Robert Culp, the actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking TV series “I Spy” 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. “No matter how many mistakes I made on ‘I Spy,' he was always there to teach and protect me,” Cosby said. “I Spy,” which aired from 1965 to 1968, was a television milestone in more ways than one. Its combination of humor and adventure broke new ground, and it was the first integrated television show to feature a black actor in a starring role. Culp played Kelly Robinson, a spy whose cover was that of an ace tennis player. Cosby was fellow spy Alexander Scott, whose cover was that of Culp's trainer. The pair traveled the world in the service of the US government. More recently, he had a recurring role as Patricia Heaton's father in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” and appeared in such shows as “Robot Chicken,” “Chicago Hope” and an episode of “Cosby.” Culp was married five times, to Nancy Ashe, Elayne Wilner, France Nuyen, Sheila Sullivan and Candace Culp. He had four children with Ashe and one with Candace Culp.
