To Every Thing There Is An End...
One of the great things about blogging I've found, is that you can express what you feel to a LOT of people (who may just happen to feel likewise), and it's a place where you can decry such things as government waste, societal woes, and even such mundane things as everyday life and it's trials as well as the successes.
It's also a place to remember.
Many people blog about those "good old days", and I can relate to them, because they WERE JUST THAT.
So today, I will "indulge" myself, and I hope all of you understand somewhat as to why.
Actor Robert Culp passed away yesterday at the age of 79.
While out taking a walk near his house, he apparently fell and struck his head. A jogger happened by and called 911, and he was rushed to Angels of Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Here's the WIKI on Mr. Culp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Culp
Now my parents always used to note that celebrities ALWAYS seemed to "die in threes", and so we have another such case.
First, it was Peter Graves, followed by Fess Parker, and now...Robert Culp.
One could say that CLASSIC television took one on the chin THIS past week.
Here is a list of the achievements of Robert Culp:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191685/
I used to ALWAYS watch the show THE OUTER LIMITS (ABC), back in the early 1960s...for someone barely into "double digits", the show scared the crap out of me...and that was cool.
Robert Culp starred in THREE episodes of that series:
-The Architects of Fear
-Corpus Earthling
-Demon With a Glass Hand (written by Harlan Ellison)
I then saw him appear in the movie PT-109 in a supporting role to Cliff Robertson (who played JFK).
But, it was when I watched him star with Bill Cosby in the (then) NBC television series I SPY that I really began to enjoy HIS work.
That was the ONLY school night I could stay up until 11PM (the show came on at 10 - Wednesdays)...LOL.
I SPY was a ground-breaking series, in that a BLACK MAN had a starring role (and won THREE Emmys as a result). Culp was ALSO nominated for an Emmy each year the show was on, and lost to Cosby each time, but NEVER took it badly at all.
Actually, he took it as good as if he HAD won...and Cosby never forgot the aplomb Bob showed because of it.
I SPY was an espionage show (during the Cold War) that chronicled the missions of two government "agents", travelling the world (as a tennis bum and his trainer), doing assignments that many might call boring, but turned out otherwise.
Many times, these agents questioned the REASON behind what they did, and that was a hallmark of this show.
These guys were HUMAN...they MADE mistakes, they even failed, but the underlying principle behind their "job" was to uphold the oath they took to protect our nation.
Pretty heady stuff for even the sixties...the show was ahead of it's time, and lasted 3 seasons.
It launched Cosby's career into realms he probably never could imagine, and as for Bob...he did more movies (some good, some not so good), and a lot of TV shows, including one in the 1980s that redefined his career...
It was THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, a superhero spoof (played seriously, though) about a school teacher that has a "close encounter" and receives a gift from some aliens...a "supersuit" with all kinds of powers.
Trouble is, he LOST the "instruction book", and that's where Culp's character (FBI agent Bill Maxwell) came in.
The show was one of humor, as well as conscience. What COULD one do if one were "all-powerful"?
How could such a gift possibly corrupt the person wearing it?
That was where William Kaat's character and Bob Culp's character debated the issue.
It was a good show for it's run.
But through all the shows...all the appearances...all the characters, what I remember best about Robert Culp is his spirit.
He had this CAN-DO attitude in everything he attempted.
He never let himself, nor the public down.
He would take time from his busy schedule to visit children in cancer wards.
(I can tell you from personal experience...that will rip your heart out in a second)
He was never too busy to appear at a convention, shake hands, sign pictures and books, and basically THANK all those who appreciated his work throughout the years.
My buddy Mark and I loved the show I SPY, and it was the reason we began playing tennis (we were never seeded, thankfully...lol)
But I did wind up working for Uncle Sam for a while (Treasury Department).
Mark went into publishing, until the place he worked at closed.
Mark lives in DE now, and every Christmas we send something to each other somehow related to Bob Culp or I SPY.
Last year, he sent me a mug and mousepad with Robert Culp on it (how he found it, I have no idea), and I sent him some records of Bob Culp in the theater doing such notable plays as UNCLE VANYA.
(I have MY sources, as well...heh, heh, heh)
And we both (now) have ALL the novels from the TV show.
What Mark and I found so compelling about I SPY was that the show said (some times) that failure at some times is NORMAL, and that it was perfectly normal to get back up, and try it all again.
The locations the show was shot on were spectacular (back in the 60s). Can't say that Mexico is AS "friendly" today, and that's too bad. There are places I would still enjoy visiting down there.
Yeah, for a couple of preteen boys, this was a TV show with some REAL good values.
It was all right to believe in your country.
It was OK to be human...with human foibles.
It was FINE to work alongside a person of another race.
And that was something I still believe in, despite those that hold no regard for their race, or anyone else's.
I remember when Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) passed away...damn near cried like a baby.
That was like losing a family member.
And in some way, I suppose that all those TV heroes we grew up with WERE a part of our family.
The values they instilled in us, as we watched, remain within us to this very day.
They were the GOOD GUYS. They wore the white hats.
Maybe that's why when real family members pass, it seems to hurt even more.
I've had my share of passages...all immediate family is gone (over ten years now), but everything they taught me, or even tried to teach me is still here...
After losing friends and acquaintances, it doesn't get any easier.
And sometimes, you even wonder why YOU'RE still around.
Perhaps it's to keep THEIR memories alive...to pass on to the inheritors of this generation.
I'd like to think so, anyway.
So...here's to YOU, Mr. Culp.
I was a fan for lo, these MANY years. And I will always be one.
The heroes of my youth may fall away like leaves from an autumn tree...one by one.
But the work every one of them did here during their time on earth will continue to live LONG after them.
May there be someone who can say the same about any one of us when our time arrives.
It was once said that NO life is a waste if you but change the heart and have a positive effect on ONE person.
Considering ALL the souls each of us encounter in a lifetime, I think we made it to ONE...easily.
...And the adventure continues.
Be well, make a difference today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.