working again for minimum pay. You were thrilled to get it back then, not so much now, he says.
So if you're ever in the mood, here's the video interview, which offers a lot of insight into the business, the craft and the era. And here's my whole interview with Culp. Enjoy.